FAQs

What is A Call to Men?
A Call to Men educates men and boys all over the world on healthy, respectful manhood. Embracing and promoting a healthy, respectful manhood prevents all forms of gender-based violence. A Call to Men is a violence prevention organization and respected leader on issues of manhood, male socialization and its intersection with violence, and preventing violence against all women, girls, and those at the margins of the margins. For more information, visit www.acalltomen.org. Follow A Call to Men on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin @acalltomen.

What is the mission of A Call to Men?
A Call to Men works to promote a healthy and respectful manhood and shift attitudes and behaviors that devalue women, girls, and those at the margins of the margins.

What is the vision of A Call to Men?
A Call to Men works to create a world where all men and boys are loving and respectful and all women, girls, and those at the margins of the margins are valued and safe.

What does A Call to Men mean by “all” women and girls?
A Call to Men intentionally looks to those “at the margins of the margins” to articulate their own lived experience and help define solutions that will be effective in their lives. When we center our attention and efforts on those “at the margins of the margins” who are experiencing multiple forms of oppression, it’s our belief that all will benefit. This philosophy holds true for any anti-oppression work, whether it be sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, or ageism.

Why is it important to talk about healthy manhood?
Research by the World Health Organization shows that men and boys who adhere to rigid, traditional notions of gender roles and masculinity are more likely to report having used violence against a partner. In 2019, the American Psychological Association released first-ever guidelines for addressing toxic masculinity. The guidelines were based on more than 40 years of research showing that traditional masculinity is psychologically harmful and that socializing boys to suppress their emotions causes damage that echoes both inwardly and outwardly.

What are the principles of a healthy, respectful manhood?
The principles of healthy, respectful manhood include:
1. Embracing and expressing a full range of emotion.
2. Not conforming to the pressure to always be fearless and in control.
3. Valuing a woman’s life, treating all people equally, and promoting the betterment of humanity.
4. Not using language that denigrates women and girls.
5. Developing an interest in the experience of women and girls, outside of sexual conquest.
6. Modeling a healthy, respectful manhood to other men and boys.

What are the benefits of healthy, respectful manhood for men?
Embracing and promoting a healthy, respectful manhood prevents all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination. Healthy, respectful manhood is also linked to improved physical health and emotional well-being for men. When boys are told not to cry or feel, there are lasting negative effects on their health and relationships.

Research by the Harvard School of Public Health found that those who suppress their emotions are one-third more likely to die prematurely than people who regularly express what they are feeling. Issue of rage, anxiety, depression, and unhealthy coping mechanisms can manifest. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the suicide rate is four times higher in men than in women.

What is the Man Box?
A Call to Men coined the term the Man Box to illustrate the collective socialization of men. The Man Box identifies the limitations on what a man is supposed to be and what he believes. These expectations are taught to men — sometimes unconsciously — and reinforced by society. In the Man Box, men are supposed to be powerful and dominating, fearless and in control, strong and emotionless, and successful. In the Man Box, women are objects, the property of men, and have less value than men. The teachings of the Man Box allow gender-based violence to persist.

How does the Man Box affect LGBQ, trans, and nonbinary people?
The Man Box perpetuates a heterosexist norm that devalues all those who don’t conform to a gender binary. LGBQ, Trans, and nonbinary people demonstrate great courage when they reject the rules of the Man Box and embrace their authentic selves.

How does A Call to Men approach its work?
A Call to Men offers an invitation to men, not an indictment of manhood. We let men and boys know that their ideas about manhood, women, and girls have been shaped by their collective socialization. The messages that the media and culture bombard us with tell us that women are objects, property, and have less value than men. Our job is to raise men’s and boys’ consciousness about their collective socialization so that they can think critically about how they might be reinforcing or passing on these harmful beliefs and so they can challenge those beliefs in other men.

Where does A Call to Men work?
A Call to Men works from the barbershop to the boardroom. We have training for middle and high schools, colleges and universities, athletic programs, professional sports leagues, the military, corporations, and grassroots, community-based organizations.

What is the history behind A Call to Men?
Founders Tony Porter and Ted Bunch wanted to raise awareness of what men who do not batter or sexually assault women have in common with those who do. They recognized that in our society, men are socialized to devalue women, treat women as objects, and as the property of men. While offending individuals must be held accountable for their abusive and violent behavior, the majority of men have the power to address the larger social ill.

How does A Call to Men affect change?
Violence prevention is the primary outcome of A Call to Men’s work. A Call to Men is internationally recognized for training and educating men to embrace and promote a healthy, respectful manhood. The organization’s approach is grounded in the social ecological model, advocated by the Centers for Disease Control, as a framework for primary prevention of gender-based violence, and supports the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Goal 5: Gender Equality). A Call to Men has 20+ years of experience working with and training men and boys, including the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Hockey League, the United States Military, the Department of Justice, the United Nations, corporations, organizations, and educational institutions across the United States and abroad.