De nieuwe lichting

‘The new batch’. Anja Meulenbelt and men's liberation in the Netherlands Dutch writer and activist Anja Meulenbelt was a key figure in second wave feminism in the Netherlands. Her autofictional novel De schaamte voorbij is considered a milestone in feminist literature in Dutch. Besides her literary work, she had published widely on gender and literary criticism from the 1970s onwards and continues to do so today. A lesser known aspect of her writing and activism concerns masculinity and male emancipation. Second wave feminism was accompanied by a pro-feminist men’s movement which included a number of short-lived periodicals such as Mannentaal en Manuscript. Meulenbelt took serious interest in this movement and commented on it in various essays and articles, arguing that its questioning of the male gender role could contribute to gender equality. This article traces Meulenbelt’s involvement with men’s activism and masculinity studies and discusses the representation of men and masculinity in two novels: De schaamte voorbij and Alba. While the former suggests an impasse in heterosexual relationships with men, even with those of the ‘new generation’ who have been influenced by feminism, the latter depicts a more gratifying relationship with an emancipated male partner.