Last Wednesday, a Christian motivational speaker named Justin Lookadoo spoke at an assembly at Richardson High School. His presentation was supposed to be thought-provoking, but instead angered both students and parents. He was hired by the PTA to be a guest and speak at their student assembly, but instead just majorly pissed off quite a few people. Many of the things he said were promoting gender stereotypes and some students confronted him after his speech. "I've done about 4,000 programs. That's never happened," he said when asked about the students' reactions. He told the girls that “The reason it’s so hard for you to succeed these days is not because of guys. You’re doing it to yourselves.” And if that wasn't bad enough, on his website he has a list of rules on how to be "dateable," both for boys and girls. The things he wrote were grossly outdated and extremely stereotyping.
Such as #6 for girls:
"Be mysterious. Dateable girls know how to shut up. They don’t monopolize the conversation. They don’t tell everyone everything about themselves. They save some for later. They listen more than they gab."
And #1 for boys:
"Being a guy is good. Dateable guys know they aren’t as sensitive as girls and that’s okay. They know they are stronger, more dangerous, and more adventurous and that’s okay. Dateable guys are real men who aren't afraid to be guys."
It disturbs me a bit that the people who hired him to come speak, knew about his website and the things he believed before asking him to go and present to their students. They knew he had outdated and offensive ideas about gender roles but still asked him to come and speak to a bunch of teenagers.
Oh, and on his site he has quizzes to see if you are "dateable," there's one for boys and one for girls.
According to the quiz for girls I am "dateless" and "The mystery is gone. You’ve probably told him everything about you so why would he want to see you again? But it’s not too late. Start talking less and listening more. Let him bring up things to talk about. Ask him questions about him. Stop talking about yourself so much. There is plenty of time for him to get to know you. Practice thinking about him and take your eyes off yourself so much."
So, yeah...
here's the article:
http://www.wfaa.com/news/education/Richardson-students-confront-speaker-with-controversial-message-231812111.html
here's his website:
http://www.rudateable.com/cool_rules.php
This must be a joke. There is no way people can still believe in gender roles and actually be considered to be people. Relationships are personal and the rules don't exist. What happens between two people defies all logic, and what you say and do is not supposed to follow a certain pattern, if it does, than the relationship will never work. There needs to be more feeling and less thinking, this guy has it all wrong.
ReplyDeleteOmg! I totally agree with ou on the fact that these people knew who they were asking to come speak to the kids beforehand so this could have all been avoided! Gender stereotypes are so 16th Century! This guy needs to get with the program!
ReplyDeleteThis shows how important it is to be mindful of everything that comes out of your mouth, especially if you are planning on speaking to hundreds of different teenagers about a subject such as dating. One must never be afraid to speak out on something that they feel passionately about, but there is an appropriate time and a place to say those things. Being conscientious about what comes out of your mouth, and sensitive to how it might be perceived by others is vital in almost all circumstances.
ReplyDeleteWhy are we questioning his validity? We should be questioning why a high school is investing in dateability improvement rather than academic excellence or better food.
ReplyDeleteBTW I checked out the website and its kinda funny. According to this site, I'm da man!
ReplyDeleteThis guy needs to be stopped. His views are disgusting and chauvinistic. To quote from one of his dateable books: "If you go too tight, to short, or too low-cut [in your clothing choices], you are no longer a person to get to know but an object to use." UTTERLY DESPICABLE.
ReplyDelete