Mike Tyson’s Admission Can Put Another Nail in the Stigma Coffin

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

Recently, former boxer Mike Tyson publicly admitted to having been sexually abused as a child. As the Atlanta Black Star quotes Darwin Hobbs:

“There is so much stigma around sexual abuse. But when someone like Tyson, a strong Black man, reveals it’s happened to him, it really helps reduce this notion that you are counted out if you are an abuse victim,” he says. “And even more important, it empowers people to come forward.”

As a male survivor of sexual abuse, I’ve seen the stigma play out in so many ways through the years. Plenty of people catch a mention of this site, or a single post, and assume it’s run by a woman. Others read far enough to learn that I am male, and assume I’m gay. Why? Because I admit to having been molested as a kid? Perhaps having someone who couldn’t be more masculine come forward will help people understand that sexual abuse happens to all kinds of kids, male, female, straight, gay, bi and everything in between.

Interestingly, I can’t help but wonder how much that stigma contributed to some of Tyson’s behavior as an adult. I don’t condone, or excuse, many of the things he’s done, but you can certainly draw a straight line to some of the womanizing, the violence, etc. and the possibility that he was overcompensating for something. Feeling like he needed to prove his “manliness” after such an experience, maybe?

Similar Posts

Link – The emotional toll of pursuing child pornographers

Link – The emotional toll of pursuing child pornographers

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

While children are the real victims, those who have to view child sexual abuse images and videos in order to catch and prosecute the predators become incidental victims of the growing crime threat. I have the utmost respect for the people who do this for a living, and I also have complete understanding for whatever…

More Proof That Early Interventions Are Key

More Proof That Early Interventions Are Key

ByMikeM Reading Time: 3 minutes

So, when I see a study like this, I don’t feel defeated, I don’t feel like we are all just broken and doomed to poorer outcomes. I see the possibility that there is room to change this current reality, but it’s going to take changing how we deal with childhood adversity and doing it in an open, honest, and immediate way.

High levels of childhood adversity don’t have to be an early death sentence. We can, and should, intervene early in order to prevent many of these outcomes. We just need the determination and will to make it happen.

Do we have that?

Paedophiles murder grown-up victim before double suicide

ByCBG Reading Time: 1 minute

The Daily Mail reported the findings of an inquest today into the death of Derick Tempest, 30, who had been abused at 13 by two men. He disclosed to friends and his partner but never reported his own case to police nor his suspicions about whether two further teenagers he saw in his attackers’ company…

Sharing – On TikTok, mental health creators are confused for therapists. That’s a serious problem.

Sharing – On TikTok, mental health creators are confused for therapists. That’s a serious problem.

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

But, if you had a broken arm, you wouldn’t hop online and talk to your life coach. You’d go see a professional to have it treated. There’s a reason for that, just as there should be a reason why, when someone needs mental health advice, they should get it from professionals, and not random people on the internet.

Link – Stigma and Sharing About Mental Health Online

Link – Stigma and Sharing About Mental Health Online

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

Seriously? “There’s this idea that people only share things to garner attention, especially when said things are controversial or outside the norm of what most people share. Stories of mental illness tend to fall into the latter category, and some people balk at the idea. They say there’s no other reason to share but to try…

13 Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.