Joseph Gelfer

Gelfer was born in 1974 in Southampton, England.

He has a BA Hons from University of Bristol and a doctorate in religious studies from Victoria University of Wellington (2008).[1] His thesis was titled Numen, Old Men: contemporary masculine spiritualities and the problem of patriarchy.[2]

Joseph Gelfer is a lecturer and tutor at Université Catholique de l'Ouest.[3] He has had concurrent careers in research in religion and masculinities and in academic editing and coaching. He has held positions as Adjunct Research Associate at the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University,[4] Honorary Research Associate at University of Divinity, Melbourne,[5] as editorial specialist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and an assistant editor at the University of London.[3]

The book derived from his doctoral thesis, Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy (Equinox Publishers, 2009) proposed that masculine spirituality tends to perpetuate a patriarchal spirituality, and that gay spirituality and queer theory can be a useful way to think about masculinities for all men, gay or straight. He has published extensively on how masculinity functions in contemporary society and, more specifically, in contemporary religion. He proposes that by questioning the social construction of masculinity in the everyday it is possible to create a more equitable and sustainable society.

Leading up to and during 2012 Gelfer received media attention[6][7][8][9][10] surrounding the publishing of his book 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse which brought together scholarly analyses of the end of the world phenomenon from anthropology, Mayan studies, religious studies and cultural studies. The book examined the "merits and demerits of cultural appropriation" and "the lack of consensus between different scholars and the inconsistent goals of different disciplines."[11] Gelfer's aim in writing the book was "to strike some balance between visionary and critical thinking"[12] and he was criticised by members from the skeptical, catastrophist, conspiracy and spiritually inclined communities for his non-partisan views.[12][13] His proposition from the book's analysis was that no physical event would occur but "that people [would] realise the changes they dearly wish to see in the world will not come from some cosmic source, but rather instead political agency and social activism. And that, ironically, may result in 2012 being a catalyst for a shift in human consciousness, exactly as the prophets predicted."[7][13]

In addition to his academic work, Gelfer has also been active in social commentary publishing articles about such wide-ranging topics as psychedelic substances within a spiritual context,[14][15][16] the commercialisation of spiritualities,[17] child discipline,[18] open access publishing[19] and teetotalism.[20] He has also published a number of travel articles[21][22][23][24] and a book of Latrinalia called The Little Book of Toilet Graffiti (which according to Gelfer was simply a fund raising exercise and was followed by The Little Book of Student Bollocks and The Little Book of Office Bollocks).[25]

• The Five Stages of Masculinity is a model used to view a person's understandings of masculinity. This model is the basis of the Masculinity Research organisation directed by Joseph Gelfer which offers " insight into men and masculinity in three key areas: Market research for products and services, Social research for non-profit and governmental policymakers [and] People and culture development for businesses and organizations."[26]

In 2012 Gelfer undertook a number of interviews on a variety of topics published through InformitTV.

• Lynette Russell and Joseph Gelfer discuss the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians. Professor Lynette Russell is Director of Monash Indigenous Centre, Monash University. Professor Russell specialises in anthropological and Indigenous history.
• Marcus Powe and Joseph Gelfer discuss the entrepreneurial spirit. Marcus Powe is an entrepreneurship and business coaching specialist who is the Entrepreneur in Residence at RMIT University
• Jenny Smith and Joseph Gelfer discuss homelessness in Australia. Jenny Smith is the chief executive officer, Council to Homeless Persons in Victoria.
• Sophie Cunningham and Joseph Gelfer discuss Australian literature. Sophie Cunningham is a Melbourne-based writer and editor.
• Joseph Gelfer and Christopher Fairley discuss sexual health. Christopher Fairley is Director of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and Professor of Public Health at Monash University.

• Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy (Equinox Publishers, 2009)
• The Best of Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality (Gorgias Press, 2010)
• The Masculinity Conspiracy (Online, 2010). This is a free ebook.
• 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse (Equinox Publishers, 2011)
• Masculinities in a Global Era (Springer, 2013)

• "Changing Masculinity: Three Subtle Mistakes." The Good Men Project, February 2015.
• "Masculinity, Terrorism and Charlie Hebdo." The Good Men Project, January 2015.
• "Changing Masculinity: It’s Time to Pivot." The Good Men Project, January 2015.
• "Why Won’t Australia Run Medical Trials of MDMA?" Vice, April 2014.
• "After the 2012 Not-Apocalypse." Vice, January 2014.
• "GenerationX-Men." Disinfo, August 2013.
• "Smacks of Denial." Online Opinion, August 2013.
• "Teetotal Consciousness Shift." The Good Men Project, May 2013.
• "The Other Apocalypses." The Skeptic, September 2012.
• "The Way Men Are." VoiceMale, Fall 2012.
• "A Cynic in a Sweat Lodge." Travel Mag, May 2012.
• "Gender, Sexuality and Psychedelic Spirituality." Elephant Journal, April 2012.
• "Occupy Porosity." OnlineOpinion, April 2012.
• "2012 and Indigenous Fantasy." Fortean Times, February 2012.
• "Interview with Joseph Gelfer on 2012." Sacred Tribes Journal, February 2012.
• "2012: Between Critical and Visionary Thinking." Reality Sandwich, January 2012.
• "2012 Cometh: How to Prepare for the Apocalypse." The Conversation, January 2012.
• "Towards a Sacramental Understanding of Dextromethorphan: A Research Story.” Entheogenesis Australis Journal (2010).
• “The Masculinity Conspiracy." OnlineOpinion, May 2010.
• "Both Remedy and Poison: Religious Men and the Future of Peace." Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality 4, no. 1 (2010): 1–5.
• "Open Access Economics." Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality 3, no. 2 (2009): 97–99.
• "Pray Like a Man." The Guardian, March 2009 (reprinted in E-Journal of Solidarity, Sustainability, and Nonviolence 5, no. 5 (2009).
• "Menergy: Men’s Ministries and the New Masculinity." Religion Dispatches, May 2008.
• "Turn On, Log In, Log Out." Religious Studies News, October 2006.
• "Smacks of Denial." Scoop, August 2006.
• "An Interview with Matthew Fox." Ashé, Summer 2006.
• "I Remember Adlestrop." Perceptive Travel, March/April 2006.
• "Otago, Invercargill & Stewart Island (update)." Fodors New Zealand 2006, edited by Jennifer Paull. New York: Fodors, 2006, pp. 409–437.
• “H2Odyssey: The Human-Dolphin-Spirit Connection.” Rainbow News, December 2005.
• “Review of ‘A New Reformation’ by Matthew Fox.” Ashé, Summer 2005.
• “Climbing the Old Man: The Vanuatu Volcano." Pology Magazine, 2005.
• "Review of 'The Miracle Detective' by Randall Sullivan." Ashé, Summer 2004.
• "The Dreaming Project." Rainbow News, June 2004.
• "New Catholics." The Tablet, March 2004.
• "The Brits Abroad and the Philosophy of Holiday Hedonism." Exquisite Corpse, Winter 2003.
• "Who'll Raise a Pint to the Future of Religion?" Spirituality & Health, Winter 2003.
• "Review of 'The Sun at Midnight' by Laurence Galian." Ashé, Winter 2003.
• "The Rugby Bible." Rugby World, November 2003.
• "Healed by Hévíz." Fate Magazine, October 2003.
• "Rumi Nation." Conscious Living, Autumn 2003.
• "Radical Breaking News: The Surfer’s Bible.” Spirituality & Health, April 2003.
• “Visiting a Celtic Christian Community.” Spirituality & Health, Summer 2002.
• “Anarchy in the PRC." Exquisite Corpse, Spring/Summer 2002.
• "Vanuatu Kaval Kool." Pilot Guides, Spring 2002.