The 2-Minute Conversations That Can Help Teach Boys To Reject Misogyny

“We need to give boys the words and phrases they can use in pressured situations.”

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

Misogyny and violence against women have dominated headlines of late – from the reopening of the case of alleged gang rape of a female student at a New York university to the 14-year-old who stabbed a girl after she ended their relationship.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The reality is that, in the UK, a woman is killed by a man every three days, and violence against women and girls makes up almost 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales.

At the same time, we know misogynistic content is widespread online and growing, quietly shaping childhoods. Almost three-quarters of young male social media users report seeing misogynistic content, with around half encountering it every single week. Female teachers have even spoken of witnessing rising misogyny in class – in some cases, from primary school-age boys.

“Misogyny is everywhere, and our boys are encountering it much earlier than many parents realise, particularly through social media, gaming and the internet,” Joeli Brearley, founder of Growth Spurt and co-host of the To Be A Boy podcast, told HuffPost UK.

“What starts as a joke, a meme or a misogynistic influencer’s video can gradually normalise ideas about women and girls, and those ideas can have very real consequences.”

How early should we be having these conversations?

Earlier than you might think, according to experts. Lee Chambers, founder of gender equity consultancy Male Allies UK, said education can start as early as the toddler years.

Obviously, we’re not going to be talking to them about misogyny at the ripe old age of two, but we can talk about the importance of kindness, boundaries, bodily autonomy and listening to other children’s voices.

“As they get older, grow the conversation with them,” said Chambers. “Tie it to fairness and friendship, respect and stereotypes, consent and relationships.

“And with those foundations, you can explore things such........

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