Welcome to The Pixel Project’s Fathers for Pixels blog interview series!
We created this interview series:
- To acknowledge the vital role dads play in families, cultures and communities worldwide.
- To showcase men from different walks of life who are fabulous positive non-violent and non-sexist male role models.
- To provide dads worldwide a positive platform to share ideas about stopping sexism, misogyny, and violence against women and girls.
This year, participating dads talk about parenting in the age of online misogyny and violence against women and how fathers and father figures can teach, mentor, and guide their sons in navigating the influence of the “manosphere” among their peers and the rise of online “rape academies” where men congregate to learn how to rape and sexually assault women and girls.
Our first Fathers for Pixels interview of 2026 is with Jamie Rishikof from the U.S.
Picture courtesy of Jamie Rishikof.
The Dad Bio:
I have been a practicing psychologist specialised in working with kids and teens for 22 years. For 20 of those years, I have had my own private practice. I met my wife in 1999, and we were married in 2004. We have two children, a young man turning 18 this summer and nonbinary soon to turn 15. I still find time for my own friendships and hobbies, but my family is my priority.
1. What is the most challenging thing about being a dad in the age of misogyny and violence against women that are now turbocharged by technology and the internet in the form of the “manosphere” and online “rape academies”?
As teenagers, I know that it is normative for my kids to seek more age-appropriate independence. At their ages, it is age-typical for them to engage in social time that I do not get to directly observe. When I was a kid, that was in-person at the local mall, at friends’ houses, at the park, etc. In the current era, that socialising is largely online. Unfortunately, there are many concerning things that they can stumble into online, like bad influences, catfishing, cyberbullying, internet scams, etc. I struggle with the balance of wanting to know who they are talking with and what is going on in their conversations versus respecting their privacy and independence.
2. How do you think fathers and father figures can help young men and boys navigate pressure from their male peers to join these easily and widely accessible toxic male influencers, communities, and platforms?
I do my best to engage in mindful conversations with my son about the current trending comments of influencers and public figures and about things that come up in conversations with his peers that he is willing to share. I try to be receptive to his perspective and not rush to project my own perspective. I try to make room for us to consider different perspectives and viewpoints and consequences of those opinions of others.
3. What do you think fathers can do to help their daughters stay safe both online and offline given that high levels of online violence against women facilitates offline violence against girls in schools and universities?
I think the best thing fathers of daughters can do is to discuss moments of real potential violence that feel relevant – stories from the news, local stories, or from movies etc – to identify what can be learned from them, to learn how to identify and respond to red flags, to learn to self-advocate, escape, or self-defend and when and how to ask for help.
4. For fathers who don’t know where to start when it comes to guiding their children through this proliferation of misogyny, sexism, toxic masculinity, and violence against women online, what is the first step that you suggest they take?
I think a good place for men to start is to be mindful of modelling and transparency. To be considerate in how they talk about women and treat women in front of their children and the meta messaging therein. Transparency means being open to discussing their attitudes about the treatment of women, and to be willing to hear feedback and model how they react when that feedback might shine a light on their own blind spots in their treatment of women. Also, to the best of their ability, I would suggest fathers try to stay curious on what their children are consuming online and allowing for discussion of that media.
5. Finally, what do you think can be done to eradicate these platforms and communities whose aims are to nurture and proliferate toxic masculinity, misogyny, and sexism proliferate among men and boys?
I think that is a difficult question. It is a reaction to a symptom. I think prevention is mightier – to look at the factors that make boys vulnerable to that messaging. To try and identify the isolation, the resentment and entitlement and arrogance that all mask something more vulnerable. Then, to try to identify those vulnerable boys earlier and younger before they get entrenched in their anger and try to help them find more positive ways to deal with why they are angry or resentful.