Podcast: A Conversation With Men About the Challenges of Masculinity – Part 1
By: Devon Evans – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
Today, I’m sitting down with a room full of diverse men to talk about the challenges of masculinity. The reason I wanted to facilitate this discussion is to bring to light some of the points and perspectives on what it means to be a man in modern day, told by men. Everyone, regardless of how they present or identify, should have a vested interest in loosening the tight grip of patriarchal masculinity because it not only hurts women and LGBTQ people, but it hurts men, too.
Here are a few of the ideas we discuss:
- The overwhelming statistics of violence by men, not just to others, but to themselves (suicide), and the gaping void of close friends they can turn to in crisis within individualistic societies
- The myth of the “real man”… who is this mythical man?!
- The lack of vulnerability men are “allowed” to show, especially when it affects their physical and emotional wellbeing
- When the tough guise of manliness serves a purpose as an adaptive mechanism (combat zones, police force, etc) versus when it’s maladaptive (in family life, relationships, with our children, etc)
- The lack of healthy leadership for boys as they transition into adulthood, that directly impacts their ability to be good, present fathers and learn how to enjoy their sexuality in a healthy way
- The socialization of men into being autonomous and not asking for help, even when situations are dire
Devon Evans, host of the podcast, F*ck Like a Woman, is a sex-positive life coach with a passionate interest in sexuality and relationship issues. Studying social structures like gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation in college, Devon shaped her acute ability to communicate compassion and understanding for the human experience. Her life coaching principles are woven into her message of self-love for those who struggle with worthiness, shame, guilt, and rejection.
Devon’s vision is a world where women feel emboldened to really exist inside their bodies, entitled to a healthy, robust sexuality, where their bodies aren’t treated as sexual commodities. Devon envisions men living as fully actualized human beings that are not shamed for their emotions, depth, and tenderness, where their masculinity is not threatened for being true lovers of women.
Devon’s mission in life is to teach, coach, and encourage others to embrace and live out their truest selves and highest purpose by limiting how we allow the socially constructed restrictions of our physical world to alter our choices and our destiny.
Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
