In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Tiffany Braxton, author of Consent Comics, for her third conversation on the show. After the news out of Cornell, Shaun wanted help talking with kids about consent without getting pulled into the culture war. Tiffany shares how she talked it through with her 12-year-old son, and why it was easy. It was one more chapter in a conversation they had been having for years. She also tells the story of her 15-year-old daughter waiting alone after a festival, and why she told her that feeling vulnerable was a good thing. Shaun opens up about a night in his twenties when he almost stood by and did nothing. Together they talk about pressure, good faith, and teaching boys to step in. You'll leave with simple ways to start these talks at any age, from seven to seventeen.
Key Takeaways
Make consent an ongoing conversation. Tiffany's talk with her son about Cornell was easy because it built on years of small talks about how to treat people, including what he'd seen in his older sisters' relationships.
Teach the reason under the rules: valuing yourself and valuing other people. A kid who truly cares about someone tends to practice consent naturally, even without a script for every scenario.
Let your kids keep their alarm bells. When her daughter said she felt vulnerable waiting after dark, Tiffany told her that feeling was good. Shaun calls this the gap between the species (the world we're working toward) and the specimen (the risk your child faces tonight).
Start young with pressure and headspace. With a seven-year-old, ask how a friend feels when three kids all push him to play a game he doesn't want. A real choice needs a clear head and no crowd leaning on it.
Practice the moment before it arrives. Shaun separates the "Sherlock Holmes brain" (what you know) from the "Conan brain" (what you actually do under stress). Only rehearsal trains the second one, so keep asking "what would you do?" long before college.
"Listening with your ears and realizing that you have biased ears just as much as they have a biased mouth." - Tiffany Braxton
"We teach our kids according to the reality of this world, not according to what we want." - Tiffany Braxton
"I didn't say I wish you didn't feel that way. I said, actually, it's really good that you feel that way." - Tiffany Braxton
What is Raising Men?
Raising Men is a podcast about parenting, masculinity, and the lifelong journey of raising sons—and ourselves—to be men of courage, character, and purpose. Hosted by Shaun Dawson, each episode features real conversations with parents, leaders, and thinkers redefining what it means to raising men in today’s world.