Why do we do it?
Masculinity is beginning to be reimagined...
And rightly too! We're all being encouraged to explore how traditional ideas of masculinity can be harmful, and what the alternative might look like and its benefits.
However, many young people don’t have the space to fully understand why this is needed.
They struggle to have real conversations on finding alternative ways to be men and boys.
Conversations on masculinity are often a list of problems rather than solutions.
As a result, many boys feel:
lost and confused,
like being a boy is wrong or "toxic",
defensive and disengaged.
What do schools we work with tell us they need help with? - Boys not feeling heard, seen or understood, and disenfranchised from conversations about positive masculinity and gender equality. - Misogynistic attitudes and behaviours towards teachers and peers. - Traditional ideas about gender that promote gender inequality (e.g. that women should serve as domestic caregivers) - Unhealthy behaviours in relationships. - Bullying, aggression, pack mentalities, and violence in their boys. - Students adhering to harmful social media influencers attitudes and behaviours. - A need for positive, nuanced and balanced conversations about masculinity. - A need for a positive model of masculinity for young people to aspire to. - Teachers feeling out of their depth when discussing masculinity, misogyny and gender equality with male students.
How does Voicebox help? We provide a balanced middle ground to help young people understand why traditional masculinity can be harmful to everybody, what the alternative is, and then help young people embody this alternative. We take a positive approach by focusing on the solution (healthy masculinity), and creating open spaces for young people to explore the difficulties in being a young boy today, what healthy masculinity might look like for them, and how it will help them live happier, healthier, more fulfilled and connected lives. We engage young people in a balanced, nuanced conversation about the healthy and harmful aspects of masculinity. Healthy Masculinity empowers men and boys to be happy, healthy and connected individuals, and benefits themselves, their relationships and those they have relationships with, and their communities as a whole.
Our story
The idea for Voicebox emerged from lectures on gender stereotypes, feminism, and masculinity, whilst us four directors were studying Drama, Applied Theatre and Education at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
We bonded over discussions on how masculinity had not been challenged in the same way that traditional ideas of femininity had been challenged since the advent of first wave feminism. We all realised that these traditional ideas of what a man should be, not only harmed women and the LGBTQ+ community, but men themselves.
Voicebox was born in 2018 at a uni house party, when Jack approached Andy and John with his idea for a company that challenged harmful male gender stereotypes. Soon Fredi was involved, and Voicebox’s leadership team was made. We realised our training in applied theatre and facilitation, combined with our knowledge of masculinity (three out of four directors wrote their dissertation on Masculinity, later followed by two post-grad level dissertations), put us in a position to take action on this.
5 years later (including a steep learning curve of four “drama boys” learning how to run an organisation, countless workshop plans, thousands of participants and hundreds of organisations), we're excited now more than ever to be helping the young people we work with redefine masculinity on their own terms.
