You may already know about the online community termed the “Manosphere”.
White Ribbon’s campaigns “Algorithm Sickness” and “My Friend, Max Hate” expose how these toxic personalities prey on young men’s insecurities—fuelling hatred and violence when they’re most vulnerable.
A Call to End Gender-Based Violence
In 1989, the horrific tragedy at Montréal’s École Polytechnique claimed the lives of 14 women and sparked a national reckoning on male violence against women. In response, a group of men in Toronto launched the White Ribbon Campaign in 1991, pledging to end gender-based violence and promote equality.
What started as a symbol of allyship has grown into a global movement fostering healthy masculinities through education, empathy, and accountability, empowering men and boys to be champions of change.
It’s been more than a year coming, but our transition planning is finally complete!
MERGE for Equality has a new home!!
We are very proud to announce that White Ribbon, a long established organization working to engage men and boys in gender equality across Canada and the globe, has agreed to take and operate the MERGE for Equality, Developing Healthy Boys Training program. We are all very excited for the possibilities.
What this means for our training program
Developing Healthy Boys is close to the heart of the White Ribbon organization, having already developed programs and materials for supporting boys’ development (see raisingboys.ca).
This transition will grow the audience for the Developing Healthy Boys Training. White Ribbon is a founding member of the International MenEngage Alliance [LINK], and regularly supports male allyship activities across the world.
While it will take a few months to transfer our resources, very little else will change for our US audience. White Ribbon is committed to delivering the training program in the US as we always have. If you are interested, please contact us.
In the coming months, you will hear more from White Ribbon, and be given the opportunity to learn more and to receive their news.
MERGE operates with two levels of trainers, Senior and Associate Trainers. Most programs are conducted with two trainers presenting the materials, one Senior Trainer and One Associate Trainer. MERGE for Equality offers Developing Healthy Boys Training for Early Childhood Educators, and we seek to add new Associate Trainers to our team.
In a new poll, girls say they feel empowered, except when it comes to being judged on how they look. Boys still feel they have to be strong, athletic and stoic. Claire Cain Miller examines how gender rules affect boys and girls in this NY Times article.
Many Ways to Be a Girl, but One Way to Be a Boy: The New Gender Rules
In raising boys, we must help them – and the men they become – understand that girls and women do not exist in order to tend to the emotional and sexual needs of boys and men, and that such misguiding thinking contributes to domestic and sexual violence. Collectively, we must also call out media reports that normalize harmful gender norms, including when such reports absurdly place blame for school shootings on girls who say “No” to the unwanted sexual advances of boys.
What Parents of Boys Should Bear in Mind About the ‘Spurned’ Texas School Shooter
Always the week before Father’s Day, you don’t want to miss the 4th Annual Summit: **Raising Emotionally and Socially Connected Boys: Exploring Intersections of Gender, Race and Trauma** https://www.mergeforequality.org/annual-summit/
