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“Do you reach out to people?” I ask him. “Sometimes,” he replies, “but I know people are busy and I don’t want to bother them”.
Part of his feeling lonely is also his desire to not feel like a burden. So many men are socialized to believe that they shouldn’t need anyone, that they should be tough, strong, and independent.
That’s not how we’re wired though.
Humans — regardless of gender — are wired for connection.
Read MoreSupporting a friend through a breakup can be tough, but you can help your friend heal AND strengthen your friendship if you can be there for them. Here are our suggestions for how you can support your friend to move forward in a healthy way after a romantic relationship ends.
Read MoreReal growth, the kind of growth that changes you from a boy to a man, doesn’t happen in isolation from others—it happens primarily through and within our relationships with those who know us best. The question, then, is less about when you become a man, but with whom you become a man.
Read MoreGoing to therapy is much more common and far less stigmatized than at any other point in history. But how do we know if we need to go to therapy? Is self-care, self-help, or peer support enough?
Read MoreTo celebrate Next Gen Men’s eighth birthday last week we are looking back on the three trends that shaped last year’s conversations surrounding masculinity.
If you read our discussion of the internet trending to be the next generation’s biggest cultural touchstone and your biggest takeaway was that boys should than spend less time online — you might be missing the point.
Read MoreA smoky small-town rodeo arena might seem like an unconventional place to situate an analogy about supporting boys’ emotional lives, but there are three main qualities of pickup riders that have become part of how I envision working with boys.
Read MoreWe all think we know what testosterone is, but where is the line between fact and fiction? Well, it’s complicated. Testosterone has become more than just a hormone — it’s also a commodity and a symbol. How did one hormone become so intertwined with what masculinity is supposed to mean?
To find out, let’s take a deep dive decline into the three sides of testosterone.
Read MoreMen’s involvement in feminism pre-dates our Next Gen Men community by more than a hundred years. From the UK to the US, as early as the mid-1800s, there were men who supported women’s right to vote.
Men’s support for women’s suffrage was certainly slow and sparse to start — and indeed many men found the idea laughable — but it grew steadily toward the turn of the century.
Read MoreA man can be as feminine he wants, and still be a ‘strong’ man: Femininity will never make a man weak. So to any comments like ‘be a man,’ ‘toughen up,’ or ‘dress like you’re supposed to’…I say, I shall not! I shall dance, filled with joy. And that does not make me any less of a man.
Read MoreSometimes, especially on social media, folks wan to simplify the world by creating false dichotomies (i.e. you’re either feminist OR sexist) that cover up the complex ways that people encounter and perpetrate oppression both as individuals and within systems. The reality is typically more complicated.
Read MoreWhen it comes to school performance, behaviour, and social skills, children with involved dads perform better than those without. In many ways, by being affectionate, open, caring, nurturing and present, you are giving your children a head start to have healthy minds, hearts, and relationships.
Read More“Is it a boy or a girl?”
It’s one of the first questions expecting parents are asked—and remains one of the clearest examples of how, even before we’re born, gender is considered a defining feature of our identity. But is there more to being either a boy or girl?
What exists beyond the gender binary? The short answer is a lot.
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