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It’s clear, then, that to combat problems of gender-based violence, we must get at their roots in early childhood. We need to talk to adults—as parents, educators, mentors—about the clear links between gendered and sexual violence and the way kids’ genders are policed, both by adults and other children.
Read MoreHuman trafficking seems to never end. We catch one trafficker; there’s another one waiting. That’s why the human trafficking story does not really have the tidy, satisfying endings that it does in Hollywood. Instead, it’s a complex and multileveled conversation that lacks that finality that most people are looking for.
Read MoreAt Next Gen Men, we got our start in 2014, running after-school programs and reaching thousands of students across southern Ontario. But as more and people reached out for support, we saw a gap grow, between what was needed and what we could deliver. And the gap grew and grew. What could we do about it? So we decided to build a bridge.
Read MoreNGM Executive Director Jake Stika shares a reflection that was first sparked by the abduction & murder of Sarah Everard in the U.K., and which then took on extra weight with hateful deeds that took place earlier this week in a shooting spree in Atlanta.
Read MoreWhy are we there? How should men show up for this day? Should we be handed microphones or should we sit back and shut up? We hear these kinds of questions every year, and we ask them ourselves too.
This month’s NGM Circle was all about friendship! We looked at representations of gender and friendships in media, and how they’ve reinforced or subverted gendered tropes like childhood friends falling in love, the ‘friendzone,’ bromance, and more!
Read MoreTo redefine what it means to be a man—if you travelled back in time and asked us what our vision is at Next Gen Men, that’s what we would have said, not even all that many months ago. And if you’ve taken note more recently, we’ve basically stopped. Why?
Read MoreI can acknowledge the elements of life, love, identity and fatherhood that are still a mystery to me. To be honest, I have more questions than answers at this time, but I'm grateful that I have an extraordinary partner and a happy, healthy, and curious son who will teach us as much as we teach him.
Read MoreRemember that ‘raising awareness’ is a means to an end. We raise awareness so that we can act with awareness, and bring awareness to our work. The next time that another awareness day, or another tragedy, has mental health is in the headlines, skip past all the thought-pieces and amplify the voices that speak of action.
Read MoreNext Gen Men seems to mirror my same passion and desire for a future of mentally healthy boys and men, but through an intersectional, feminist perspective.
Read MoreWhile the internet trolls and truth tellers readied their ammo and picked their sides, I was left to wonder which was worse: setting aside the ugly facts of a real episode in this late man’s life, long enough to mourn it, or setting aside the man himself, despite the real-life regret, empathy and rebuilding that we saw from him, in word and deed.
Read MorePatriarchy harms men by disconnecting them from their emotions, and frames seeking support as weakness. It’s an endless pressure for men to conform to a narrow prescription of masculinity, to compete with one another, and to prove their manhood by surrendering their individuality and denying their humanity.
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