Michael Flood

The tension between attention to men’s privilege, on the one hand, and men’s disadvantage, on the other, is a fundamental one in efforts to understand and work with men and boys. 

Debates over how to understand men’s and boys’ social positions have been part of self-conscious attention to men and masculinities since the beginnings of this work in the early 1970s. There have been competing understandings of men’s social situations in different strands of men’s organising (pro-feminist, men’s liberation, mythopoetic, and anti-feminist), and these disagreements persist today.

Abstract: 

Exposure to and use of pornography is routine among young men. Males are more likely than females to intentionally use pornography, to do so regularly, and to first view it at a young age (Crabbe et al., 2024; eSafety Commissioner, 2023). In an Australian study of 15–29-year-olds, 100% of males and 82% of females reported ever viewing pornography (Lim et al., 2017). In another study among young people aged 15-20, over four-fifths (86%) of young men and over two-thirds (69%) of young women had seen pornography.

How can we engage male students and staff on campus in violence prevention?

I want you to think for a moment about the young men you see every day on your campus. The young men in your classrooms, in the cafetaria, in the college residences, and so on. 

Citation: Flood, M. (2025). Online violence prevention education for students. Queensland University of Technology, unpublished.

Note that these notes also may be downloaded in PDF here.

This new book:

• Explores young men’s online lives in the context of growing concerns about gender-based digital harms
• Offers nuanced insight into the complexities and tensions of young men’s positive and negative experiences online
• Proposes a framework for developing young men’s critical digital dispositions for gender-just online engagement

By Professor Amanda Keddie and Professor Michael Flood

Summary: This keynote address explores:

In the last two years, men’s health approaches have had growing visibility in the violence prevention field. Some men’s health advocates have argued for the value of a “men’s health lens” on domestic violence.

Men’s health approaches have both strengths and weaknesses in engaging men and boys in the prevention of domestic and sexual violence.

What actions are needed to drive the engagement of men and boys in combating online gender-based violence? In these notes prepared for a UN Women event in Seoul, Korea, Professor Flood offers recommendations for programming and research to drive the engagement of men and boys in reducing and preventing online gender-based violence

Programming:

The following describes initiatives and strategies that can be adopted by Government that will build capacity in Australia to effectively engage men and boys in violence prevention. Note that these initiatives are focused on primary prevention rather than initiatives aimed at men and boys at risk of using violence (secondary prevention / intervention) or already using violence (tertiary prevention / intervention).