Talking with boys about consent is not enough

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.direstraightspod.com One of the popular sentiments that has been going around in response to the Cornell 7 case is, essentially: “Stop teaching girls how to protect themselves. Teach boys not to rape.” Now, in this episode, we want to take a serious look at this suggestion—because we agree. The onus is put on girls to “stay safe out there.” Not nearly enough is done to teach boys to be safe to be around. So, how *can* you talk with boys about consent, sexual assault, and rape? How can you raise a boy who will not sit by quietly in the group chat—saying nothing, doing nothing—as his friends text each other about “free pussy”? And where, exactly, are the straight dads in this conversation—and have they reckoned with the link between rape culture and the everyday inequities of hetero marriage? In this episode we talk about: \* What it means to put feminist thinking into action at home as so-called “boy moms” \* A recent interaction that led one of our kids to announce: “This makes me not want to tell you *anything*” \* The pressure put on mothers to fix patriarchy \* Teaching boys that it’s better to be an outsider than to find belonging in cruelty \* Whether fraternities should exist at all??? \* Why fathers need to be having these conversations with their sons, not just moms \* How the bar for dads is underground \* “Healthy masculinity” versus healthy humanity \* How the prosaic discontents that we see in hetero relationships—and which we talk about *all the time* on this podcast—are all part of the indoctrination of boys into rape culture. **This episode is an exclusive for paid subscribers, who make this podcast possible. Upgrade now at** direstraightspod.com **to listen to the full episode and you’ll also get access to all past paywalled episodes, including conversations on** dating apps**,** couples therapy**,** the feminist blame game**,** the antifeminist conspiracy to make women need men**,** our wildly popular episode on marital sexual labor**, and many more—as well as every episode to come this season.** **By upgrading today, you’ll be keeping independent feminist media alive in a time of feminist backlash and total media collapse.**