The Overshadowing Presence of Toxic Masculinity and a Call for Reducing Sexism in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns

The nexus among toxic masculinity, sexism, and patriarchy; and women’s oppression as an upshot of these have been potential issues stirring the interest of the researchers for centuries. The researches done on Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns are not exceptional than those works. As the novel blatantly exposes the plight of womenfolk amid an excessive masculine setting, Hosseini’s covert signal towards the male characters’ poignant situation due to their toxic masculinity has been an unaddressed issue. This article aims at studying the detrimental consequences of toxic masculinity in the characters’ personal, familial, and social life showing the utter helplessness of male characters who have to comply with the stereotyped notion of gender roles of real men. Because of the male characters’ vague notion of masculinity, the relationship with their partners becomes toxic; Jalil does not get forgiveness from his daughter Mariam when he asks for and Rasheed’s life ends horribly. Demonstrating the poignant aftermaths of toxicity, the researcher calls for reducing sexism for establishing a healthy relationship where partners will have love, respect, and trust between or among themselves.

The Salt of the Earth (Inspired by Cherokee Creation Story)

In Cherokee tradition, Selu and her husband Kana’ti are the first inhabitants of the Appalachian territory. Their tale is used to explain the Cherokee way of life (gender roles, religious traditions, and humans’ relationship with nature). In this recasting of the Cherokee creation story, the author seeks to highlight the implications of modern injustices including sexism, environmental racism, and ecological destruction. The goal of this work is to express the ills of commodifying the human body, time, and natural resources and to promote a healthy relationship between humankind and the Earth.

AI and US: Engineering a Healthy Relationship

Jyoti Choudrie FBCS, Professor of Information Systems at the University of Hertfordshire, talks to Johanna Hamilton AMBCS about COVID-19, sanity checking with seniors, robotics and how AI is shaping our world.

Quality of Life: Healthy Relationship with Ourselves

Titkos Csaba (2012): Quality of Life: Healthy Relationship with Ourselves.

The Lasting Influence of a Peer-led Adolescent Relationship Abuse Prevention Program on Former Peer Leaders’ Relationships, Identities, and Trajectories in Emerging Adulthood

Adolescent relationship abuse (ARA) has well-documented detrimental health effects. Adolescence is a window of opportunity to promote development of healthy relationship behaviors. Although peer-led interventions have a history of use in the health education field, there are few rigorously evaluated peer-led interventions targeting ARA. Start Strong leverages peer support by training adolescents to deliver ARA prevention curriculum to younger peers. Although the program has shown positive results in recipients, little is known about the impact on the peer leaders themselves. This qualitative study describes the impact of being an ARA prevention peer leader on former peer leaders’ relationships and trajectories in emerging adulthood. Specific objectives include: (a) how being a peer leader shaped participants’ norms around romantic relationships and ARA, and (b) the impact of participating in a peer leadership program on their emerging adult lives. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with former peer leaders and coded transcripts using thematic analysis. Fourteen former peer leaders aged 18–26 participated. Most participants (99%) identified as Black or Afro-Latinx. Participants described a lasting impact on their relationships, identity formation, future orientation, and professional lives. Participants highlighted the skills they use to avoid unhealthy relationships and help friends and family navigate their relationships. They identified unexpected challenges, including a sense of isolation around how their relationship expectations differ from same-aged peers, and trepidation about dating partners without advanced healthy relationship knowledge. Participants highlighted positive impacts beyond those pertaining to relationships, including their identity development and expanded sense of opportunity. Finally, they identified tangible skills gained from program participation and relevance to their professional paths. This study suggests that peer-led ARA prevention programs have a far-reaching impact on participants’ lives that lasts into adulthood. Future studies may examine how professional development within peer-led interventions can influence future orientation and thus bolster protective factors against ARA.