Monday 3 June
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Navigating a S*xed-Up World:
How we can help our young people resist harmful messages from media and pop culture and aspire to respectful relationships.
On Monday, June 3, Kuyper Christian School will host a FREE Parent Workshop with Melinda Tankard Reist, renowned author, speaker, media commentator, thought leader, and campaigner for cultural change.
Parents and caregivers are noticing children seem to be growing up too fast, worried about their appearance and more aware of se*ual issues at earlier ages. Children and young people are bombarded with hyperse*ualised messages from media and popular culture. The lives of young people are increasingly socialised, conditioned and informed by exposure to online p*rn before their first kiss. Drawing from current global literature and the experiences of young people, Melinda will explore how the proliferation of s*xualised images and messages contributes to a distorted view of bodies, relationships and se*uality, hampering their healthy physical, emotional and social development. She will help parents address this toxic culture and provide practical tips on raising happy, healthy and resilient young people who value their dignity and self-worth and aspire to relationships based on respect and authentic connection. She will be joined by her colleague, educator, and youth advocate Daniel Principe, who will share his work with young men, helping them understand how they are being harmed by damaging cultural messages about masculinity and encouraging them to be upstanders and not bystanders.
Parents, grandparents, caregivers, and friends will leave this session with clarity of understanding and authentic strategies for helping their children.
Melinda is probably the world’s best presenter on the damage advertisers and pornography do to our children and teens – often when we don’t even know. Her highly visual presentations will knock your socks off. You will be left angry in the very best way and be so much better equipped to talk to, and protect, your kids.
Steve Biddulph AM, Author Raising Girls and Raising Boys
Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to engage with one of Australia’s foremost speakers addressing the toxic culture our children are growing up in.
Grandparents, friends and other interested parents are welcome to attend this workshop.
Note: This session is not suitable for children under the age of 18 years.
Melinda Tankard Reist
Author, Speaker, Advocate
Melinda is an Australian author, speaker, media commentator, and advocate for young people. She is best known for her work addressing s*xualisation, objectification, harms of p*rnography, s*xual exploitation, trafficking and violence against women. Melinda is the author/editor of seven books (number eight on boundary-setting for girls forthcoming) covering the se*xualisation of young people, the harms of the p*rn/sex industry and violence against women and girls. Melinda has appeared on ABC’s Q&A, The Gruen Sessions and many other TV and radio programs. She is co-founder of the grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout: for a world free of s*xploitation.
Melinda is an Ambassador for World Vision Australia, Compassion Australia, Hagar NZ and the youth mentoring body the Raise Foundation. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Culture and Ethics, Notre Dame University, Sydney and has been named in the Who’s Who of Australian Women and the World Who’s Who of Women.
Daniel Principe
Youth Advocate & Educator
Daniel is an Australian youth advocate and educator. He has a background in PR, marketing, and media and is a health professional and advisor in the non-profit health sector. Daniel challenges toxic messages about masculinity in mainstream culture, which he critiques through a p*rn-critical lens. He helps young men to see how these cultural forces fuel distorted ideas and attitudes about bodies, relationships and s*xuality. Daniel works with young men to reimagine masculinity and embody a vision of manhood defined by virtue.
Enquiries: Ruth Thompson, (02) 4573 2999 or admin@kuyper.nsw.edu.au