A Call to Men’s #DareToLove Challenge
One of my favorite dares in our new book — The Book of Dares — is “dare to say I love you.” As boys and men, we’re taught to say these three words to only a few people — pretty much only our immediate family. Most boys and men don’t ever say ‘I love you’ words to other boys and men who aren’t in their family (and often they don’t even say it to their own parents or siblings). The teachings of the Man Box tell us men to keep our feelings to ourselves.
Well, I’m writing to dare you to say “I love you” right this minute to someone you’ve never said it to, or someone who you haven’t said it to in too long. Men, I’m daring you to say it to another man or a few men. And I’m daring you to say it publicly, on social media. Here’s my #DareToLove Challenge to you:
- Post a video to social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc – saying “I love you” to one or more people in your life and use the hashtag #DareToLove in the caption.
- Dare the folks to whom you said “I love you” to make a video of their own and keep the love going.
- Tag @acalltomen to be featured on our pages.
Here are a few snippets from the entries folks have been sharing:
I know this might be a tough ask for many of you – we men have been socialized not to care too much and not to show or share our emotions. But it’s a muscle we all need to get used to flexing to show up for one another and advocate for healthy manhood in our lives and in our communities. And it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was easy.
Need some more inspiration? Watch the video I made or browse the incredible outpouring of love shared by our A Call to Men community.
It only takes a minute, and I know we could stand to spread a little love right now, don’t you think? Come on – I dare you.
With Love,
Ted Bunch