Sterling Institute of Relationship: Difference between revisions
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| foundation = 1979 |
| foundation = 1979 |
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| founder = [[A. Justin Sterling]] <br>(formerly Arthur |
| founder = [[A. Justin Sterling]] <br>(formerly Arthur Kasarjian) |
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Justin Sterling founded the Sterling Institute in 1979 in Oakland, California. For over 20 years the Sterling Institute has been dedicated to transforming the quality of people’s relationships. Justin’s visionary philosophy, now widely accepted, was considered radical in 1979. He sought to define the fundamental differences between men and women, and to find solutions to common relationship and career problems by embracing and honoring these differences. |
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At that time, Justin’s ideas were in direct conflict with the popular feminist viewpoint that men and women were exactly the same. He believed that fundamental differences exist between men and women. For this, he was labeled a heretic and a chauvinist. He has also been attacked by the controversial "anti-cult" entrepreneur, Rick Ross. |
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The '''Sterling Institute of Relationship''' is a [[for-profit]] corporation and counseling business run by A. Justin Sterling (formerly Arthur "Artie" Kasarjian<ref name="lubman" />) since 1979.<ref name="bayarea" /> Focusing on heterosexual relationships through intensive, multi-hour trainings, male and female participants attend separate trainings. The company is based in [[Oakland, California]]. |
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Even though today there is almost universal acknowledgement that differences between men and women exist, Justin has not been able to completely shed the labels of the past. A close examination of Justin's philosophy will reveal his great respect and admiration for women. Justin has always been a champion of equal opportunity and equal rewards for women. |
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A. Justin Sterling is also founder and president of "International Community Service Day Foundation", also located in California.<ref name="volunteers">{{cite news |
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| last = Lubman |
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| first = Sarah |
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| title = Volunteers Bring Schools More Than They Bargained For: Oakland-Based Charity Pushes its Founder's Views on the Sexes |
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| work = San Jose Mercury News |
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| date = [[September 15]], [[1996]] |
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</ref> |
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Originally, Sterling's career began in working with high-powered women business executives, who were having success in their careers, but were expetriencing diffculties in their personal relationships. This work led him to devlop the Women's Weekend. These women had just penetrated the upper levels of management, a new phenomenon in the late '70s and early 80’s. Sterling taught women to trust their female instincts and bring them to the workplace instead of subjugating them and adopting male models of behavior. The confidence and self-acceptance that Women’s Weekend graduates enjoyed were contagious and the Women’s Weekend became an overnight success. Today, over 20,000 women have done the Women's Weekend. |
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== Coursework == |
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[[MSNBC]] reported that The Sterling Institute has been described as "John ''[sic]'' Bly meets [[Erhard Seminars Training|Est]]".<ref name="walls" /> The evolution from [[Erhard Seminars Training]] has also been brought up in other media pieces.<ref name="lubman" /><ref name="smart" /> Rich Zubaty<ref name="zubaty">{{cite book |
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| first = Rich |
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| coauthors = Bill Kauth |
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| title = [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/5225/surviving_frame.htm ''What Men Know That Women Don't: How to Love Women Without Losing Your Soul''] |
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| publisher = Virtualbookworm.com ; Zubaty Pub |
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| date = 2001 |
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| pages = 304 |
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| id = ISBN 1589390393}} |
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</ref> and Diamond<ref name="diamond">{{cite book |
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| last = Diamond |
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| first = Jed |
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| coauthors = Gail Sheehy |
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| title = Male Menopause |
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| publisher = Sourcebooks Inc |
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| date = 1997 |
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| pages = vii, xix, xxiv |
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| id = ISBN 1570711437}} |
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</ref> have compared Sterling Institute of Relationship to the [[Mankind Project]]'s "New Warriors" program. Rich Zubaty participated in both programs, and stated that: "they offer a rare chance to be 'reborn' as a man."<ref name="zubaty" /> He did not describe details of the course, however, stating: "Some things are better kept a mystery until you experience them."<ref name="zubaty" /> According to the ''San Jose Mercury News'', the Sterling Institute of Relationship has a "history of complaints" at the Oakland, California division of the [[Better Business Bureau]], and also at the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]].<ref name="volunteers" /> According to ''[[The New York Post]]'', many of Sterling's "adherents" work for [[Time Warner]] or one of its subsidiaries.<ref name="nypost" /> |
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Sterling did not orginally work with men, but the success of his program in helping powerful women transform their rleationships caused many of his graduates to clamor for a smnilar program for men, and thus in 1981, the Men's Weeekend was born. |
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According to [[Susan Faludi]]'s ''[[Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women]]'', the "Men, Sex and Power" session is held over the course of a weekend, with a price of [[USD|USD$400]].<ref name="faludi">{{cite book |
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| last = Faludi |
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| first = Susan |
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| authorlink = |
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| title = [[Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women]] |
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| publisher = Crown |
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| date = 1991 |
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| pages = 307 |
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| id = ISBN 0517576988}}</ref> The purpose of this course is to teach "wimps" to become "real men".<ref name="faludi" /><ref name="faludi1991>{{cite news |
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| last = Faludi |
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| first = Susan |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = Hey, Mom, Get off My Cloud |
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| work = San Jose Mercury News |
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| date = [[October 20]], [[1991]] |
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| accessdate = }}</ref> As of 2007, the price for the weekend was [[USD|USD$800]].<ref name="yafa">{{cite news |
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| last = Yafa |
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| first = Stephen |
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| title = Neanderthals in Love: He-man love guru Justin Sterling advises his rabid following that a little less sensitivity and a lot more knuckle scraping make for real ladies' man |
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| work = Details Magazine |
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| date = December 1999 |
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</ref> The main seminar is referred to by participants simply as "the Weekend", and was described in ''Details Magazine'' as having a "cult like subculture", as well as exhibiting similar traits to "New Age quasi-spiritual movements".<ref name="yafa" /> ''Elle Magazine'' also reported that individuals have criticized some of Sterling's methods as abusive, and have used the term "cult-like" to describe some of the methodologies employed,<ref name="richards" /> as have other news sources.<ref name="smart">{{cite news |
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| last = Smart |
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| first = Paul |
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| title = The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part I) - A line in the dirt: Woodstock's Sterling society redefines |
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the modern man |
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| work = Woodstock Times |
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| date = [[August 15]], [[2002]] |
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</ref><ref name="smart3">{{cite news |
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| last = Smart |
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| first = Paul |
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| title = The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part III) - The psychology of cults and secret societies |
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| work = Woodstock Times |
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| date = [[August 15]], [[2002]] |
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| accessdate = }}</ref><ref name="bayarea">{{cite news |
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| last = Lubman |
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| first = Sarah |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = Bay Area Service Foundation's Mixed Legacy: Some Parents at South S.J. Elementary School Uneasy with Group's Rites, Ties |
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| work = San Jose Mercury News |
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| date = [[April 17]], [[1996]] |
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</ref> |
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The Men’s Weekend focused on the changing gender roles of the time and the resulting confusion that men experienced. The Men’s Weekend brought men back in touch with their abandoned legacy of honor, purpose, and commitment. Graduates gained new self-acceptance, increased their confidence and enthusiasm, and enjoyed much greater satisfaction and success both at home and in their careers. By the early days of the new millenium, over 25,000 men had attended the Sterling Men’s Weekend. |
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Participants in the three-day weekend course are sworn to secrecy, and cannot tell their spouses what goes on in the program.<ref name="richards">{{cite news |
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| last = Richards |
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Because both programs are higly experiential and oftentimes, very personal and privated experiences are shared in the weekends, participants in the three-day weekend course are required to sign very strict non-confidentiality agreements. This helps participants feel comfortable about sharing fully and openly, as they know their experiences stay private. |
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| first = Sarah Elizabeth |
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| coauthors = |
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The Sterling Institute has been involved in charitable giving since 1982. Through its work and the work of Sterling graduates dozens of community service projects aiding schools and other needy organizations have been accomplished. In 1985, Justin Sterling founded the Sterling Community Service Day Foundation in order to foster community service through volunteerism and action. The foundation is known today as the International Community Service Day Foundation. |
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| title = To Love and Obey? - A seductive idea floating around the relationship cosmos is that we’d all be better off if men were men, and girls were girls. Is this misogynist bunk or the key to happily ever after? |
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| work = [[Elle Magazine]] |
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| date = [[August 1]], [[2006]] |
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</ref> Participants must sign a standar waiver before beginning the weekend.<ref name="walls" />The waiver is presented to the participants upon registering for the weekend and paying the fees. During the course, Sterling was reported to use obscenities against the participants.<ref name="richards" /> Participants are taught that "..men are natural jerks and should learn to accept and embrace their jerkiness."<ref name="nypost" /> Participants are also taught that men are "slaves to their egos", and thus women are "100 percent responsible for the success of their relationships."<ref name="bayarea" /> The course itself runs for 17-hour stretches at a time, with two short breaks in-between, according to a reporter from ''Elle Magazine''.<ref name="richards" /> |
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Several former participants in the men's course have stated to the media that they participated in rituals where they stripped naked<ref name="volunteers" /><ref name="smart" /><ref name="smart2">{{cite news |
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| last = Smart |
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| first = Paul |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part II) - Cigars and cold consequences: Revelations of Sterling-shattered relationships |
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| work = Woodstock Times |
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| pages = |
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| date = [[August 15]], [[2002]] |
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| accessdate = }}<br>"After about two hours, we were led upstairs, again in single file, left hand to left shoulder," Bill M. says to me. "The door opened and I saw 188 naked men in war paint dancing crazily in manmade fog, their leader banging a ram-headed scepter rhythmically against the floor. Someone wordlessly indicated that we were to strip and enter the gauntlet line, which Sterling described as a rebirth canal, where everyone struck me as I passed beneath. One man in war paint jumped into the 'tunnel' and fiercely growled at me. For the first time in my life, I punched someone."</ref> and danced, all while being videotaped.<ref name="walls">{{cite news |
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| last = Walls |
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| first = Jeannette |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = Naked VIPs, on videotape: A new men's movement is taking the country by storm--and it has some past participants in a panic |
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| work = [[MSNBC]] |
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| pages = |
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| language = |
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| publisher = [[NBC]] |
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| date = [[December 20]], [[1999]] |
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| url = |
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| accessdate = }}</ref><ref name="nypost">{{cite news |
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| last = Staff |
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| first = |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = Filmland Jitters Over Jerky Video |
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| work = [[New York Post]] |
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| pages = Page 6. |
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| language = |
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| publisher = |
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| date = December 1999 |
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</ref> The nude ritual symbolizes a "rite of passage" from youth to maturity,<ref name="nypost" /><ref name="volunteers" /> and is a triumphant time of male bonding.<ref name="walls" /> The weekend course typically ends in a "graduation ceremony", where the participants congratulate each other.<ref name="richards" /> |
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<br><br> |
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== A. Justin Sterling == |
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A. Justin Sterling had previously taken courses with [[Erhard Seminars Training]], run by [[Werner Erhard]].<ref name="lubman">{{cite news |
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| last = Lubman |
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| first = Sarah |
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| coauthors = |
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| title = Sterling's philosophy didn't save his marriage |
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| work = San Jose Mercury News |
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| pages = |
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| language = |
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| publisher = |
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| date = [[September 15]], [[1996]] |
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| url = |
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| accessdate = }}</ref> He founded Sterling Institute Inc. in 1981, which is a privately held company that [[Doing business as|does business as]] "Sterling Institute of Relationship".<ref name="lubman" /> According to records from the [[State of California]], Sterling himself is not licensed as a [[psychologist]] or marriage and family counselor, though these licenses are not required in order to hold "educational seminars".<ref name="lubman" /> |
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==References== |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references /> |
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</div> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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== External links == |
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*[http://www.rickross.com/groups/sterling.html Archived news articles], compiled by [[Rick Ross (consultant)]] |
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Revision as of 18:37, 6 May 2008
| Company type | For-profit, private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Self-help, personal development |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | A. Justin Sterling (formerly Arthur Kasarjian) |
| Headquarters | Oakland, California |
Key people | A. Justin Sterling, Staff, Volunteers |
| Owner | A. Justin Sterling |
| Website | Corporate Web site |
Justin Sterling founded the Sterling Institute in 1979 in Oakland, California. For over 20 years the Sterling Institute has been dedicated to transforming the quality of people’s relationships. Justin’s visionary philosophy, now widely accepted, was considered radical in 1979. He sought to define the fundamental differences between men and women, and to find solutions to common relationship and career problems by embracing and honoring these differences.
At that time, Justin’s ideas were in direct conflict with the popular feminist viewpoint that men and women were exactly the same. He believed that fundamental differences exist between men and women. For this, he was labeled a heretic and a chauvinist. He has also been attacked by the controversial "anti-cult" entrepreneur, Rick Ross.
Even though today there is almost universal acknowledgement that differences between men and women exist, Justin has not been able to completely shed the labels of the past. A close examination of Justin's philosophy will reveal his great respect and admiration for women. Justin has always been a champion of equal opportunity and equal rewards for women.
Originally, Sterling's career began in working with high-powered women business executives, who were having success in their careers, but were expetriencing diffculties in their personal relationships. This work led him to devlop the Women's Weekend. These women had just penetrated the upper levels of management, a new phenomenon in the late '70s and early 80’s. Sterling taught women to trust their female instincts and bring them to the workplace instead of subjugating them and adopting male models of behavior. The confidence and self-acceptance that Women’s Weekend graduates enjoyed were contagious and the Women’s Weekend became an overnight success. Today, over 20,000 women have done the Women's Weekend.
Sterling did not orginally work with men, but the success of his program in helping powerful women transform their rleationships caused many of his graduates to clamor for a smnilar program for men, and thus in 1981, the Men's Weeekend was born.
The Men’s Weekend focused on the changing gender roles of the time and the resulting confusion that men experienced. The Men’s Weekend brought men back in touch with their abandoned legacy of honor, purpose, and commitment. Graduates gained new self-acceptance, increased their confidence and enthusiasm, and enjoyed much greater satisfaction and success both at home and in their careers. By the early days of the new millenium, over 25,000 men had attended the Sterling Men’s Weekend.
Because both programs are higly experiential and oftentimes, very personal and privated experiences are shared in the weekends, participants in the three-day weekend course are required to sign very strict non-confidentiality agreements. This helps participants feel comfortable about sharing fully and openly, as they know their experiences stay private.
The Sterling Institute has been involved in charitable giving since 1982. Through its work and the work of Sterling graduates dozens of community service projects aiding schools and other needy organizations have been accomplished. In 1985, Justin Sterling founded the Sterling Community Service Day Foundation in order to foster community service through volunteerism and action. The foundation is known today as the International Community Service Day Foundation.