A Talk About ‘Locker Room Talk’

I had a conversation today with my 15-year-old son about “locker room talk.”

I wanted to make sure he understands what constitutes appropriate behavior for a man. A real man. A man who respects women, who views them as equals, who sees them as human first and female second. I had to do this in the wake of Donald Trump’s most recent misogyny, his bragging about forcing himself on women, about touching them without consent. After years of Trump’s misogyny.

Months ago, I had a conversation with my 15-year-old son about how a man behaves when he sees a woman who has had too much to drink. How she is not an object. How he helps her find a friend, or get to a safe place. How he brings in medical or public safety personnel so there are no misunderstandings about what happened. How he always does the right thing first. I had to do this in the wake of the Brock Turner rape sentencing scandal.

I feel like my husband and I have done it right, raising this boy to respect and honor women, to respect and honor all people. But I feel like those who do right, who are good, are under siege these days, and I just wanted to touch base with him and make sure we were still all on the same page.

At this moment in time in our culture, in our society, in our history, a little reminder and a little conversation isn’t a bad thing. It’s a good thing. It’s important.