"our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friday, May 22, 2015

the young man's fight

(image: pinterest)

The battle is very real for young men these days. The fight for purity is one that appears to have no reprieve. Everywhere a boy turns he is assaulted with a version of masculinity that is far from what it was designed to be. With little to no good role models in sight, it often appears the battle is all but lost when it comes to learning about a healthy sexuality, respect and view of women. 

This week i was privileged enough to be in conversation with some young men who daily suit up in their armour and go into battle against the force of the porn saturated culture they live in. 

Young men are desperate for something more than the version of masculinity they are being conditioned into. Our culture is raising fighters that are harming women, instead of protecting them. Young men who fight for their sexual right to any woman they want rather than young men who fight for the heart, trust and respect of just the one. 

We are all responsible for the environment in which young people are growing up in. We can all play our role in the protection of the sexual health of young people. 
We must continue to keep the conversation going, help young people feel as though they have a safe space to come into to discuss all of the challenges they are facing. Be prepared with tools to help. There are many great organisations out there, they do the hard work for you. All you need to do is research a little, find out what young people are fighting against, and join their battle, get alongside them and help them through this. These young people are the ones who are going to grow up and take over after we are all gone, what kind of world do we want to leave them with. 


SOME STATS:

1 in 3 Ten year olds have seen porn online


32% of teen boys and 18% of girls have seen bestiality online


40% of 11-14 year olds have sent or received naked pictures of themselves or friends


The average age of first exposure to hardcore porn is 11



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