This past week, we witnessed another prominent male media figure in the U.S meet his professional demise at the hand of his own behavior. As we were waking up to the headlines across the globe, it got me thinking a lot about a few things. Perception versus reality and the curtain that seems to be coming down around behaviors that were previously protected under the umbrella of the “good ole’ boy” regime.
Those days are clearly over as women are finding both their strength and their voice, collectively saying, “enough is enough.”
But, the other thing it got me thinking about was my son. My father, my brothers, my uncles. Male colleagues and friends who have been both supportive and encouraging through the years, all working as equals.
While I am beyond proud of the amazing women who have stepped forward to lead this dialogue, I want to equally bring attention to the fact that there are good men who walk beside us, who support us, and who also believe that “enough is enough.” Men who refuse to allow their daughters to fall under the same regime of bad behavior that perhaps their wives and sisters have. Good men who are also looking to find their voice as they stand next to the strong and amazing women in their life – in unity and as equals.
Equality is something I talk with my kids about a lot. And over the weekend, I found myself explaining to my son that as he becomes a man, it will be even more important for him to encourage and support the women in his life, as his equal. He is only 6 so a lot of this went over his head. I did my best to describe it in a way he could understand and simply said that for a very long time there have been people who have treated women poorly and that sadly, it was usually men leading the bad behavior. A history lesson on the oppression of women on a Sunday drive back from the beach.
Something my closest friends and I talk about a lot is what it means to be a man on the backdrop of the current conversation. And while the headlines have prompted those discussions to happen more frequently, it has also brought up discussions about what it means for women. As a mom to both a young boy and a young girl, it is crucial to ensure the dialogue doesn’t become about tearing one down to build the other up. It is more about understanding that we are all equal and need to do our part to support one another. That when men behave badly it is up to all of us to hold them accountable and the same can be said for women.
True equality, gender neutrality.
I know plenty of men who have fallen victim to these behaviors as well, particularly with some of our friends in the gay community. I find it much more important to create meaningful dialogue that is about right versus wrong, as opposed to man versus woman.
Something that has resonated both in my professional life and in my personal life is the phrase, “When you focus on the problem, you have a problem. When you focus on the solution, the problem goes away.”
What we are seeing, the fall of prominent men who have behaved poorly, is just the beginning – our turn from the problem, towards the solution. Women finding our voice is only part of the solution. The problem is more complex than that, so the solution also needs to be. Good men, wondering how they can come alongside the women in their life to help, need to be invited to be part of the solution as well.
I am thrilled to see the awakening that is happening in women across the globe, particularly post-election. The blatant mistreatment of and vulgar behavior towards women was particularly troubling for me, all played out on the backdrop of politics. It was a talking point in nearly every discussion I had with my children about right from wrong.
But now that we find ourselves here in this moment, what can we do to bridge the gap and help bring the men who want to be part of the discussion and part of the solution to our table? How can we work together to remind the world that good men exist, men who also want to hold bad behavior accountable?
For me, it is about working together to be part of the solution and reminding our children daily to do the same, that they are equal.
Sometimes the lessons we teach our children are exactly what we need to be reminded of as adults.
This week, I want to challenge all of us to look towards the good people in our lives and open important dialogues about how we can all come together – gender aside – leading conversations from a place of humanity first. Allowing both men and women to feel heard and to be part of the solution.
Cheers to a new week and building bridges, not walls!
My husband and I had a similar conversation. Our 11 year old son was in the car with us as we were discussing the topic of #metoo. I was trying to explain to my husband how most all woman have been in very uncomfortable, inappropriate situations with men on multiple occasions. I was trying to tell him how common it really is. My husband became very upset. I told him whether he wants to see it or not, there are a lot of men out there that disrespect woman on many different levels. He explained to me that it wasn’t that he was surprised, but wanted me (and our son who was present) to know that I shouldn’t think that this is typical male behavior. I tried to explain to him that unfortunately it happens far too often to not think that way about it. He made it very clear to me and our son that men are very aware of what they are doing when they do this and that it should never be cateogorized as “typical” male behavior. My point is, it starts young. We need to do our job in teaching our sons. I have thought so much about how I am going to continue to teach my son about relationships with women. I feel as a mother to a son it is one of the very most important things I do for him. This article, along with my husbands conversation in the car, gave me clarity in telling him about the “good” men.