Misogyny, Dieting and Raising a Boy Solo

I want something for him to grab onto

If someone said to you WHATEVER YOU DO DON’T THINK ABOUT THE PINK ELEPHANT.

You:

Because of course once one is told what is OFF LIMITS and what IS OFF LIMITS is reiterated AGAIN and AGAIN- it dominates our thoughts.

Sometimes I think a lot of the social engineering project in schools - the DON’T be a racist! DON’T be a homophobe! DON’T be a misogynist! - is of the pink elephant variety. Children are being taught to only see the pink elephant in the room and perhaps not the actual elephant, which no one is talking about…..

As I have mentioned before, I am raising my son solo. His ‘father’ unceremoniously left me to ‘get on with things’ whilst I was pregnant. I must admit I was a bit naive as to the scope and scale of not having a consistent male in my son’s life would have. Don’t get me wrong, my kid is a nice kid. This is entirely down to my efforts, my family (albeit far away) and a lot of luck. It’s enormously hard work though.

And I worry that a lot of the focus of our government policies (which end up in schools) is like a bad diet. All calorie counting and no focus on nutrition. And my kid NEEDS nutrition for his bones and muscles to grow as it were. Everyone benefits if my child grows up to be a healthy functioning member of society, not least himself.

Yet take the latest focus on putting the crime of misogyny into law. Into ‘teaching it’ in schools. I do not disagree that male violence is an issue in the world. And yes one that must be met. Let’s park that for a minute.

I am speaking as the female parent (aka MUM) of a male child. If the only focus of education which is specifically and categorically related to my child as a male individual is entirely related to how SHITE men are what does my son have to hold onto? What’s going to feed him metaphorically and actually into the person he needs to be?

It seems a lot of time is spent looking at the broken men, the shite men, the abusive men and WHY they are THAT WAY? And believe you me, I know those men- my situation as a solo Mum is a reflection of that. My point is there is not enough time looking at the good men, the responsible men, the strong men who do the right thing and who live moral and just lives. Why is that?

Just this week Scottish Government’s Drug Death figures were released. Up 12% since last year. Scotland lost 1172 individuals to drugs in 2023. The statistics represent the worst in Europe, far outstripping even England. This is damning indictment of a country that fails to care for its own, who have let their eye off the ball. That these deaths are concentrated mostly in areas of deprivation will come as no surprise to anyone paying attention as we see an extraordinary amount of money spent on virtue signaling PR stunts via its government funded quangos and little on what is actually needed.

Here we have Castleton Primary located in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow. Castlemilk has a high concentration of poverty, drug addiction, and unemployment. It is also an area with no local amenity(just lots of housing on the top of a massive hill removed from other areas). To that end local residents in Castlemilk have been campaigning FOR A GROCERY STORE for FIVE YEARS. What does Scottish Government give them? An LGBTQ+ program in their primary school. Feel uncomfortable in your body wee Jimmy, naw it’s not hunger, maybe yer trans?

These stupid ass activists are literally starving the children in these areas. Where’s the marches, the placards, the call for better from ‘those that have’ in Glasgow? Where’s the virtuous ‘Kenmure Street Crew’ now? Crickets. Funny that. I think many of those Castlemilk families are working much harder then the two lazy ass men people put on a pedestal for not paying their council tax in Pollokshields that fateful hyper mythologised day.

I think about the boys up there on that hill. Boys like my son, who will witness their families struggle and then be fed a diet of self loathing. It’s simply not good enough. They deserve better and we locally, societally, nationally have the resources to do so. We just need to stop letting the virtue junk food weaken us.

I tell you, I pray and long for the day when people are just left to get on with things and with each other without having to prove virtuous intent. When innovation, excellence and just normal healthy relationships come into fashion again. And my son and other boys like him thrive. Got some work to do.

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