dr. gerald walton and gianluca agostinelli co-authors of new book

dr. gerald walton (professor, faculty of education) and gianluca agostinelli (phd candidate, joint phd in educational studies program) have recently published a new book, being boys: shaping gender norms to weaken rape culture.

the publisher, dio press incorporated, notes that the book advocates for “the disruption of usual ideas about masculinity and how it shows in the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours of boys and men. these ideas are disseminated and validated through pop culture, schooling, athletics, social media, family, places of worship, playgrounds, pornography, and other sites of learning. with sharp, feminist-informed analyses of contemporary events and news stories, walton and agostinelli present a ‘heads up’ to boys and men: the problem of sexual violence against girls and women is ours to address and work through.”

challenging damaging expectations of what it means to be a man in today’s world, the goal of the book is, ultimately, to prevent sexual assault through an unlearning of problematic gender norms that equate masculinity with sexual violence.

pictured below: dr. gerald walton (top) and gianluca agostinelli (below).