Sterling Institute of Relationship
Encyclopedia
The Sterling Institute of Relationship is a for-profit corporation and counseling business run by A. Justin Sterling (formerly Arthur "Artie" Kasarjian) since 1979. Focusing on heterosexual relationships through intensive, multi-hour trainings, male and female participants attend separate trainings. The company is based in Oakland, California
.
A. Justin Sterling is also founder and president of "International Community Service Day Foundation", also located in California.
reported that The Sterling Institute has been described as "John [sic] Bly
meets Est
". The evolution from Erhard Seminars Training
has also been noted in other media pieces. Rich Zubaty and Jed Diamond 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." He did not describe details of the course, however, stating: "Some things are better kept a mystery until you experience them." 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
. According to The New York Post, many of Sterling's "adherents" work for Time Warner
or one of its subsidiaries.
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$400. As of 2007, the price for the weekend was USD$800. 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". 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, as have other news sources.
Participants must sign a standard waiver before beginning the weekend. The waiver is presented to the participants upon registering for the weekend and paying the fees. The entire course is filmed. During the course, Sterling was reported to use obscenities against the participants. Participants are taught that "... men are natural jerks and should learn to accept and embrace their jerkiness." Participants are also taught that men are "slaves to their egos", and thus women are "100 percent responsible for the success of their relationships." The course itself runs for 17-hour stretches at a time, with two short breaks in-between, according to a reporter from Elle Magazine.
. The nude ritual symbolizes a "rite of passage" from youth to maturity, and is a triumphant time of male bonding. The weekend course typically ends in a "graduation ceremony", where the participants congratulate each other.
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
A. Justin Sterling is also founder and president of "International Community Service Day Foundation", also located in California.
Coursework
MSNBCMSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
reported that The Sterling Institute has been described as "John [sic] Bly
Robert Bly
Robert Bly is an American poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement.-Life:Bly was born in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, to Jacob and Alice Bly, who were of Norwegian ancestry. Following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving...
meets Est
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
". The evolution from Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
has also been noted in other media pieces. Rich Zubaty and Jed Diamond have compared Sterling Institute of Relationship to the Mankind Project
Mankind Project
ManKind Project is a non-profit, educational organization, with the stated purpose to "support men in leading meaningful lives of integrity, accountability, responsibility, and emotional intelligence."...
's "New Warriors" program. Rich Zubaty participated in both programs, and stated that: "they offer a rare chance to be 'reborn' as a man." He did not describe details of the course, however, stating: "Some things are better kept a mystery until you experience them." 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
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
, and also at the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. According to The New York Post, many of Sterling's "adherents" work for Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
or one of its subsidiaries.
According to Susan Faludi
Susan Faludi
Susan C. Faludi is an American feminist, journalist and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991, for a report on the leveraged buyout of Safeway Stores, Inc., a report that the Pulitzer Prize committee thought showed the "human costs of high finance".-Biographical...
's Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women is the title of a 1991 nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize winner Susan Faludi, which argues for the existence of a media driven "backlash" against the feminist advances of the 1970s...
, the "Men, Sex and Power" session is held over the course of a weekend, with a price of USD$400. As of 2007, the price for the weekend was USD$800. 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". 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, as have other news sources.
Participants must sign a standard waiver before beginning the weekend. The waiver is presented to the participants upon registering for the weekend and paying the fees. The entire course is filmed. During the course, Sterling was reported to use obscenities against the participants. Participants are taught that "... men are natural jerks and should learn to accept and embrace their jerkiness." Participants are also taught that men are "slaves to their egos", and thus women are "100 percent responsible for the success of their relationships." The course itself runs for 17-hour stretches at a time, with two short breaks in-between, according to a reporter from Elle Magazine.
. The nude ritual symbolizes a "rite of passage" from youth to maturity, and is a triumphant time of male bonding. The weekend course typically ends in a "graduation ceremony", where the participants congratulate each other.