Boys won t be boys. Boys will be what we teach them to be. , Ben Hurst, TEDx London Women

Boys will be boys, right Ben Hurst rejects this commonlyused phrase as a getoutofjail free card for boys, men and toxic masculinities. Instead, he states, boys will be what we teach them to be. Citing Tonys Porters TED talk, A Call to Men, Ben references the workshops he conducts with boys and young men to illustrate the pressure the patriarchy places on men to repress their feelings and embrace hypersexualisation and violence. Ben believes that we need to challenge our assumptions around toxic forms of masculinity by encouraging conversation, providing space for men to express emotion, refusing to accept minimum standards of behaviour and building positive masculinities. Bens work focuses on challenging traditionally toxic forms of masculinity, and exploring ideas of minimum standards and positive masculinities. He is the Head of Facilitation and Training at The Good Lad Initiative (GLI) and coordinates their workshops in schools and universities. Ben also works with Fearless Futures, an AntiOp