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Let’s Explore Healthy Masculinity

The Earthquakes have assembled an impressive identity as a kickass team – ‘The Brothers’ that steps far beyond the toxic boundaries of masculinity that I grew up with.

So many feminist books focus on expanding the boundaries and constrictions of toxic femininity. Few progressive authors are willing to rely on anything but a tokenized girl of color kicking ass and juggling lab equipment to explore gender futures.

Even as the Earthquakes explore gender outside masculinity, I want them to have a firm handle on what it means to be a boy, or a man, or anything leaning in the constellation of masculinity, in a healthy society.

Read:

• Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest (Series), ages 5-9
• Cannonball (ages 4-9)
• Max and the Talent Show (ages 5-8)

Watch
Only Luminary Brain Trust members get access to our full analysis of problematic tropes and celebratory favorites from the #FamilyMovieNight series. The rest of you can still enjoy the movies though.

• Ferdinand is a sweet, pacifist hunk
• Toxic masculinity in The Good Dinosaur
• Why did no one warn us that Diary of a Wimpy Kid is trash?
• Celebrating father figures & masculine heroes in Onward
• Healthy masculinity never gets old in the Sword in the Stone
• Supportive dudebro relationships in Luca
• We stan Daniel Radcliffe forever, but Harry is an entitled little shit: Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone
• We had a childhood crush on the wrong furry this whole time in Robin Hood

More resources to dig deeper:

• Kids Books Modeling Healthy Masculinity
• Raising Sons Who Value Care Work: Healthy Masculinity in Kids Books
• All My Sons Deserve Respect! Complex Black Boys In Kidlit
• Raising Tomorrow’s Fathers – Children’s Books With Feminist Dads
• 6 Mistakes We Make Raising Sons
• Kids Activities Celebrating Christian Robinson via Cerebellum