Schools, Sexism, and Boy Violence

Schools, Sexism and Violence:

"...boys are socialized from a very young age to be tough, in control and aggressive"

This website is about a men's group based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, doing something to save boys from the worst of many negative cultural messages about "men," and manhood. This Men For Change group is volunteering in schools with a curriculum titled: Healthy Relationships: A Violence-Prevention Curriculum for grades 7, 8 and 9. They are going after the core messages we teach boys about being tough, in control, and aggressive to get their needs met. This work is nicely summed up in their intention statement...

"We need to all work together and challenge the deeply ingrained illusion that we are all locked into a rigid stereotype, tough and aggressive for boys, passive and beauty-bound, for girls. Then and only then will we be helping teach our students, and ourselves, not the law of the jungle where only the strongest survive, but rather the choices needed to build healthy relationships based on cooperation and trust in which everyone is thrives."

These men are some of my heros!