Healthy Manhood

Healthy, respectful manhood means valuing and respecting women, girls, and LGBQ, Trans, and nonbinary people — and respecting and valuing oneself by striving to live authentically. 

The practice of healthy manhood is the path out of the Man Box, and it is essential to preventing violence and pursuing equity in our society. A Call to Men coined the term the Man Box to illustrate the collective socialization of men. In the Man Box, men are expected to be strong, successful, powerful, dominating, fearless, in control, and emotionless. In the Man Box, women are viewed as objects, as the property of men, and as having less value than men. The teachings of the Man Box allow violence against women, girls, and those at the margins of the margins to persist. The Man Box perpetuates a heterosexist norm that devalues all those who don’t conform to a gender binary. 

By breaking out of the Man Box, male-identified people become healthier and help to build and sustain more equitable communities.

Ways to get Help

“If we can give each other permission to die, we can give each other permission to live.”

William Giles and Tui Scanlan - “Into the Dark”
Performing for Hawai'i during semifinals at the 2014 National Poetry Slam