Jeff Pearlman: “You’re a former football player who is an outspoken critic of gender roles. I
Jeff Pearlman: “You’re a former football player who is an outspoken critic of gender roles. I can’t believe I just wrote that, so I’ll say it again: You’re a former football player who is an outspoken critic of gender roles. As a father who does all the laundry and dishes and has changed more diapers than a guy can count, my hat’s off to you. That said—how the f%$ did this happen?”Don McPherson: "A major reason why I went to Northeastern University to work at the Center for the Study of Sport in Society was because of the founder, Richard Lapchick. Rich is a white man who has dedicated his life to “racism in sports.” That was “my issue” as a black quarterback. One of the programs I was hired to oversee was a gender violence prevention program. I learned two very profound lessons from the program. First, that my life had been more profoundly impacted by my gender than by my race (given all I’ve said to this point, you can imagine how that was a powerful lesson). Second, and more important, is how the socialization of boys regarding masculinity is often at the expense of women. I came to realize that we don’t raise boys to be men, we raise them not to be women (or gay men). We teach boys that girls and women are “less than” and that leads to violence by some and silence by many. It’s important for men to stand up to not only stop men’s violence against women but, to teach young men a broader definition of masculinity that includes being empathetic, loving and non-violent.“- Donald McPherson, former NFL Quarterback, entrepreneur and feministRead the full interview here. Donald McPherson’s official web site. | Photo source. -- source link
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