Episode 30 - What Does It Mean To Be A Man?

Darron and Jeff grapple with the idea of masculinity and what it means to live as a man in 2023. First they briefly touch on how masculinity is frequently discussed in the context of “toxic masculinity” and then begin to examine how they have come to understand what it means to be a man. This leads to a discussion of their relationships and experiences with their own fathers, how concepts such as masculinity might exist on a spectrum that changes over time, and how we might move forward and build a more positive and affirmative vision of masculinity. Although this conversation is very much an attempt to make meaning for themselves, it is by no means an end to their thinking on this subject, and is in fact quite the opposite - an initial conversation about a complex topic they plan on delving into more deeply in the future.

Notes:

• 4:48 - See “What Went Wrong at Woodstock '99? 'Perfect Cocktail of Unfortunate Events'” (Newsweek, 2022)

• 5:40 - See the toxic masculinity Wikipedia entry

• 6:04 - Listen to the August 7, 2023 episode of The Gray Area podcast, “The New Crisis of Masculinity,” and the May 12, 2023 of The Bulwark podcast, “Richard Reeves: The Trouble with Boys and Men”

• 6:05 - Read “Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness.” (Washington Post, 2023) and “In Praise of Heroic Masculinity” (The Atlantic, 2023)

• 6:08 - See The Art of Manliness website and podcast

• 8:46 - See “The Enduring Grip of the Gender Wage Gap” (Pew Research Center, 2023) and “The Women’s Leadership Gap” (American Progress, 2018), and for much more detail on a global scale see the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2023”

• 9:33 - See the Marlboro Man Wikipedia entry

• 9:38 - According to Wikipedia the Marlboro Man was used in tobacco advertising campaigns for Marlboro cigarettes in the US from 1954 to 1999. First conceived in 1954. the images initially featured rugged men portrayed in a variety of roles but later primarily featured a rugged cowboy or cowboys in picturesque wild terrain. Interestingly the ads were originally conceived as a way to popularize filtered cigarettes, which at the time were considered feminine. The campaign is said to be one of the most brilliant advertisement campaigns of all time which transformed a feminine campaign, with the slogan "Mild as May", into one that was masculine, in a matter of months.

• 19:40 - See “What’s the Difference Between Sex and Gender?” (WebMD, 2023)

• 39:36 - See “Annual Sheehan-Lyman Hall powder puff game continues to draw attention in its 50th year” (Hartford Courant, 2021)

• 49:50 - Listen to Beautiful Illusions Episode 22 - What is Life? from March 2022