DX Technologies, Toxic Masculinity and Youth Work Responses
Having read this article in the Financial Times regarding the tired notion of toxic masculinity in gender identity debates online, there is a direct relevance to the important role modelling that youth workers undertake to promote inclusivity and celebrate diversity in their work that compliments the development of safe spaces for young people both in the real and virtual/DX worlds. The principle of co-creating a better world through terraforming with young people and exploring ideas and values to promote improved outward facing real world responses is worthy of open discussion.
It is equally important that the youth work practitioner is able and competent to engage in critical dialogues around world views that may not fit as well as we would like in a youth work environment. (the stuff that does not sit well with the contract that has been agreed). The value of learning from young people about how the variety of spaces in the real world and in a virtual sense influence identity, actions and reactions is a potential line of discussion with young people to inform our practice. Using this to determine the ways in which dialogue and challenge regarding who we wish to be and why we wish to be who we are is a contemporary idea for youth work to provide young people with a broader set of information upon which informed choices can be made.
Where did you learn it and how did you learn it? What are the benefits and what are the disadvantages?
The nature of toxic masculinity aligns to a set of societal expectations and norms around a manifesting traditional masculinity and traditional gender roles that can be harmful and/or restrictive for both young men themselves and others. Youth work is no stranger to working with aggression, dominance and emotional suppression and the potential of challenging outcomes such as violence, misogyny and homophobia.
There are many powerful influences in young people’s lives and the messaging and learning that is in place can be both subtle and obvious in equal measure, utilising the youth work environment as a landscape to develop emotional literacy and connecting experience to feelings is a valid way of encouraging emotionally intelligent interactions in the DX world. Working with ambiguous ‘facts’ relayed from powerful and influential sources and the influence and transmission of ideas from social media and online sources, I guess are principally an enhanced version of the ‘lads’ magazine’ that became a profile in the 90’s. Social media has become another ‘version’ of how these powerful social dynamic still have a currency although in a much more tailored way utilising algorithm to target DX identities that can emerge in the real world.
Youth workers in their interactions are perpetually terraforming the landscape with considerate values and safe spaces and increasing awareness of currently challenged notions of gender, identity, feminine/masculine tropes that are evident in the online spaces young people inhabit. Acknowledging that the existence of harmful online masculinities and engaging in dialogue around what is being said, learnt and valued, gives way to an appropriate challenge and opportunities in the depth of discussion regarding the true values of kindness, consideration and identities that have respect and value for their true selves.
The idea of youth work terraforming landscapes to encourage discussion with young people and placing ideas on a set of social justice scales to measure the weight and value of current ideas online to explore ideas with young people around more positive forms of masculinity that are emotionally secure, creates opportunity for expression, learning from others are still strong counter opportunities that we have in a range of different ways to encourage positive and meaningful long term outcomes that are beneficial and healthier. Fostering empathy and enabling opportunities for young people to discuss their experiences without criticism or being ostracised to validate their experiences in order to be given opportunity to share alternative views, utilising elegant challenge and positive framing regarding challenge of ideas rather than the person remain so important.
Examining with young people where particular views and behaviours exist in the real world and how these ideas are more than a binary ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and can be a range of perceived benefits and clear disadvantages in life situations when applied. Drawing the often personalised experience online into a safe social environment is a positive way of encouraging discussions and affecting change through dialogue.
How does your team work with toxic masculinity in your youth work, it would be good to hear about the strategies you have and how you work with the pressures upon young people through DX and online interactions?
Post on this thread to share your work with the field and contribute to this area of work.
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