Oprah dedicates two shows to sexual abuse of boys.

[Chip]

Childhood sexual abuse of boys is something that is very rarely talked about. Any sexual abuse is terrible, but boys have the extra stigma of shame and embarrassment -- not to mention the issue of calling their sexuality into question -- so it frequently goes unreported, and the boys suffer in silence.

The most credible statistics indicate that ONE IN FOUR females and ONE IN SIX males suffer some form of sexual abuse during their childhood or adolescent years.

Oprah, who has done some pretty amazing things in the past, recently decided to take this issue on and break the silence surrounding it. She recently shot two episodes of her program dedicated to male sexual abuse survivors. She paid to fly two hundred male abuse survivors to her studio to participate in the shows. The first aired yesterday, November 5th. The second will air next Friday.

I've watched the first show, and it's extraordinary. Not only does Oprah fully "get" the issue and the effects it has, she and her staff have done an incredible job of explaining the problem, the aftereffects, and she's also done a lot to send a positive message to those who were abused.

The show is difficult to watch, but I think that everyone can benefit from watching it, both to understand more about the aftermath that abuse survivors have to live with, and to realize just how prevalent the problem is.

If anyone in the EC community (male, female, or trans) is an abuse survivor and would like to talk about it, you can either discuss here in this thread, or if you would rather discuss more privately, feel free to PM me about it. There is another community, very similar to EC, specifically for teen male survivors that I can provide a link for anyone who is interested, and if there are people here interested, it is possible we can start some discussions on-site.

The link to the November 5th show, directly from Oprah's site, is here. I am not sure how long it will be up, so watch it while it's available.

[ArcaneVerse]

I'm usually not a fan of Oprah, in fact I cant stand her or the majority of her shows but this one, while I think is way over due and coming in a bit late, is an amazing step forward to opening up peoples eyes and educating them on the very common occurrence of abuse of males and the damaging impact it has on their lives.

However I do think that the topic wasn't explored as deeply as it could have and should have been, especially in regards to the life long negative effects caused by abuse. Oprah may fix this in the second episode but from the preview it seems its going to be focussed on the victims girlfriends, wives and mothers, which also appears to be lacking in important information and perspective, like the effects it has on boyfriends, husbands and fathers.

In so many ways this is a great episode but it also a let down in so many other ways, even with all that I encourage everyone to take the time to watch this and the following episode.

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@Chip - Thanks for posting that video. I think starting some discussions is a great idea if enough people would want to participate. Also I think, if it is within the rules of EC, that you should post here the link to the forum you mentioned in your post and to any other worth while link pertaining to this subject so those who feel too uncomfortable to ask can receive more help and information or just to have a place (the forum) that is more dedicated to that specific issue.

[Chip]

My inference from what she said is that the 2nd show is going to delve more deeply into the aftereffects of the abuse that the men suffer (problems with relationships, trust, emotional intimacy) and so it likely will address a lot of those issues.

I have been reading discussions of a number of the people who attended the tapings, and one of the most moving things was that, at the last minute, Oprah herself decided that there was too much material, and simply too much importance to the topic, to cover it all in one show, so they decided to tape two different shows in the same day in order to dedicate two episodes to the subject. She almost never does that, and I think this is a topic that she cares very deeply about.

If the link happens to get taken down, I have a copy of the show that I can provide to anyone who wants to see it.

[ArcaneVerse]

Originally Posted by Chip

My inference from what she said is that the 2nd show is going to delve more deeply into the aftereffects of the abuse that the men suffer (problems with relationships, trust, emotional intimacy) and so it likely will address a lot of those issues.

I have been reading discussions of a number of the people who attended the tapings, and one of the most moving things was that, at the last minute, Oprah herself decided that there was too much material, and simply too much importance to the topic, to cover it all in one show, so they decided to tape two different shows in the same day in order to dedicate two episodes to the subject. She almost never does that, and I think this is a topic that she cares very deeply about. .

Maybe thats true, but we shall see in the next show. I wasn't trying to cheapen what she has already done with the first show, I was merely stating that it was lacking a lot of information and from what she showed of next weeks ep it doesn't look like its covering much else other then how it effected wives and mothers. I think a more diverse selection of those who were effected would give a better understanding of the impact abuse can have.

Oprah tends to be very self serving in her shows and what image and view she wants to put forward, it is a know fact that she sets up and edits her show to make her out to be better then she is.

Its just my opinion that with this show she is more about doing something that hasn't been done before then with the issue itself. Also it seems to me that the next episode is going to be centred on just the women victims of male abuse, which fits in with most of her other shows always about female victims abused at the hands of men. I mean in the first part she couldn't find a man who was sexually abuse by a female? or talk about the statistics of how often that happens etc., I believe Tyler Perry said he was but it was just a passing comment.

Again that's just my opinion and Its not meant to take away from the fact that the show is on an important subject that is rarely talked about.