It's a Wednesday afternoon beer with a twist.
Newcastle girl dads are heading to the pub to learn how to do practical, everyday hairstyles for their daughters while exploring hard conversations about bodies, boundaries and consent, all with a crisp, frothy schooner in hand.
The Beers, Braids and Body Talk workshop, hosted by We Gotchu Girl Australia (WGG), hopes to help father figures better connect with their daughters.
WGG chief operations officer Sarah Welfare said the goal is to give dads the confidence and capability to step in and help.
"My dad had to learn how to do my hair, and I've always felt very lucky that he had taken the time," Ms Welfare said.
"Especially if you are a dad with only daughters, I feel like it's such an important way to be able to bond with them and teach them to take care of themselves that doesn't always feel accessible or might feel a bit out of your league."
The event at Shout Brewing is the first WGG has hosted, but the trend has taken place in the UK and at similar Sydney events like Pints and Plaits.
The aim is to create a judgment-free space where dads can learn, ask questions, share experiences and leave feeling more confident in everyday moments.
Ms Welfare said the conversation around consent was not just about sex, but about giving dads an opportunity to understand how to talk to their daughters about their bodily autonomy, their space and their boundaries.
"It's about helping dads answer questions they might not be sure to handle or might feel a bit foreign to them, like their daughter's first period or puberty," she said.
"Consent does not just apply to intimacy, girls are taught to be polite, be agreeable, be quiet, and that can get confused in the sense of boundaries.
"Being able to instil your body, your choice from a young age means that as situations become more complex, or more high stakes, girls already have the skills and understand they have the autonomy to make their own decisions."
Ms Welfare said she hoped dads left the workshop feeling empowered, and maybe made some new connections with other fathers going through a similar experience.
"We want them to feel like they've been given some tools, even just as simple as being able to do their daughter's hair is such a connection piece," she said.
"We just hope the dads and male caregivers will come out, sit down and have an open and honest conversation."
