TUCSON, Ariz. — Partnering with the University of Arizona and Emerge!, Boys to Men Tucson will be hosting a virtual event, called Masculinity Forum 2020, to help create better alternatives for our local teen boys.
“We've really been looking for a number of years at how we can intervene during critical adolescent years to create some alternatives and to impact these issues, you know, they're related to gender based violence, sexual violence, public violence, but also just emotional health and mental health crises, issues of substance abuse, um, that a lot of research shows are tied into how we raise boys,” said executive director, Michael Brasher.
Brasher said this forum is the product of years of work and partnership, taking deep dives into issues and trying to come up with solutions.
“There are really big pressing crises and public life. Public violence, like the way that issues of toxic masculinity and white supremacy feel like insurmountable sometimes. Um, and I think that through this forum, that's focused on the boys and Tucson specifically, we're inviting such a range of community members,” said Brasher.
It is for community partners, groups and parents who are invested in the question of how do we raise boys and masculine identified youth in a way that promotes their well-being.
“Frederick Douglas said that it's easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men. And I just want to call folks attention to if we're thoughtful and mindful as a community doing prevention work around gender and the way we're raising boys, we do this work now while they're young and, and downstream, we have a lot less crises that are really pressing,” said Brasher.
The e-conference will be on Oct. 25, 26 and 28.
