Shame and misinformation, along with antiquated and toxic ideals of manhood and masculinity, feed a culture of silence surrounding men as victims of sexual violence. In a powerful and devastating personal history written for the New Yorker, acclaimed writer Junot Díaz reveals that he was raped as a child. Diaz then details years of struggles, with…
It’s April! It’s springtime! Dear listeners, as you’re tucking away your sweaters for the season, planting some veggies in the garden, rolling down your car windows, and doing whatever else you do as the weather warms, I hope you’ll also turn up this month’s entry to the New Masculinities Playlist: “The Boy” by Shannon and…
Popular culture presents no shortage of great examples of men who embody a toxic and unhealthy masculinities. Equally problematic is that too often these bad examples aren’t presented as such; in fact, they are often presented as the ideal. Instead of valorizing violent and emotionally-disconnected ways of being a man, we need to promote and encourage tender men: Men who…
Sometimes I come across an article, a blog, a meme, a .gif, or some other easily digestible gem on the internet that so perfectly sums up an aspect of my experience, my thoughts, my fears, that I immediately begin making a list of people that I want to share it with. When I started to…
On April 20, 1999, I was barely a month into my 16th year, a sophomore in high school full of angst, unrequited love, joy, and maybe a little anger. For years one of my favorite songs was Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” the grunge anthem to teen angst and anger, but more so an ode to sadness…
To turn the New Masculinities Playlist up to 11 in 2018, we had the idea to make it an actual playlist, in addition to a series of essays. So, to that end, we’ve got a couple goodies lined up for you today: First, here is a Spotify playlist of all the songs I mentioned in…
Anxiety manifests in a number of ways. For those of us who struggle with it, our coping mechanisms can be as unique as the people who experience it. For Toronto-based Chris Grady, father of two young children, and elementary school teacher, creating short, sweet, and thoughtful webcomics has become one outlet for his anxiety. Featuring short interactions…
As music fans, critics, and collectors know well, the end of every year signals the return of list season, that holy (and wholly silly) time when we assign arbitrary numerical rankings to our favorite songs and albums. And I have to plead guilty: Even as I simultaneously scold myself about scarcity versus abundance, and as…
