Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Suw Charman-Anderson's avatar

So, my day job is literally to campaign for gender equality in science, technology engineering, and maths. I am absolutely steeped in feminism. And one of the things that has become so very, very clear to me over the years is that if we are ever to make any progress towards gender equality, we need to see similar campaigns for boys and men that help them shuck off the trappings of patriarchy and learn how to become a happy, healthy human beings.

In the UK (and I suspect the US too), one of the demographics least likely to go to university is white, working class boys, so when we talk as a society about widening participation in education, we really ought to be thinking about how we can reach these kids and convince them that another future is possible. We need to widen boy's ideas of what careers are open to them. We desperately need more male primary school teachers, for example, because we need small boys to see healthy male role models from a young age. We need more male carers, nurses, etc. We desperately need more men going into veterinary science and becoming GPs (both are female dominated with 80% of vet undergrads being women for eg, which causes significant problems in the industry). We need boys to realise that they can do anything that they want to and get past this idea that some jobs are for men and some for women.

We need to deal with men's mental health, and especially men's loneliness – the Men's Sheds movement seems to be doing well on that front, for example. And we need to be thinking about how we forge a better, healthier ideal for what it is to be a man, one that doesn't rely on toxic, historic tropes about big muscles and never crying, but which allows me to be who they are, whether that's a lumberjack or Harry Styles.

But most of all, we need to recognise that men and women are on this planet together, and we need to learn how to support one another to be who we are and achieve all that we want to achieve. And more than ever, we need more men to stand up and start these campaigns, and to work towards dismantling the patriarchy and empowering boys and men to widen their understanding of what a man can be.

Expand full comment
Graham Lee's avatar

Another addition to the 'ffs, another one?' list for me.

I was never a Brand fan, didn't like him much, never met him - but his picture is on my 'family photo collage wall' because he's a friend of a dear friend of mine; they're hugging in front of a big hotel in Vegas, all show-bizzy & quite charming in & of itself.

The reason for the 'another' is…

Another close friend used to be friends with Rolf Harris - taught him to play the didgeridoo, decades ago.

My auntie was Jimmy Saville's secretary back in the 60's, and I worked for 10 years with his niece [80s], through whom I also met his sister [though never Saville himself].

None of these people were even vaguely aware of what would come out in the wash, many years later.

This all affects not only the direct victims, but also all their unwitting family, friends and associates, who suddenly have to mind-check if there was anything they should have spotted that would have brought this to the fore sooner.

Expand full comment
48 more comments...

No posts