Campaign launched in effort to change how boys think about manliness

Several organizations believe that young people have a completely incorrect idea of how a man should behave. To counter that perception, they are starting a new campaign. The kickoff takes place on Friday at the FC Breukelen clubhouse, where actor and rap musician Pjotr will take part as the campaign’s public face.

The initiative seeks to push back against the messages young people encounter online, including those spread by influencers like Andrew Tate. Rutgers, one of the groups behind the campaign, says that Tate and others repeatedly promote the idea that “real men should dominate their partners and hide their emotions.”

Another concern for the organizers is the culture at some football clubs, where youths “are labeled gay if they fail to perform.”

Hearing such comments repeatedly builds a kind of group pressure in which boys feel they cannot show vulnerability and must constantly prove themselves, “Even when that conflicts with their own feelings, leading to negative consequences for them and for others.”

What begins as minor comments can escalate into serious issues and, in the long run, contribute to “loneliness, heavy drinking or drug use, and depression.”

The initiative focuses mainly on rural youth, where, according to organizations, “the pressure to belong is particularly intense,” and where there are fewer visible examples of men who break away from traditional stereotypes.

The campaign includes a film that will be shared on social media. Educators and youth workers are given tools to facilitate conversations with young people about masculinity and peer pressure. Additional resources and information will also be accessible on the youth platform seggsy.nl.

Named “Small !@#%? Turn Into Big !@#%? Problems,” the campaign is a joint effort by Rutgers and Atria, the LGBTQ+ organization COC, the National Youth Council, Femmes for Freedom, Colored Qollective, and the Rural Youth Foundation.