Parents of sons with ‘red pill’ beliefs need to avoid making common mistake, psychotherapist warns
A physiologist has issued a strong warning to parents with sons who have 'red pill' beliefs to avoid this common mistake.
The influence of manosphere content on young boys is a worrying trend, often fuelled by controversial content creators.
The manospehere is essentially a name for a group of online communities that share strict and often aggressive ideas about masculinity and being a man.
As explained by the Canadian government website, the red pill notion "tends to create a dangerous animosity towards women, often encouraging manipulative tactics and violent behaviours. The ideology reduces women to objects men have to win over by asserting their dominance and using control."
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"The red pill ideology encourages men and boys to hide vulnerability. Instead of true self-worth, boys chase external approval and harmful standards," it adds.
Zara Kadir, a family psychotherapist, recently spoke to Newsweek about how parents can protect their sons from following 'red pill' beliefs.
"You need to indulge your children's thoughts and curiosities even if you think that they are ridiculous," she told the outet.
"If you shut down a conversation before it's even begun, then you will send them further away."
Using an everyday example to explain her point, Kadir continued to Newsweek: "It's the same as when your 10-year-old asks you if they can have a phone.
"You might know the answer will be no, but that doesn't mean you should simply say no and close the conversation down.
"Instead, I suggest asking questions like, 'why would you want a phone?' 'What would you do with it?' The end of the conversation may be the same, but you've left your child with the underlying thought that they can always ask you questions and you would always hear them out."
The expert states that while it may be tempting to confront your son's beliefs head on, that's actually not the best idea.
She added: "Get curious. Try, 'that's interesting, where did you hear that?' and then, 'do you think all women want that?' You're not agreeing with him, you're helping him examine the claim rather than simply replacing somebody else's opinion with yours.'"
Kadir concluded: "If your son is starting to say things he's heard about women, your first instinct might be to correct him, but the problem is, if he feels dismissed or embarrassed, he may stop talking to you, and then, the person online who tells him, 'your parents won't understand this but I'll tell you how the world really works,' suddenly becomes much more appealing."
Topics: Life
Callum Jones