Great male role models

[ILikeKeirStarmer]

I keep hearing thst there are no good role models for boys and this concerns me particularly as I have sons.

But surely there are great male role models out there?

I have told my boys to think about "What would Aragorn do?" (The man in The Lord of the Rings):
Brave
Strong
Loyal
Kind
Honourable
Poetic and a singer
Emotionally grounded - sheds manly tears on sad occasions

What about other (real) men like Rob Burrows and his friend campaigning for charity, Stormzy doing work for his local community and Marcus Rashford? Obviously as well as local and family heroes.

I know this is MUMSnet but are there some good blokes we can highlight to our boys?

Imho, boys need a male role model in their lives, not some distant figure on a screen or a totally out of touch footie star.

Hopefully their dad but if not, another relative, a teacher, scout leader, army cadet leader etc.

Trouble is, the role model is often some thug at school or in their community, has money, drives a car, deals in drugs, has girls flocking after him - i.e exciting, someone more upstanding can be seen as boring.

If i had a son, i'd be looking at someone like Mark Billingham if there really was no one more local.

I would not put forward any celeb names as it’s turned out that so many apparent good guys are actually arseholes and you just don’t know what celebs are really like. I’d stick to men in your real life that are good….if you know any. Or just talk about what makes a good man, the issue of misogyny, examples as a woman where men have made you uncomfortable, tell them they have the opportunity to be good men etc.

Snoop Dogg. He is an absolute delight (imo) Very much a family man. I find him hilarious, he does cock (a gentle) snook at the celebrity world in general. He has dignity and style, he has grace, and appears to have integrity and humour.
And if any dirt came to light on him (cf Jay Z et al) I literally would never have an ounce of faith in mankind again.

Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfeild is a good shout. I love the Aragorn idea. I like to think my husband would be a good role model. If there isn't a dad in the picture, do you have a good male friend or relative; uncle, brother, that could be a good role model for your boys?

Honestly, it sounds like the beginning of a joke where Aragorn, Stormzy and Marcus Rashford walk into a bar.

I agree with a pp that real, in-their-lives role models doing everyday things are more crucial. DS for example, sees DH be a feminist, use his position in a very macho industry to put in place family-friendly working patterns, promote women, do all the cooking at home, be a very hands-on parent, read novels, be a decent husband, have good male and female friends, maintain a good relationship with his elderly parents etc etc.

Keanu Reeves

David Attenborough

Marcus Rashford has the same PR person as a couple of other male sport stars. They each got given a ‘campaign’ to front to help their reputation, Rashford’s was school meals, Maro Itoje’s (rugby player) was about tech poverty. The stars and the government aligned and Rashford’s ‘campaign’ took off massively, whereas the other guys’ didn’t as much. I don’t think he’s a good role model, I think he has an excellent PR person.

IMO boys need real life role models, not people from the television. If my son turns into half the man my husband or dad is, I’ll be thrilled.

Bandit Heeler

Snoop. Dogg.

Whut?

There is actually a very serious side to not having a father figure in a boys life - a previous BF was bought up by his mum, she did the best she could but he wanted to play football, go fishing, watch motorbike racing, that led to him being groomed and raped by a man who did all these things but was also a Paedophile.
When i knew him, the abuse happened around 40 years ago but for him, it might as well of been yesterday.

It was very sad, i'm glad i had a daughter to raise on my own.

Didn’t particularly like him as a football manager, but Gareth Southgate genuinely comes over as someone young boys can look upto