Toxic Masculinity

A friend's 12 year old son was pressured by his schoolmates (who refer to girls in their year as "bitches") to "act like a man" and was dared to slap a girl on the a**. The boy, who thankfully knows right from wrong, said 'no' and told his parents while others in his year are taking part in this "challenge". There's a lot to unpack here, from peer pressure to se*ism and possibly even sexual harassment but it's also a good opportunity to talk about T0XIC MASCULINITY. Why? because while I've spoken a lot about how sexism is linked to violence against women and girls, THIS is the other side of the coin and is just as important to discuss. The term TM describes a culture that tells boys & men to "act like real men" with the intention of them being "tough" while they also need to supprEss their emotions that don't fit the "strong man" ideal. What lies under it is the expectation that men should seek and achieve dominance (often over women). TM is very damaging NOT JUST for girls. It's causes emotional issues, communication problems, meNtal health and su1c1dE, relationship and intimacy issues, domestic violance and even drug & alcohol addiction. In short, it's bad for everyone. The problem is that it's all around us and sometimes it's hard to see it. Sometimes we even do it ourselves without realising (how many of us have flippantly used the term "act like a man"?) so I am hoping this video will open people's eyes to be more aware of the phenomena. A lot of this content is on social media, Tik Tok in particular, so - parent to parent I am telling you - be aware. And as for my dear friend who raised a good human who was brave enough to ask for help, I would like to say this: you're doing a great job, hang in there. I know that reporting these types of things are not easy to talk about but we have to be hopeful that things will change for the better with education and awareness. Sending you love and strength, you are not alone #love