The Sterling Institute of Relationship is a for-profit corporation and counseling business run by A. Justin Sterling (formerly Arthur "Artie" Kasarjian[1]) since 1979.[2] Focusing on heterosexual relationships through intensive, multi-hour trainings, male and female participants attend separate trainings. The company is based in Oakland, California.
| Company type | For-profit, private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Self-help, personal development |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | A. Justin Sterling (formerly Arthur "Artie" Kasarjian) |
| Headquarters | Oakland, California |
Key people | A. Justin Sterling, Staff, Volunteers |
| Owner | A. Justin Sterling |
| Website | Corporate Web site |
A. Justin Sterling is also founder and president of "International Community Service Day Foundation", also located in California.[3]
Coursework
MSNBC reported that The Sterling Institute has been described as "John [sic] Bly meets Est".[4] The evolution from Erhard Seminars Training has also been brought up in other media pieces.[1][5] Rich Zubaty[6] and Diamond[7] 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."[6] He did not describe details of the course, however, stating: "Some things are better kept a mystery until you experience them."[6] 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.[3] According to The New York Post, many of Sterling's "adherents" work for Time Warner or one of its subsidiaries.[8]
According to 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$400.[9] The purpose of this course is to teach "wimps" to become "real men".[9][10] As of 1999, the price for the weekend was USD$600.[11] 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".[11] 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,[12] as have other news sources.[5][13][2]
Participants in the three-day weekend course are sworn to secrecy, and cannot tell their spouses what goes on in the program.[12] Participants also must sign agreements stating that they will not hold Sterling accountable for anything that happens to them during the coursework.[4] During the course, Sterling was reported to use obscenities against the participants.[12] Participants are taught that "..men are natural jerks and should learn to accept and embrace their jerkiness."[8] Participants are also taught that men are "slaves to their egos", and thus women are "100 percent responsible for the success of their relationships."[2] The course itself runs for 17-hour stretches at a time, with two short breaks in-between, according to a reporter from Elle Magazine.[12]
Several former participants in the men's course have stated to the media that they participated in rituals where they stripped naked[3][5][14] and danced, all while being videotaped.[4][8] The nude ritual is meant to symbolize a "rite of passage" from youth to maturity,[8][3] and is supposed to be a cathartic time of male bonding.[4] The weekend course typically ends in a "graduation ceremony", where the participants congratulate each other.[12]
A. Justin Sterling
A. Justin Sterling had previously taken courses with Erhard Seminars Training, run by Werner Erhard.[1] He founded Sterling Institute Inc. in 1981, which is a privately held company that does business as "Sterling Institute of Relationship".[1] 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".[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Lubman, Sarah (September 15, 1996). "Sterling's philosophy didn't save his marriage". San Jose Mercury News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Lubman, Sarah (April 17, 1996). "Bay Area Service Foundation's Mixed Legacy: Some Parents at South S.J. Elementary School Uneasy with Group's Rites, Ties". San Jose Mercury News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Lubman, Sarah (September 15, 1996). "Volunteers Bring Schools More Than They Bargained For: Oakland-Based Charity Pushes its Founder's Views on the Sexes". San Jose Mercury News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Walls, Jeannette (December 20, 1999). "Naked VIPs, on videotape: A new men's movement is taking the country by storm--and it has some past participants in a panic". MSNBC. NBC.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Smart, Paul (August 15, 2002). "The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part I) - A line in the dirt: Woodstock's Sterling society redefines
the modern man". Woodstock Times.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); line feed character in|title=at position 111 (help) - ^ a b c Zubaty, Rich (2001). What Men Know That Women Don't: How to Love Women Without Losing Your Soul. Virtualbookworm.com ; Zubaty Pub. p. 304. ISBN 1589390393.
{{cite book}}: External link in|title=|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Diamond, Jed (1997). Male Menopause. Sourcebooks Inc. pp. vii, xix, xxiv. ISBN 1570711437.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Staff (December 1999). "Filmland Jitters Over Jerky Video". New York Post. pp. Page 6.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Faludi, Susan (1991). Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. Crown. p. 307. ISBN 0517576988.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Faludi, Susan (October 20, 1991). "Hey, Mom, Get off My Cloud". San Jose Mercury News.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Yafa, Stephen (December 1999). "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". Details Magazine.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e Richards, Sarah Elizabeth (August 1, 2006). "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?". Elle Magazine.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Smart, Paul (August 15, 2002). "The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part III) - The psychology of cults and secret societies". Woodstock Times.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Smart, Paul (August 15, 2002). "The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part II) - Cigars and cold consequences: Revelations of Sterling-shattered relationships". Woodstock Times.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
"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."
External links
- Archived news articles, compiled by Rick Ross (consultant)