It isn’t just ‘boys will be boys’ — ending a culture of fear is on us, men
It’s on us, guys! If you still don’t “get” that women have been living in fear for their safety, have been gaslighted by a paternalistic society into accepting blame and feeling shame for our bullying behavior, and have been subject to disrespect, discrimination and abuse for centuries, then your willful ignorance has progressed to pigheadedness.
You can say you were conditioned by the way you were raised, by a media that objectifies and deconstructs women into body parts, that it’s biology or that “boys will be boys,” or you can grow up. Helen Reddy said it best: “That ain’t no way to treat a lady, no way to treat your baby, your woman, your friend.”
Steve Felten, Paso Robles
This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 7:30 AM with the headline "It isn’t just ‘boys will be boys’ — ending a culture of fear is on us, men."