Healthy Relationships
Relationships are one of the main ways young people learn about trust, communication, identity, boundaries, and belonging.
As boys grow up, they are constantly exposed to messages about dating, friendship, masculinity, conflict, consent, and gender roles — both online and offline.
Some of these messages encourage empathy, kindness, respect, and emotional connection. Others can normalize jealousy, control, disrespect, emotional withdrawal, or harmful ideas about masculinity and relationships.
Healthy relationships are not just about avoiding harm. They are about learning how to:
Communicate openly
Respect boundaries
Navigate conflict in healthy ways
Build trust and emotional safety
Show empathy and accountability
Support others while respecting themselves
This section helps parents better understand how boys develop relationship skills, how online culture can shape expectations around dating and masculinity, and how supportive conversations can help boys build healthier friendships and relationships over time.
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Healthy relationships are built on mutual respect, trust, communication, empathy, honesty, and emotional safety.
In healthy friendships and relationships, people feel:
Respected and listened to
Safe expressing thoughts and emotions
Comfortable setting boundaries
Supported without fear, pressure, or control
Healthy relationships also involve accountability, consent, and the ability to navigate disagreement respectfully.
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Boys learn about relationships from many places, including family, peers, school, social media, gaming culture, influencers, entertainment, and online content.
They observe how people communicate, handle conflict, express emotions, treat others, and talk about gender and relationships.
Over time, repeated messages can shape how boys understand:
Masculinity and dating
Respect and communication
Emotional expression
Consent and boundaries
Power and control
Supportive conversations and healthy role models can help boys develop healthier expectations around relationships and connection.
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Many boys grow up receiving messages that they should avoid vulnerability, suppress emotions, or always appear “strong” and emotionally controlled.
Over time, these expectations can make it harder for boys to:
Express emotions openly
Talk through conflict
Ask for support
Communicate needs or insecurities
Feel emotionally safe with others
Some boys may instead respond to stress, rejection, or conflict through withdrawal, defensiveness, anger, or emotional shutdown.
Helping boys develop emotional awareness and communication skills can support healthier relationships throughout life.
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Social media, influencers, podcasts, gaming spaces, and online communities can shape how boys think about dating, attraction, masculinity, and relationships.
Some online content promotes:
Dominance or control in relationships
Rigid gender roles
Distrust toward women or girls
Emotional suppression
Pressure tied to status, appearance, or power
Because algorithms prioritize emotional and attention-grabbing content, boys may repeatedly encounter these messages over time.
Helping boys think critically about online content can support healthier understandings of relationships, consent, communication, and self-worth.
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Consent means freely agreeing to something without pressure, fear, manipulation, or coercion.
Consent is:
Ongoing
Mutual
Respectful
Clear and freely given
Teaching boys about consent is not only about preventing harm. It is also about helping them build respectful, emotionally safe relationships grounded in communication, empathy, and trust.
Consent applies both online and offline, including conversations, physical boundaries, image sharing, and digital interactions.
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Parents do not need to have perfect answers to help boys build healthy relationships.
What matters most is creating space for ongoing conversations about emotions, communication, respect, boundaries, consent, and empathy.
Parents can help by:
Modeling respectful communication
Encouraging emotional expression without shame
Talking openly about relationships and online influence
Challenging harmful stereotypes about masculinity and gender
Reinforcing that respect, vulnerability, and empathy are strengths
Small conversations over time can help boys build healthier understandings of connection, trust, and relationships.
Relationships, Consent, and Communication
Watch and Discuss: Boys Don’t Cry
White Ribbon’s Boys Don’t Cry explores the lifelong impact rigid gender expectations can have on boys and men, including how emotional suppression can affect relationships, communication, and mental well-being.
Many boys grow up receiving messages that they should stay emotionally controlled, avoid vulnerability, or hide sadness and fear. Over time, these expectations can shape how boys connect with others, express emotions, respond to conflict, and build relationships.
Boys Don’t Cry encourages conversations about emotional expression, empathy, and the importance of creating space for boys to be fully human.
Small conversations can go a long way. Helping boys feel emotionally safe, respected, and heard can support healthier friendships, relationships, and emotional well-being over time.
Watch together and reflect:
What messages do boys receive about emotions and vulnerability?
How can emotional suppression affect friendships and relationships?
Why might some boys struggle to communicate emotions openly?
What does emotional safety look like in a healthy relationship?
How can parents model empathy, communication, and respect at home?
What helps boys build healthy, respectful relationships over time?
Helpful Resources
For decades, White Ribbon has been at the forefront of engaging men and boys to promote emotional literacy, vulnerability, and mental wellness.
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The Manbox
VIDEO
The ‘Manbox’ helps explain the invisible pressures boys and men face to fit into narrow ideas of masculinity. This video offers a powerful starting point for parents to understand how these expectations shape behaviour, emotions, and relationships—and how to begin meaningful conversations with their children.
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I Knew All Along
GLOBAL PSA
This moving campaign captured a father’s anxieties around raising his daughter, inviting men to reflect on their past actions and their role in promoting safe, respectful relationships. -
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Men Don't Want Flowers
CAMPAIGN
A campaign inviting men to rethink vulnerability and masculinity through a simple, universal gesture: receiving flowers. By centring empathy and care, it encouraged men from all backgrounds to reflect on healthier, more open expressions of emotion.
Help and Support
White Ribbon works with men and boys to promote emotional literacy and vulnerability.
Parent groups, schools, organizations, institutions, and communities can book one of our workshops to gain practical tools and guidance to support boys in building critical thinking and healthy relationships.
If you’re concerned about your safety or someone else’s, explore the resources in the link below and connect with the support that feels right for you.
You are not alone.
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