Thank you to Rick Cooper for your talk this week, 'What does it mean to be a man?' 

Kevin Rich, Head of Year 9, said: "The boys fed back how much they enjoyed your delivery and how it made them really think about their values. Thank you and looking forward to the next session." 

Rick said: “I had the pleasure to be invited by Kevin Rich to guest speak at Seaford College to a room full of 14 year old young men about the various parts of masculinity. 'Masculinity' has no definition. It is an independent process that us men have the power to define for OURSELVES. It is something that is formed largely from observation of the cultures we are part of, attitudes, behaviours and beliefs of the males in our environment are laying a path of how we grow up and show up. 
 
I loved sharing how great it is to be man. I'm extremely proud to be a man in this world AND how to trailblaze our own path of creating a definition of manliness for us as individuals. 
 
We don't have to buy into the phrase 'man up'. 

It's stronger to stand up and question those that make ill informed comments and ask 'define that for me?' 'What is your definition if that?' 'Why do you believe it?' We owe that to each other to change the landscape of up and coming young men and their emotional literacy. 
 
To create psychologically informed, confident men, who create safety for others, much of the evening was concentrated on breaking down stigmas around men not showing emotions, pushing down feelings and wearing masks, how that transcends to living with a numbness and a toxic anger that creates internal harm and often harm to others. 
 
The proof for this flourishing fruit will in years to come when these gentleman change the landscape of what being a man amongst men will powerfully resemble. What does it mean to be a man to you?” 
 
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