Modern Manhood

It was our one year anniversary of Wolf Pack in Edmonton and we celebrated by talking about how work has a gendered lens to it. Either through the careers we choose, to the trouble we give to men and women who are not working their “traditional work roles.”

We wanted to hear from the people that have experienced both sides of the coin, and to try to get to the gritty knowledge of what it’s like to be in those roles. Because this is something that happens in our daily lives.

I’m looking for journalists who cover masculinity or gender because I want to talk to them. So this is a call out to anyone who has some experience in journalism and wants to come on to talk to me about how the media is talking about , or if you know of anyone in that field, please send me an email at german@nextgenmen.ca

Toxic Masculinity, it’s what many people think this podcast is about, a term that comes loaded with many definitions: gender roles and dominations, expression of emotions, the opposite of healthy masculinity, whatever that looks like, and what can be noted as traditional. All of them  add to the confusion of what Toxic Masculinity, a phrase that is entrenched in our vernacular, actually is. So I ask, does the media get this essential part right?

The way that masculinity gets talked about in the general mainstream media really annoys me.

If anyone wants to learn more about how masculinity shapes our daily life, or how gender affects the world at large, the media does a piss poor job of explaining even the basic of concepts. How does someone even learn about multiple masculinities, gender inequality structures, systemic issues that deal with masculinity?

Is there a solution to all of this? Or is this even a problem?

Ryan if you don’t know is one of the co-founders of Men Edmonton, and most importantly one of the men that guided me into the pro-feminist masculinity movement. I met him at a coffee shop in Edmonton, he wanted to suss me out before I could join Men Edmonton. Well i guess I fit the bill and I was invited in, and have been thankful ever since. And now he’s joined the Next Gen Men family, as the Program Manager for Wolf Pack.

We got a chance to talk about what it’s like to be at a Wolf Pack, the highs, the challenges, and the tension. About the group and about masculinity in general

To celebrate the third anniversary of Modern Manhood, I asked for people to submit questions that they have wonderings of in regards to masculinity and gender. So here’s me answering a few. We’re going to talk about:

-Straight Man’s Anxiety

-Young Boys

-Facts and Logic Bros

-Men’s Groups

Links: Harper Bazaar’s “Men have No Friends and Women Bear The Burden“, Deloitte’s “The Design of Everyday Man”

We have been talking about the relationship between men and female friends for a long time. It was the basis of the movie When Harry Met Sally, a good 5 years before Friends invented the Friendzone.

The issue is that the lesson of those movies and in fact of society is that men and women are sooooo attracted to each other that they cannot be friends.

So today, I’m going to give you a small treat, I’m going to give you a listen to the last WolfPack we did here in Edmonton, to get a chance to listen to our storytellers talk about The Friendzone.

Jessica runs Ripple Effect, go check her events out

There is a notion especially in western society that environmentalism is deemed girly or not manly. Either by being vegetarian, caring about animals, or just caring about the environment in general.

Why is that?

Even though issues like climate change is a non-gendered issue that affects everyone, men for the most part resist green behaviour or activism. Why do a lot of men think being eco-friendly is unmanly?

Articles:

– https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/pajdyg/greta-thunberg-by-harley-weir-intereview?utm_source=vicetwitterus

– https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/article/experts-come-surprising-solutions-climate-change-new-ucvox-video-series/