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Sunday, June 18, 2017

Protect Her


The first thing I think of when I hear the phrase "locker room talk" is a bunch of guys standing in towels in the locker room talking about girls in a negative sexual way. This image has mostly been constructed from the media, and how that has been shown in tv shows and movies.

Alexis talks about how guys are put on auto-pilot when it comes to talking about women in this way. It is so deeply embedded in them from the media and other sources. It becomes a part of their masculinity, and I do agree with her. Any opposition to this is a threat can be seen as a threat to their masculinity.

So, in this blog I am going to personally reflect on Alexis' Ted Talk. I said earlier what first comes to my mind when I hear the phrase "locker room talk". Even saying it in my head it sounds like a dirty word. There is a negative connotation attached to it even though if you separate the three words most people would not view each word negatively or bad. Honestly, I get angry when I talk about this topic with people, especially my experiences talking about it with men. I've experienced men using this term as like a safe haven for talking badly about women. Saying things like, "oh yeah well that's only locker room talk it doesn't mean anything". A lot of them try to devalue what is said in there to justify that what they are doing or saying is okay. But it's not. How do we talk to men about this? I really admire Alexis for the work she does, going into actual men's locker rooms and talking about this topic with them. It needs to be talked about, but on a larger scale. Alexis mentioned that emotional education is something we are not teaching our children in schools and I agree. I think this effects men and how they show emotion. Showing emotion can also be seen as a threat to their masculinity. This can go on to affect their relationships and friendships in the future. Locker room talk is taken so lightly, and people don't think of it as really harmful but it can be extremely harmful.

I wanted to mention this in class. Alexis Jones was on the special 13 Reasons Why: Beyond the Reasons. Check it out!


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