Type of Work
Speaking
Topic
Gender, Power and Stereotypes
Challenge
How do you use one of the world’s biggest idea-sharing platforms to shift the conversation about violence against women and girls upstream?
Drawing on my work as the Architect of Stories at The Haven Wolverhampton, I wanted to move the conversation beyond responding to abuse and towards examining the beliefs, stereotypes and ideas about power that shape our culture long before violence occurs.
TEDx Wolverhampton’s Ctrl+Alt+Del theme provided the opportunity to ask a different question: what if preventing violence begins by challenging the assumptions we normalise every day?
Contribution
Through stories, examples and social commentary, I explored how ideas of masculinity and femininity are learned and reinforced in everyday life, often without us noticing. Through stories, examples and social commentary, I invited audiences to consider how ideas about masculinity, femininity, power and control are learned, reinforced and normalised long before violence occurs.
The talk contrasted ideas of “power over” with more transformative models based on partnership, mutual respect and shared responsibility. Rather than offering simple answers, it sought to encourage reflection and create space for different ways of thinking.
Outcome
TEDx provided an opportunity to bring these ideas to a wider audience and contribute to a platform dedicated to curiosity and meaningful dialogue.
The experience demonstrated the value of using storytelling and accessible language to engage people with complex issues and opened up conversations about gender, power and culture beyond specialist spaces.
Reflection
Long before harm occurs, ideas about power, control and gender are being learned, repeated and normalised. Culture shapes behaviour, and culture itself is shaped by the stories we tell and the assumptions we accept.
TEDx reinforced my belief that meaningful change rarely begins with punishment or policy alone. It begins when we become curious enough to question what we have always assumed to be normal.
Sometimes the most powerful ideas are not the ones that teach us something new. They are the ones that give us permission to rethink what we thought we already knew.
Challenging Gender, Power and Stereotypes
Type of Work
Speaking
Topic
Gender, Power and Stereotypes
Challenge
How do you use one of the world’s biggest idea-sharing platforms to shift the conversation about violence against women and girls upstream?
Drawing on my work as the Architect of Stories at The Haven Wolverhampton, I wanted to move the conversation beyond responding to abuse and towards examining the beliefs, stereotypes and ideas about power that shape our culture long before violence occurs.
TEDx Wolverhampton’s Ctrl+Alt+Del theme provided the opportunity to ask a different question: what if preventing violence begins by challenging the assumptions we normalise every day?
Contribution
Through stories, examples and social commentary, I explored how ideas of masculinity and femininity are learned and reinforced in everyday life, often without us noticing. Through stories, examples and social commentary, I invited audiences to consider how ideas about masculinity, femininity, power and control are learned, reinforced and normalised long before violence occurs.
The talk contrasted ideas of “power over” with more transformative models based on partnership, mutual respect and shared responsibility. Rather than offering simple answers, it sought to encourage reflection and create space for different ways of thinking.
Outcome
TEDx provided an opportunity to bring these ideas to a wider audience and contribute to a platform dedicated to curiosity and meaningful dialogue.
The experience demonstrated the value of using storytelling and accessible language to engage people with complex issues and opened up conversations about gender, power and culture beyond specialist spaces.
Reflection
Long before harm occurs, ideas about power, control and gender are being learned, repeated and normalised. Culture shapes behaviour, and culture itself is shaped by the stories we tell and the assumptions we accept.
TEDx reinforced my belief that meaningful change rarely begins with punishment or policy alone. It begins when we become curious enough to question what we have always assumed to be normal.
Sometimes the most powerful ideas are not the ones that teach us something new. They are the ones that give us permission to rethink what we thought we already knew.