The American Psychological Association released a set of guidelines for physicians who work with boys and men where they marked traditional masculinity as “harmful.”

According to the APA, traditional masculinity ideology condones behaviors of “anti-femininity, achievement, eschewal of the appearance of weakness, and adventure, risk, and violence.”

Simply put, in an article published by the APA after the release of the Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Boys and Men, “The main thrust of the subsequent research is that traditional masculinity—marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression—is, on the whole, harmful.”

Lifesite News reports that the study finds that if men are “socialized in this way” they are “less likely to engage in healthy behaviors.” 

The study notes that traditionally masculine men are less likely to share their emotions, less likely to care for their mental and physical health and are at a higher risk to commit suicide. The guidelines also touch on gender binaries. Ryon McDermott, Ph.D., who helped draft the guidelines asked, “What is gender in the 2010s?” He answered, “It’s no longer just this male-female binary.”

According to the study, traditional masculinity is viewed as a negative thing because men could feel forced to suppress “gender-nonconforming” feelings which can lead…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that an airstrike by the country had hit hundreds of Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria.

Netanyahu confirmed the strike, calling the mission part of the country’s “impressive success” against militants.

“We have operated with impressive success in thwarting Iran from establishing a military foothold in Syria, in the framework of which the military has struck hundreds of times against Iranian and Hezbollah targets,” Netanyahu said. 

“In the last 36 hours alone, the air force struck storage facilities with Iranian weapons at the Damascus International Airport. The bulk of recent attacks show how we are more committed than ever to act against Iran in Syria, as we promised.”

According to The Daily Mail, Syria’s official news agency said many of Israel’s missiles were shot down, but an airport warehouse was hit.

Also Sunday, Israeli military said that a sixth tunnel dug by the Lebanese military group had been found. Militants use the tunnels to sneak across the border and launch attacks into Israel.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said as part of Operation Northern Shield, the final tunnel was the largest found and went from under a Lebanese home into Israeli territory. Conricus said the tunnel would be destroyed soon.

“We have achieved the goal that we set out to achieve,” he said….

The latest season of Call the Midwife has a major abortion storyline that is drawing applause from pro-choice viewers and concern from pro-lifers who watch the show. 

Season 8 of the popular series debuted Sunday on BBC One and will premier in the U.S. on PBS March 31. 

The show, which first aired in 2012, follows the story of London midwives in the 1950s and 1960s, when abortion was illegal. They live in a Catholic convent called “Nonnatus House.”

Although Call the Midwife has tackled the issue of illegal abortion in at least two previous seasons, the subject is more prevalent in Season 8, according to cast and crew members.

The first episode of Season 8 shows an aspiring model named Cath who had undergone an illegal abortion entering Nonnatus House, where she is sheltered by Nurse Valerie Dyer. Cath miscarries at the house as a policeman sits downstairs, drinking tea, according to Radio Times. 

“It’s a definite theme throughout the series, if you can say abortion is a theme,” actress Jennifer Kirby, who plays Dyer, told Radio Times. “Valerie obviously takes it to heart, because she’s so connected to that community. It’s where she’s from … so the idea that there’s something within the community, that women are having to go to this level – I think she feels it very personally.”

Kirby calls herself pro-choice and says there will be…

Last Week, South Carolina introduced a bill that would make aborting a baby with a fetal heartbeat illegal.

According to Lifesite News, the H. 3020 bill, which was introduced last Monday, requires all women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound to see if a fetal heartbeat can be detected. If a heartbeat is found and the patient wishes to go through with the abortion without having a “physical medical threat,” the doctor who performs the procedure can be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to two years in jail. 

Founder and CEO of Coastline Women’s Health Center Jeannie Smith praised the proposed legislation in an interview with WMBF saying, “This would hopefully bring an end to abortion in the state of South Carolina.”

South Carolina Representative, Steven Long (R-SC) agreed with Smith saying, “We have a moral obligation to defend life.” He continued, “The court system is primed and ready for a good piece of pro-life legislation. Now is the time we need to be pushing and fighting to get legislation like this passed.”

Others, however, see the bill as an “attack” on women’s rights, LifeSite News reports.

The bill is currently pending before the Judiciary Committee.

Photo courtesy: Rose Elena/Unsplash

The transgender father of a 5-year-old boy who wants to be a girl says he did not talk his child into becoming transgender, too.

The Daily Mail newspaper in London profiled a family Sunday that is receiving criticism and is being called “Britain’s first two-generation transgender family.” The 27-year-old transgender father, Greg, was born a girl and has had his breasts removed but has yet to have sex-reassignment surgery. His partner is 21-year-old Jody, the biological mother who considers herself heterosexual. They are not married, although they share the same last name.

They say their son started wearing dresses a year ago and wanted long hair and his nails painted. They now consider him a girl and call him Jayden. Jayden’s school treats him like a girl.

“She developed speech and immediately started saying, ‘I hate wearing boys’ clothes and everything about being a boy,’” Greg told the newspaper. “At first, we thought it was probably just a phase but it’s been consistent ever since. She is adamant she’s a girl.”

Jody said she “had a son one moment and a daughter the next.”

“It probably took me six months to start accepting that it was what Jayden really wanted,” Jody said. “It’s been like a grieving process for me, though. I do miss having a son and, as a baby, Jayden looked so much like a boy. I look back at photographs of him now, in…

A Swedish man was denied the ability to put Jesus’ name on his license plate because officials said it could “cause offense.”

According to the Christian Post, Ceasar Kisangani Makombe wanted to put the Swedish word for Christ – Kristus – on his license plate, but the Swedish Transport Agency deemed it unacceptable.

According to The Local, both the Swedish words for Christ and Jesus are blocked from being placed on license plates because they contain religious matter and could “cause offense” to those who are not Christians. 

Press officer for the Swedish Transport Agency Mikael Andersson told the outlet, “We deny any words that we believe can cause offense. Among other things, we say no to everything that has any religious connotations no matter which connotations.”

The Christian Post reports that so far, nearly 100 license plates have been denied by the department, a fact that Makombe finds puzzling. The Swedish man told the Göteborg Direkt – a regional newspaper – that since Sweden is a Christian country he was confused by the agency’s decision. 

Makombe also asked fellow Christians to pray for his country and its officials. He said, “As a Christian, you should not make war on those who make decisions in this country, instead we must pray for them.”

Photo courtesy: Jonathan…