Man, I love TED. I have used many TED videos as the inspiration for blog posts here on Dad-O-Matic and on my personal blog on several occasions and given the depth and breadth of the content from TED and TEDx events, I suspect this won’t be the last.  This time TED has inspired a more manly post… or not.  As the father of a daughter and two sons, I have given much thought to the role model I must play for my children as it relates to their gender and I try to do my best to not let my firsthand familiarity with the male mindset influence me as the parent of a girl (well, young woman now…), especially as she has been the lone female in the house for a number of years.

The video below from TED WOMEN is a pretty raw talk by Tony Porter, co-founder of the nonpro?t A Call to Men: The National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women.  I had never heard of the concept of  “The Man Box” before, but I am certainly aware of some of it’s contents and I’d like to believe that my own views and behavior are very much outside of this box.  More importantly, I hope that the views, beliefs and behaviors I have instilled upon my two sons will mean that they will never go anywhere near the thinking that is inside this box…

Unfortunately, I have met men who appear to still live inside The Man Box.  I just hope they stay away from my daughter!

What do you think?

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Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 22, Ethan, 20 and Olivia, 19).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab and you can listen to Jeff on the Cast of Dads podcast.??