Parents and therapists say the consent talk is only the start of raising accountable boys

Published October 18, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)

Woman standing with her son at the school gate on a sunny day (Maskot/Getty Images)

Since news about the lawsuit against the “ Cornell 7 ” broke, the internet has been rife with discourse about how Millennial parents are “raising sons differently.” That doesn’t just mean teaching young boys about consent. As Tomika Anderson wrote in Essence recently, “I want to raise a son who understands that his responsibility to another human being doesn’t end with, ‘ I didn’t do it .'”

“Masculinity isn’t aggression, and being a good man isn’t about never having anger or difficult emotions,” one mom said.…