insideMAN

Why are some young men drawn to terrorism?

by 3 Comments

By David Plummer, Griffith University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

Recent coverage of counterterrorism raids in Australia featured hard-core gyms, anabolic steroids, nightclub bouncers, gangs and weapons. Footage from the Middle East regularly depicts truckloads of young bearded warriors bristling with ordnance.

Is this a view of masculinity that merely happens to be violent? Or does masculinity actively underwrite and sustain extremist movements?

The paradox is that while the world sees extremism as dangerously anti-social, the men themselves appear to see it as a profound social duty.

They exhibit dogmatic conformity to group social norms, they see an opportunity for masculine notoriety and to have a risky “boy’s own” adventure. Above all, they see it as the ultimate demonstration of manhood.

Understanding how this occurs should be a top priority – especially how young boys go down the path of terror – because this understanding ultimately paves the way for interventions, de-escalation and peace.

From quiet kid, to terrorist warrior

A number of alternative explanations exist for the prominence of hypermasculine imagery in reports of terrorism. The imagery may well reflect Western media biases and serve the propaganda purposes of Western governments. That is to say, the reports largely speak to Western cultural viewpoints and political agendas.

While this may well be the case, there is clearly much more to the story. It is also possible that hypermasculinity is a side-effect of the posturing of war. But this merely reinforces the view that masculinity is indeed a potent force at work here.

In addition to obvious hypermasculine imagery, three other features strike a chord with my own research:

  • First is the youth of the recruits, including many teenagers
  • Second is the transformation from quiet kid into terrorist warrior – think “lone wolf”
  • Third is the way that young men identify with a cause and affiliate with extremist groups

These features – young male, group identification, transformation into warrior – have much in common with, and should draw our attention to, the more familiar rites of passage that mark the transition from childhood to manhood.

The Boy Scouts is one way many Western countries have imparted masculine ideals to boys. Freeparking/Flickr, CC BY

The transition from boyhood to manhood is a crucial time in boys’ lives. Becoming a man is the ultimate social endorsement and personal accomplishment.

Most boys apply themselves to the task without question. In part, this is because the change seems so normal and because they rightly sense that failure is associated with some of the deepest social taboos of all.

Most cultures, including those in the West, have limited tolerance for members who “deviate” from accepted gender norms. For all intents and purposes becoming a man is compulsory.

Initiation to manhood invariably involves confronting fear

For most, becoming a man seems natural, probably because it appears to stem from the biological changes of puberty. But there are actually many pathways to manhood and many possible outcomes. The natural “feel” is deceptive.

There is plenty of research that shows that masculinity is highly variable and above all is a social achievement, which is largely independent of biology.

Different societies define manhood very differently: they define what a “real man” is, set the standards that boys ought to aspire to, and orchestrate the transition to manhood through a variety of mechanisms.

Indeed, becoming a man is potentially so variable that anthropologist David Gilmore reminds us that:

Boys have to be encouraged, sometimes actually forced, by social sanctions to undertake efforts toward a culturally defined manhood, which by themselves they might not do.

Traditional societies seem to have addressed the uncertainties in the transition to manhood by developing initiation rituals to guide young men through. These rituals typically entail some form of risky challenge, which boys use to prove their manhood and to earn the right to be called a man.

The boys always underwent initiation under the guidance of older mentors and in the company of their peers. The rituals served to make the transition orderly, meaningful and invested it with shared social purpose.

Boys teaching boys

Modern-day social change has witnessed a decline in all but the most basic rites of passage. Yet becoming a man is as important as always, and the transition to manhood remains very challenging.

This raises the question: how do boys navigate the transition now? I argue that many boys now invent their own rites of passage.

Research in the West Indies showed that social change has led to a loss of older mentors from boys’ lives due to long working hours and commuting times, fewer men in teaching, suspicion about men in youth clubs, changing family structures and so on.

These shifts have left a power vacuum that is vulnerable to exploitation. Boys are spending more time in the sole company of their peers: on street corners, in shopping malls and in their cars.

Instead of growing up with the role models and standards of older, more experienced men, most of their role modelling comes from peer groups. In the absence of alternatives, these groups resort to raw physical masculinity as the yardstick for what masculinity should look like, how boys should behave and who should dominate.

Terrorism as a passage to manhood

They also develop their own rituals to admit members, some of which are extreme, anti-social and high-risk. It is a willingness to take risks that is considered the hallmark of a “real man”.

So how does this relate to terror? Hypermasculine imagery is prominent in the media. Terror recruits are young, group-affiliated and primed to take risks. They are supposedly disaffected and therefore susceptible to mentoring by like-minded peers and older men, whose motives differ from those of their parents and community.

There are key similarities with classic rites of passage and key parallels with my own work on masculinity elsewhere. The social pressures and events around the transition to manhood are especially susceptible to exploitation.

It is difficult not to conclude that masculinity is a key force that underwrites and sustains extremism. In terrorism, we are witnessing a very specific configuration of the passage to manhood.

David Plummer does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

Read the original article.

Photo: Flickr/DVIDSHUB

If you liked this article and want to read more, follow us on Twitter @insideMANmag and Facebook

Also on insideMAN:

The myth that men think about sex every seven seconds

by Leave a Comment

By Victor Minichiello, University of New England and Mitra Rashidian, University of New England. The article was originally published in The Conversation

Each time you turn on the television after 10pm, eavesdrop on a group of men at your local pub, or drive past a billboard, you’re likely to encounter some stereotypes about masculinity and men’s sexuality.

We’re told that men’s minds are so immersed in thoughts of sex that it can become a full-time preoccupation. Think of James Bond’s sexual exploits, Cola Cola’s “bigger is better” campaign, and the folklore that men think about sex every seven seconds (which would amount to more than 8,000 thoughts about sex a day).

Let’s focus, first, on one setting where there are ample opportunities for sexual interactions and discussions about sex: university. According to a recent study from Ohio State University, young men think about sex 19 times per day. They also have other regular, needs-based thoughts about eating and sleeping.

‘One sexual thought, or less, a month’

In contrast, the Kinsey Report, which examined the sexual behaviour of men aged under 60 years, found 54% think about sex every day or several times a day, 43% think about sex a few times a week or a few times a month, and 4% reported just one sexual thought, or less, a month.

Another study, from 1990, found 16- to 17-year-olds think about sex every five minutes. By age 40 to 49, this drops to a sexual thought every half an hour, and it keeps reducing with age.

There’s certainly no consensus among researchers about the frequency of men’s sexual thoughts. And little is known about the nature of these thoughts.

So, do men think about sex more often than women?

‘More explicit’

A handful of researchers argue there are no significant differences between the frequency of men’s and women’s erotic thoughts outside of sex. But most studies show that men think about sex more often than their female partners. This is used to support the statement that men have more powerful sex drives than women.

Studies have suggested testosterone contributes to men’s frequent preoccupation with sexual thoughts. In other words, because men have a higher level of testosterone than women, they have more frequent sexual fantasies and a stronger desire for sex.

Men’s sexual fantasies tend to be more explicit than women’s. And interestingly, men are more likely to fantasise during masturbation (86% of the time) compared with women (69% of the time).

This difference has been attributed to men having greater opportunities – culturally and biologically – to experience sexual fantasies.

Why men think about sex

A multitude of factors could contribute to some men’s preoccupation with sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviour. A 2009 study by Reid and Carpenter, for example, found that factors such as emotional distress, discouragement, poor self-esteem, difficulties coping with stress, and self-doubt were associated with hyper-sexuality.

Psychologist Michael Bader suggests that sexual fantasies, and resulting sexual arousal, have more to do with unconscious problem solving [NSFW] than most of us realise.

But men’s preoccupation with sexual thoughts cannot be fully understood without considering the effects social media and constant internet access.

Young men are increasingly using Facebook to share pictures and stories about their sexual conquests. And the prospect of 24/7 access to pornography via mobile phones and laptops may prompt compulsive behaviour and excessive sexual thoughts.

More sex

There are other myths about the sexual character of men: they should aspire to be virile, “well-endowed” studs and always ready for sex. But most men are not “well-endowed”: the average penis size is not nine inches but, rather, between five and seven inches.

As for being ever-ready for sex, as men age, they have sex less frequently and, some may even need medication to help with erectile function.

So the question we need to ask is who benefits from the perpetuation of these myths? Perhaps Coca Cola or the sex industry. But certainly not men.

Victor Minichiello receives funding from Australian Research Council for his research on sexuality.

Mitra Rashidian does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Photo: zigazou76

If you liked this article and want to read more, follow us on Twitter @insideMANmag and Facebook

Yoga helps war veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

by Leave a Comment

By Flora Lisica, this article originally appeared in The Conversation

It’s no secret that yoga can aid mental well-being. What is more, it can help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to new research.

Some of the most damaging consequences of seeing combat can happen in the mind. Of the 2.3m American veterans who returned from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, up to 20% go on to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point. In a report published by the US Department of Veterans Affairs at least 22 American veterans take their lives every day.

The effects of PTSD can include intrusive memories, heightened anxiety and personality changes. Individuals can also experience hyper-arousal, where they are easily startled, feel “jumpy” and constantly on guard. Standard current treatment for PTSD generally involves prescriptions for antidepressants and psychotherapy, with mixed results.

In a new study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, researchers say that yoga can be used to bring better mental balance.

Yoga has previously been shown as valuable in reducing the stress of university students, and depression, anxiety, alcoholism and PTSD in tsunami survivors, as well as helping cancer patients. The charity Yoga for America runs programmes for serving soldiers and war veterans.

Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, senior lecturer in psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, said the benefits of yoga included moving people away from negative thoughts.

The beneficial effects are due to the increased ability to focus on breathing that, firstly, focuses a person on a present moment and breaks rumination on negative traumatic thoughts, and secondly, increases ability of ‘intraception’ – observing and understanding internal states and the ability to control them, or understanding them as temporal and passing.

But the new study is the first of its kind to provide scientific support for the benefits of yoga’s breathing techniques for PTSD patients in a randomised and controlled (though small) long-term study which monitored effects of yoga over the course of the year.

The study focused on the effects of sudarshan kriya yoga, a practice of breathing-based meditation which has a balancing effect on the autonomic nervous system.


Camp Adder soldiers hit the mats in Iraq.
The National Guard/flickr

Twenty-one male veterans who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, diagnosed with PTSD, were included in the study: 11 undertook a seven-day programme involving daily three-hour sessions of sudarshan kriya, including meditation, stretching and group discussion, while ten others didn’t take part were used as a control group.

The soldiers’ PTSD symptoms were assessed one week before the beginning of the programme and then a week, a month and a year after its completion. Seven of the 11 involved in the active group continued practising yoga after completing the programme.

The study found that the group who had done yoga demonstrated fewer or less intense PTSD symptoms in comparison. Those who took part in the yoga sessions showed lower anxiety and lower respiration rates. They performed better in tests measuring eye-blink and breathing frequency in response to stimuli such as noise bursts, which are used to measure hyper-arousal and how an well individuals are regulating emotions. The researchers also found that the sessions helped with intrusive memories: patients reported re-experiencing trauma during the exercises, but felt that the impact of the memories was reduced.

“The authors describe their results as ‘promising’ and I think this is what they are,” said Golec de Zavala, who is also a qualified yoga teacher. She emphasised, however, that like many other studies examining the benefits of yoga, this study is limited by the small study groups on which their results are based. “More studies are needed and such studies would be highly valuable regarding low costs of this form of treatment and the initial evidence suggesting its effectiveness,” she added.

Richard Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the UW-Madison and one of the authors of the study, said he hoped that that the study could be extended to more participants with wider demographic representation. If still promising, then doctors could prescribe yoga as treatment for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in the future.

A clinician could use a ‘tool box’ of psychological assessments to determine the cognitive and emotional style of the patient, and thereby determine a treatment that would be most effective for that individual. Right now, a large fraction of individuals who are given any one type of therapy are not improving on that therapy. The only way we can improve that is if we determine which kinds of people will benefit most from different types of treatments.

And one of those tools could be yoga.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Feature imaged: Army Medicine/Flickr

If you liked this article and want to read more, follow us on Twitter @insideMANmag and Facebook

Also on insideMAN:

Fighting for fatherhood, the other glass ceiling

by 1 Comment

By Stephen S Holden, O.P. Jindal Global University. This article was originally published in The Conversation.

In July a video by Aaron Dickson, in which he takes his three-year old daughter on her “first date”, went viral attracting acclaim (which is great) and disgust (which is disappointing).

With more than 8 million hits, many have applauded this father’s simple desire to treat his “princess” to a special first date.

But a good number think the romantic build-up in the video that leads to Daddy taking his daughter on a date is more creepy than cute.

The fact that many have remarked that the video is “creepy” and “doesn’t seem right”, indicates – to my mind – the kinds of challenges facing fatherhood. You can judge for yourself here:


Creepy or cute?

The face of fatherhood is changing for the better in terms of parenting equality between the sexes, but challenges remain. The tone of many of the negative responses to the video suggest we still see something suspicious when we see a man around children. Take the following instances:

  • Male child carers are treated differently, as the Aussie Childcare Network forum attests.
  • Australian journalist Tracy Spicer wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this year that she does not want her children flying unaccompanied to be seated next to a man.
  • A well-meaning campaign countering child sex abuse in the US, showing a man holding a child’s hand, appears to encourage people to report him if “it doesn’t feel right”.
  • US journalist Lenore Skenazy documented multiple examples of how men are treated as potential predators in her 2011 article Eek, A male! for the Wall Street Journal.

‘This is haywire’

The negative responses to the “daddy-daughter date” video seem to suggest suspicion extends even to a father and his own child. Network Seven’s Sunrise anchorman David Koch revealed today in response to the controversial video that, while coaching his daughter’s basketball team, he was told he could not comfort or touch any girl that fell over and hurt herself. As Kochie put it, this is “haywire”.

It appears the prejudice against men as capable of child-care is deeply embedded.

A book that I co-authored with Charles Areni, launched this week as a part of Sydney Ideas, covers some of the facets of what we term “the other glass ceiling”. The original glass ceiling metaphor first used in 1984 by magazine editor Gay Bryant highlighted the invisible challenges facing women in their climb up the corporate ladder.

The “other glass ceiling” highlights the invisible challenges facing men who want to be engaged fathers or simply care for children.

‘The second parent’

Fatherhood is regularly seen as a kind of second-place. Men who prioritise parenthood are still seen in some way as peculiar.

In our book, we develop the idea that fathers are often treated like “the second parent”, an echo of Simone de Beauvoir’s plaint that women are treated like “the second sex”.

A subtle part of the challenge for admitting fatherhood as equal to motherhood is that, at least in the beginning of a child’s life, the mother’s involvement with her child is physical and visceral. But it is an error, a mistake, to assume the father is necessarily less involved and treats his role any less seriously.

Part of the solution may be for fathers to “step up” to their role, to challenge the promulgated stereotype that dads are either absent or dead-beats.

Passion-fuelled prejudices

Mothers (and society at large) need to “let go”, to allow fathers to take on this priority, to be engaged in child-care.

For now, passion-fuelled prejudices remain. Negative sentiment has “gone over the line,” as Kochie put it. Plato had Socrates say:

[Y]our zeal is invaluable, if a right one; but if wrong, the greater the zeal the greater the evil. (Crito 46b)

In this respect, the argument is exactly the same as that which motivated the original glass ceiling metaphor in the 80s.

Much has changed, but until a father can proudly share his pride in his darling daughter without unfounded sexist remarks being given airtime, we know we have a long way to go.

Stephen S Holden wrote ‘The other glass ceiling: fathers stepping up, mothers letting go’ with co-author Charles S Areni.

Read the original article.

Photo: pasukaru76

If you liked this article and want to read more, follow us on Twitter @insideMANmag and Facebook

Also on insideMAN:

Saying “that’s so gay” doesn’t make young men homophobic

by 6 Comments

Is it homophobic to say “that’s so gay”? There are instances where it isn’t argues Mark McCormack from Durham University in an article orginally published at The Conversation.

The phrase “that’s so gay” has traditionally been understood as homophobic. Stonewall’s School Report argued this position, and it will be discussed in their upcoming Education Conference.

Stonewall argues that the phrase has a harmful effect on young lesbian, gay and bisexual people’s education and well-being. Yet the initial findings from my interviews with 40 gay youth from four universities suggests a more complex picture, with no clear agreement on what the phrase means or its effects.

Consider Joe, a 19-year-old gay student at an elite university. He said: “I think it breaks down barriers between the straight and gay community… I use it a lot.” Similarly, Neil, gay and aged 18, said: “I don’t find it derogatory in any way, probably because I say it as well.”

How are we to understand a phrase that older people find homophobic, but many younger people do not find offensive and even use themselves? We can only get to an answer by listening to the voices of young people and trying to understand their perspectives.

Context, meaning and understanding

My interest in the phrase “that’s so gay” developed when I researched straight male students at sixth form colleges. These young men had openly gay friends, supported gay rights and condemned homophobia. Yet several of them would also say “that’s so gay” when frustrated. Given that labelling these students homophobic would be ridiculous, it was vital to consider how they were using this language and the reasons why.

All of the men in my research insisted that they did not intend to be homophobic when they used the phrase. For them, gay had two distinct meanings which they were able to distinguish between – when it refers to sexual identity and when it refers, separately, to something being “rubbish”. Importantly, linguistic research supports their claims. Language has evolved and “gay” means something different to younger generations in particular contexts.

I argued that straight men’s use of phrases like “that’s so gay” could only be understood by three key factors: first, the intent with which it was said; second, the social context (homophobic or otherwise); and third, the effect it had. In other words, if there is no evidence of harm, it is difficult to argue that it is damaging.

When it comes to language use, context is all-important. “That’s so gay” can be homophobic if it is said with negative intent or within a homophobic environment. But when it is said in settings where sexual minorities are out, proud and socially included, and heterosexual men are friends with their openly gay peers, it takes on different meanings. In such a context it is not homophobic.

This argument was supported by the narratives of many of the 40 young gay people in a study I am undertaking with colleagues at Durham University. Most participants have argued that the context of the phrase determined their opinions of it: it was the manner in which it was said, along with their relationship to the speaker, which influenced how they heard the phrase.

‘I don’t like it, but I also say it’

In the debates about “that’s so gay”, it is important to recognise that gay youths also use the phrase. This was a recurring theme in the interviews, with Fred stating: “I say it all the time, it’s how you say you’re pissed off.” Others had more doubt, with Lee commenting: “I don’t like it, but I also say it.”

Only a minority of participants – less than a third – thought that the phrase was homophobic, and even fewer said that they never used it. Most of the young gay people in my study felt “that’s so gay” would only be homophobic if it was directed at a gay person, and with negative intent.

So there is no easy answer to whether “that’s so gay” is homophobic. It depends on the age of the people saying and hearing it, the intent with which it is said, and the context in which it is said. The meanings and effects of the phrase will also be different if it is aimed at a person or used as a more general expression of frustration.

There is also a clear generational difference, with younger people having markedly different understandings to older people.

Bigger battles

Homophobic hate crimes are classified as such if the victim believes it to be so. It follows that the opposite should also be true. If young gay people are saying that they do not experience the phrase “that’s so gay” as homophobic – and if they are even using the phrase themselves – then perhaps we should accept their arguments and concentrate on other battles.

It is vital that we combat homophobia in schools, and promote equality of sexuality. Stonewall has many resources that are helpful in combatting the privileging of heterosexuality. Straight people and sexual minorities must work together to achieve equality of sexuality.

But focusing on the phrase “that’s so gay” is not the way to achieve that goal. If we spent more time fighting for a holistic sex education in schools, and less time policing the meaning of contested words, our schools would be more inclusive spaces for all students.

Mark McCormack does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations. He is co-director of the Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities at Durham University, a member of the editorial board of the Journal for LGBT Youth and has worked with EACH (Education Actino Challenging Homophobia) co-writing guidelines on homophobic bullying for an English local authority.  

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Tell us what you think? Do you agree with Mark or do you think his line of reasoning is “a bit gay”? 

If you liked this article and want to read more, follow us on Twitter @insideMANmag and Facebook

Further reading:

—Photo credit: flickr/homoerectus

Should we allow gender politics to be taught in UK schools?

by 9 Comments

—Picture: Chatham House

Yvette Cooper rocked the gender political boat last week by saying we should raise our sons as “confident feminists” writes Glen Poole.

Chris Maume at the liberal left newspaper, The Independent ,agreed. He declared, as confidently as a boy feminist: “Should we be teaching boys to be feminist? [The] answer, naturally, is a resounding ‘Yes.’ And really, who could argue with that? Rod Liddle, possibly, but nobody in their right mind.”

Over at the conservative Spectator magazine, Lara Prendergast had a different view. “School shouldn’t be a place where you indoctrinate pupils to believe a particular ideology,” she said. “And feminism, for all its admirable achievements in the 20th century, is an ideology.”

These left vs right disagreements about gender politics are not unique to the UK. In France, a left-wing programme promoting the teaching of “gender theory” was dropped last month after a concerted campaign by right wingers and traditionalists led to parents removing their children from school.

The ABC of Equality 

On one side, advocates like Simon Massei, whose article “France gives way to opponents of ‘gender theory’ in schools” is published at insideMAN today, claim that the idea of the ABCD de l’égalité programme was simply to teach children that some differences between the sexes are biological, but others are socially constructed.

Meanwhile, opponents of the programme like the Catholic Group Civitas, claim that “an unnatural and perverse ideology” is being taught as early as pre-school “under the guise of equality and ‘the fight against homophobia’”.

Some of these arguments are redolent of the struggle over section 28 of the Conservative’s Local Government Act of 1988, which prohibited schools from teaching “the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.

Looking back at this period of recent history, the Conservative MP Francis Maude said in 2012 that “in hindsight, it was very wrong — very wrong. It was a legislative provision that came out of honourable motives. It took me some time to realise what an emblem of intolerance Section 28 had become for gay people. It was the tip of a deep iceberg — the iceberg below the surface being a host of anti-gay social attitudes.”

In the eighties and nineties leading conservatives were convinced they were right to ensure all children were NOT taught that homosexuality is an acceptable form of family relationship. Today, leading thinkers on the left are convinced that it right to ensure that boys are NOT raised to be anything other than feminists—and they believe “nobody in their right mind” could think any differently.

Not the usual suspects

But people do think differently—and not just the usual suspects on the right. In France one of the leading campaigners against the teaching of feminist gender theory in schools is, Farida Belghoul, a writer and filmmaker of Algerian descent who was the main spokesperson for the March for Equality and Against Racism.

In the UK, the former feminist and gender equality consultant, Karen Woodall dismissed Yvette Cooper’s calls for boys to be raised as feminists in no uncertain terms saying:

“The rights of boys are equal to those of girls and it is not for feminists to determine what makes a ‘good boy’ or a ‘good girl’ either for that matter.  Feminism is not synonymous with equality, much as the feminists would have us believe that it is so and it does not and cannot solve the problems of the world in which we are raising our children and grandchildren.”

Another opponent of Yvette Cooper’s proposal to teach boys to be feminists is the 17-year-old sociology and politics student and YouTube broadcaster, Josh O’Brien. In a video recorded for insideMAN he says:

“My issue is not that it is feminism that she wishes to be forced upon children, it is that she thinks it is the place of a school to indoctrinate any political belief.”

Let boys think for themselves

Josh’s suggestion that children should be given information for and against different beliefs and the critical thinking skills to form an opinion themselves, seems like an eminently sensible idea.

One project that’s already working with boys in schools on the issue of gender equality is the Great Men Value Women project. According to one of their male volunteers, Folarin Akinmade, “feminism is just about being a decent human being. It’s so much more simple than people make it.”

Is it really that simple? Experience suggests that the world of gender and gender politics is deeply and deliciously fascinating and complex. It’s complex because there are many different genders and gender identities and there are many different forms of gender politics.

No politician should seek to dictate what gender identity a British citizen can or can’t adopt and at the same time, no MP should seek to impose his or her own gender politics on every boy in the country. But why not teach boys about gender, gender issues and gender politics in school—from all perspectives, not just a feminist viewpoint—and let them make up their own minds what they want to believe?

Written by Glen Poole author of the book Equality For Men

What do you think? What types of gender issues and gender politics should we be teaching boys in schools?

If you liked this article and want to read more, follow us on Twitter @insideMANmag and Facebook

Further reading: