to be who we really are...

We live in a world that is sending very mixed messages of what it looks like to be a "man" and a "woman". All you have to do is look at the newest blockbuster "fifty shades of grey" to see how we are so far from the truth, and from a healthy and equal unity. Young people are growing up more confused, anxious, depressed and damaged than any other generation. Social media fuels the insecurities we have about ourselves that says we are not good enough, we're not attractive enough, skinny enough, happy enough and the unrealistic searching for that better "life". 

"What we look at matters! where we place our eyes and what we fill our minds with matters when in regards to joy, vitality, energy and life-force..." Matt Chandler 

These messages from Matt Chandler are so spot on and confronting, but incredibly important! Comparison is the thief of joy! I want better than the unrealistic, soul destroying rubbish that is stinking up our lives, and our ideals of who we truly are meant to be as "men" and "women"

Collective Shout​ challenges so much of this rubbish in our society. 

"Silence is the language of complicity, speaking out is the language of change."

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. 

together we are stronger

(image sourced from: Sevenly) 

My story is just an example of what one person can do, but together we are stronger, Collective Shout is only as strong as it’s supporters. 

We have too long been complicit in a culture that teaches boys that it is ok to be aggressive towards women, that they are pieces of meat, sexual service stations, and not whole human beings, but a commodity to be bought and sold. 

One day i might have a son, but even if i don’t i will be in contact with the sons of my friends, sons that belong to people in my community, sons that will grow up to be men. If i’m not paving a pathway and creating a community that is going to teach him how to unravel himself from his sexism, it’s going to be the porn and rape culture that will teach him and condition that sexism into a callous version of masculinity. We all have boys and men in our lives, we all are responsible and can be a voice of change. 

Young people are being ripped off! They are being sold a lie about sex, a lie about their sexuality, a lie about themselves and each other. The long-term consequences are so severe and life altering. The ultimate happiness, love, joy and satisfaction in your relationships now and in the future are at stake! 

If you continue with porn you continue to create a bigger and bigger void between yourself and your partner. Porn will erode the true beauty and intimacy in a relationship. PORN KILLS LOVE.

We are all responsible in the shaping of the world we live in. Silence is the language of complicity, speaking out is the language of change. SO BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. 

http://www.collectiveshout.org

let us then be the change we want to see in the world

we live in a porn saturated culture that is conditioning young boys into a callous version of masculinity, from a young age they are seeing women presented as a commodity, as an object to serve sexual desires and nothing else, this detaches women in their mind from being a human being. We see these ideas portrayed constantly in all forms of media and advertising, through the depiction of women in movies, television shows, video games, lyrics in songs, magazines etc... this is harming the healthy sexual development of boys and is also harming the image and identity that develops in girls. We as a society have the responsibility to protect children, and to do the best we can to create a better world for those who will follow after us. Porn doesn't just harm your own body, mind and soul. It also fuels and supports the sex industry, which is increasingly exploiting children. There is absolutely no need for an economy that has to be built on the exploitation of children. The issue of porn is no longer a "grown ups" topic, this is a child rights issue, this is child abuse and we must act on this!

new beginnings

let us then be lovers of life, step out in courage and take the risk

be the change.

phenomenally woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me. 

Maya Angelou

NEVER doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed! it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

we are the resistance...

Join me in acting personally and politically to resist a culture which, according to current global research, is making us all sick. 

Tomorrow i am incredibly privileged to speak in my first high school as a representative for Collective Shout, to encourage young women - and men-  to challenge sexism and violence in all its forms. I tested out me presentation for the first time last night to my housemate, her boyfriend, and her sister as well. 

I was overwhelmed this morning when i saw he had wrote this on Facebook:

It was within that moment that i realised how much people need to hear this message! The reactions i have had to it has created an urgency within me to get this message out there so more and more people can be positively impacted by it like Bob was. If you are in a highschool, church or community group that wants to hear about how to act personally and politically to resist and challenge a culture that is according to global research making young men and women sick. You can email me at talitha@collectiveshout.org to request a booking.

Together we can all make a change. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other day. We are the ones we have been waiting for.