Introducing NGM Library
© Next Gen Men 2020
By Jonathon Reed
The first book on masculinity I read was William Pollack’s Real Boys midway through my Bachelor of Education. It was in a dimly lit corner of the library, on a shelf alongside a handful of outdated books that conflated boys’ well-being and gender essentialism. I wanted to learn about boyhood, and what I got next was Leonard Sax’s pseudoscience on the hardwired differences between girls and boys. Thankfully, I kept reading.
Next Gen Men’s ongoing research on boyhood masculinities was part of the origins of Learnings & Unlearnings, a series that I author. I have a shelf in my office dedicated to books on boys, and my colleagues and I have a shared Google Drive folder of dozens of reports and studies on things like mental health, relationships and violence.
These collections form part of our breadth of knowledge on masculinities. We’ve decided to turn them into NGM Library: a public-facing resource for researchers, educators and parents who are seeking to learn and unlearn about masculinity from an anti-patriarchal standpoint.
Reading matters. The books I started reading in university gave me the language and perspective to interpret boys’ behaviour with empathy rather than disconnection. New research about boys and men continues to inform our work at Next Gen Men every day.
We hope that the NGM Library proves to be a valuable resource for engaging and empowering boys and men. If I were you, I’d bookmark it.
Click here to view NGM Library.
ICYMI This Week
Raising boys to be healthy men (VicHealth)
Active Minds x Lonely (Active Minds)
How to Help Kids Open Up About Anything (The New York Times)
Written by Next Gen Men Program Manager Jonathon Reed as part of Learnings & Unlearnings, a weekly newsletter reflecting on our experiences working with boys and young men. Subscribe to get Learnings & Unlearnings delivered to your email inbox.