Two nights ago I attended a town hall meeting about Healthy Masculinity. It was a really interesting discussion. When we arrived, they had everyone seated in an auditorium. They called about 6 people to the stage area to tell their experiences with healthy masculinity. After they spoke, they opened the floor for discussion to everyone. There were men and women of all race/ethnicity and age in attendance, and it was great to hear so many perspectives. While I do not think that you can thoroughly exhaust the topic of healthy masculinity in an hour and half, it was wonderful to hear so much discussion about a topic that is often not discussed.
Some of the unhealthy aspects of masculinity discussed were the feelings that it is not okay to cry (that one has to hide their emotions), too much aggression anger, using violence as a means to stopping violence, and feeling that is not okay to love or hug another man if you are heterosexual. Some of the examples given were really interesting. I did not necessarily agree with everything that was said, but I don't think that was the point of the seminar. I don't think that it is necessary for men to cry in order to be portraying "healthy masculinity". At the same time, I think if they want to cry, they shouldn't feel that it emasculates them in any way. In order for men to feel comfortable showing some of these signs of healthy masculinity, the subject must be talked about. Verizon Wireless was the one sponsoring this town hall meeting; it was the first of several that will be held around the country. For more information or to get involved, visit:
http://getinvolved.mencanstoprape.org/page.aspx?pid=368
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