Modern Manhood: The Podcast

In the second part of my conversation with Col Cseke we talk about what his journey was like being a man, his family and the ways they didn't conform to gender biases, and the many ways in which fatherhood has shaped the way Col see gender for life. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

When Calgary’s theatre community was faced sexual harassment accusations, a lot of men came together to lean into these discussions around the privilege of masculinity, these discussions mirror the discussions a lot of communities have been having. And it helps especially during these times to understand what that conversations looks and sounds like. I got a chance to talk to one member of that community who wants to see a change in how we see privilege and how he sees that community shaping that conversation. If you're in Calgary you can check out CART here. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Poetry was something that Ahmed did but he hid it, until wife showed him a poetry club, and ever since then Ahmed has tried to show poetry to the world. He's the current Poet Laureate for Edmonton, and his love for his community and the love of the community he has in Edmonton lead him be nominated for that position. He was part of the Breathe in Poetry collective and has spoken about and with immigrants. There's a reason why I wanted to talk to Ahmed, his perspectives are limitless and he approaches so many things with empathy and love. It was inspiring to talk to him, and I hope you're inspired too. Join Ahmed and Karen Teng for the launch of Otherwise Podcast on Sept 28th, and keep that show on your mind when you hear this episode. To find out more info check out the Otherwise Podcast. As well, if you want to check out Litfest there is a coupon code you can use if you check out the start of the show where you can get 5 bucks off. Go to litfestalberta.org for all the shows and tickets available in October. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Over all men between the ages of 25-29 were far more likely to get their sexual education from porn than any other form. Now anyone who has a passing knowledge of internet porn can see how problematic that can be, if everything you learn about sex is through these forms of entertainment. It’s like learning how to drive a car from action movies. Luckily as we have heard before from people like Bryony Cole, the sex tech industry is vastly evolving and now we have places where people can ask those sex questions that maybe you couldn’t ask your teacher, your mom, your dad, or hell even your doctor. Juicebox is an app that is made just for that, and I invited Brianna Rader the founder of Juicebox to tell us more about the app and how it can help men of all ages You can try out the app by using the code MANHOOD This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

On this episode we speak again to Matthew Hodges a little more deeply on his own foundations around masculinity, and his father and his family. And we also end on an inspiring note about equal rights that is threaded all over r/MensLib Matthew is also the host of Liquid Flannel and of The Bread Line German also did an AMA at r/menslib This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

I have long been a fan of Reddit’s MensLib subreddit just for things like their confidant and direct approach to tackling men's issues in an intersectional way, their constant and hardworking mods team, and the daily discussion on all things guys but in a way that’s inclusive, educated, and not made to vilify others. So I was so happy to have Matthew Hodges, the founder of MensLib on Modern Manhood to have a long discussion about why he wanted to start MenLib, the values and foundations of that community, and his own personal life. And as usual, we talked a lot so this will be in two parts. These are also the links The Gender Knot episode, and Next Gen Men's Patreon page. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

“What does it means to be a man?” “What are the words you think of when we hear the words 'masculinity'?” These are some of the fundamental basic starting questions on your journey to this thing I like to call “exploring your own identity and gender.” Which kinda leads to critiquing societies idea of gender, which I hope leads to critiquing your ideas around gender. I am noticing more and more a lot of guys asking themselves that very basic but enlightening question. Tim Wenger is one of those guys, and he decided to start a project (The Man Effect) when he was questioning his own version of masculinity, asking people If you were to describe what it means to be a man in one word, what would it be and why? Well I wanted to find out more about his project, and what he has learned from it. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

This is part two of our conversation with Michael Rowley who is a filmmaker from Dallas Texas, who also made a film about Palestinian youths, specifically who do parkour. The movie is called Hurdle (Hurdlefilm.com). Now the reason why I wanted to split this into two is to highlight the very vulnerable and very honest way in which Michael approaches identity, either his own or of the people around him, including his subjects. Michael also hands out some amazing advice that mirrors David Ogle's and that actually began from a conversation that he and another past guest, Remoy, had. The trailer of Hurdle is here: https://vimeo.com/231203737/ec9eb0a431 This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Michael Rowley is a filmmaker from Dallas Texas, who made a film about Palestinian youths, specifically who do parkour. The movie is called Hurdle (Hurdlefilm.com). Now what is interesting to me, is not so much that last sentence (even though that last sentence can be unpacked in so many ways), what’s interesting is the man, Michael Rowley. Michael, born in Texas, a place as idealistic as I can find living outside of it, a place that screams guns, catholicism and trucks (not so different than Alberta to be honest), Michael went on to film a movie about one of the most divisive areas in the world, Palestine. The trailer is here: https://vimeo.com/231203737/ec9eb0a431 This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Today we're starting something new at Modern Manhood, a conversation series with I will bring on some of my (and yours) favorite conversational guests to talk about what's going on the news, and what is going on with our lives. They're going to come at you sporadically, so think of them as bonus pods in addition to the regular Modern Manhood. On this episode, we speak to our buddy Jeff Perera about Anthony Bourdain's death, Chris Hardwick's allegations of abuse, and cats! This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

The reason why I wanted to split this into two and make sure we get Jermal’s takes on masculinity right now is because he mentions a lot of key advice and ideas that have not been mentioned a whole lot lately, mainly about community and how men in general need to not only critique what goes around them (in a respectful way), but have the openness to be wrong. Critiquing is not a bad thing when done in an open manner, arguing for argument's sake...well that’s a different story. We might get stuck. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

I was honored to talk about this and the research that Chataleine’s Editor at Large’s Rachel Giese has done to write the book “Boys: What It Means to Become A Man.” She has taken the time to look at what is going on in Canada in regards to the toxic forms of traditional western masculinity, interested in groups like WiseGuyz down in Calgary, and speakers like once and future guest Jeff Perera. We speak about her motivations for the books, what surprised her the most, complicity and the danger of “otherisms” in regards to #MeToo, and her call not only to the isolation of some men, but also to step back and think of the victims of violence. You can find the men's survey that Chataleine did here. If you want to see what Wolf Pack is about, they are making it happen in Calgary and in Toronto. Click the links to get your tickets. YESSPAINTING can be found here This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

For today’s guest, from the great city of Toronto, we have Jermal Alleyne. A leader of youth groups and men’s groups in two different capacities, one through Next Gen Men and one through the John Howard Society. This interview was fascinating to me because it’s very close to what I do here in Edmonton, and our approaches are similar but at the same time it’s great to hear it said out loud. We go through the differences of teaching the two, we also touch a bit about Jermal’s father, and his journey to working anti-violence work. You’ll hear part two of my conversation with Jermal on episode 57. But on the next Modern Manhood, we’re going to talk to Rachel Giese, the editor at large for Chatelaine about her new book all about Canadian masculinity. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

If you remember last week, we spoke to performance coach David Ogle. I wanted to splice his conversation in two just because I feel, just like his company’s namesake, it’s good in doses. In the first half we talked about what he thought about being a man in a place that was “made for women,” and in this half I wanted to tease out some theories with him, one specifically about the roles of coaches as a form of therapy for men. David also tells us about his life changing moment, a moment he calls his “ok we’re turning a corner here” moment. And he also quotes some Disney to give us his end of show advice. Stick around for it. Our new sponsor is YESSPAINTING.COM which Youth Empowerment and Support Services are helping kids work and help out in the community This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

I wrote this piece for my little daily blog on Medium about life coaches and how I found them to be, kind of disingenuous. You know, giving you advice on what’s going on, and pretending to be nice so they can get money from you. But I was surprised that I was asked to speak to David Ogle, who is a performance coach from Dose Coaching. He mentioned that he was curious about masculinity and how it shapes us, and was super keen to explore this with me. So I checked him out, and what I found was fascinating. We chatted for a while, and so for the sake of me not cutting his story, I’m going to split this into two parts. So this is part 1 with my conversation with David Ogle. Dose Coaching and it's Blog can be found here, also you should subscribe to their newsletter You can find the PodSummit info here This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Led by Samantha Nzessi and Remoy Philip the first, MASKulinity podcast is a conversation about their lives and how masculinity was shaping it, from the female side and from the internal male side. I had a chance to talk to both Samantha and Remoy about the genesis of their show, the way masculinity is performed in their lives, and the work of media around our premises. Samantha and Remoy, both from Brooklyn, New York are in the middle of their second season, and they started off with a bang, bringing up scholar and savant Michael Kimmel from the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities from Stony Brook University. You can also check out Remoy's blog here to find out about his interviews that I mention on the show This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Gianmarco Visconti is a feminist gay young muslim poet who is one of the host and producers of the feminist talk radio Adament Eve. And I asked him from a recommendation to come to Modern Manhood to talk about his stories of his wrestling identity of being Muslim, to his life as a gay man, and how his name represents a small mask but something that he has embraced. Listening back to this episode, I kept coming back to this phrase of multiple identities, and how we can inhabit them, and also to think about what life is like for a gay muslim, which in itself sounds like rebellion in a homophobic and islamaphobic society. If you want to check out Adament Eve, it’s airing on CJSR 88.5 in Edmonton on Fridays from 5:30pm to 6pm. If you want to go to see Doug Hoyer on March 17th, use the code APNROCKS to get 5 dollars off. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

It’s our 50th episode of Modern Manhood! What an occasion! We have a special announcement which you can find out more through my blog post on Medium, basically Modern Manhood will be Modern Manhood Presented by Next Gen Men. So to give you a breadth of what NextGenMen are about, you’re going to hear one of their founders, Jake Stika, talk about the genesis of NGM. Jake will also talk about the work that they do, what the future looks like for them, feminism and it’s relation with men. We also sneak in some basketball talk in there. You can also find anything to do with NextGenMen at nextgenmen.ca including Modern Manhood. Buy some socks! They are pretty sweet. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Today we’re joined by one of my good friends, Lyndsay Chaban. We met almost 13 years ago, while working together at a big retail chain, both of us in customer service position, helping people with returns and complains. And I think, a theory of mine, in some weird way that has subconsciously informed us into the paths that she took. Working as a psychologist that is working with “Men’s Issues.” So I wanted to reconvene and chat with Lyndsay as to why she chose the path she took, and also, most importantly to dole out some great advice for men in regards to relationships, feelings, and anger. All of these informed from her own practice. If you need to seek counselling with someone who deals with men as a specification, you can check out Lyndsay at Summit Counselling Services, This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Bryony Cole is leading the way, along with the many women of sex tech, in trying to understand what could be the healthy, and amazing future of sex, and how technology can be used to provide empathy, compassion, love, and positive interaction. She also cares a lot about how men are using these new technologies, and how pornography is being used in the day to day world. We got to chatting about dating apps, pornography, VR, sex education, among many other things. Check out the Future of Sex podcast anywhere you find good podcasts. If you’re in Australia, on March 23-25 there will be a Hackathon where you can help design, create and build the Future of Sex! You can find all that information if you go to futureofsex.org/hackathon. I’ll also put that up in the show notes. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Alex Putici is an entrepreneur out in Calgary who I wanted to meet because he started a program called 100 men who give a damn, a foundation in which 100 guys gave money to a different charity each year. But he’s also a guy that tries to live and breath vulnerability, if you don’t believe me check out his website putici.com which cites how many times he got fired, how many times he’s gotten audited by the CRA, and if he has ADHD (yes he does). But through my conversation with Alex, we tease out one of his vulnerable spots, the role of the provider as a man, along with some of his excellent expertise as a businessman. You can check out all the projects Alex has going on at putici.com or see him in person in Calgary at WorkNicer. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

On the last episode of 2017, I invite an old friend of mine who wanted to share his story and progression of his understanding of feelings and emotions. And also to share the wisdom that he has gained through his journey as a business owner and a stand up comic. Either through the sexism that was created by the old boys clubs that he was a part of, or through the ethical problems he faced navigating such an environment. This episode is sponsored by ECF’s Well Endowed Podcast Modern Manhood is proud to be a part of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

The discourse online it’s becoming kind of heated. It feels like you’re either with an opinion or against that opinion. No middle ground. Well if you look hard enough, you can find some people who are generally nuanced and generally want to see the right in the world, and not interested in debating, but engaging in topics. One of those people I found is Kevin Peterson aka The1Janitor. He’s a Youtuber with a substantial following, and one of his mantras is “Be Honest, be assertive, be kind, be open-minded. But Kevin still engages in modern topics in a fun and informative way. On this episode we talk about #MeToo and what it takes for men to be assertive and pay attention online. You can find Kevin or his Youtube name The1Janitor on twitter (https://twitter.com/the1janitor) and on YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/the1janitor/) where you can find all of his videos. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

It’s easy to say that the concept of martial arts and masculinity run in very close circles. I’m very curious about things like the rise of the UFC, or the portrayal of a violent form of conduct like martial arts in movies have an effect of how men view their masculinity. Jaredd Wilson is a black belt Aikedo specialist who runs a podcast called Martial Thoughts out of Nashville Tennessee. He took on the challenge of trying to guide through my ignorance around martial arts and think about how he views his own masculinity through martial arts. You can find Jarredd Wilson on Twitter at martialthoughts and his webpage which includes all his martial art reviews and his podcast at thinkingmartial.blogspot.com This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

In the second part of my conversation with Jeff Perera we speak about the aspects of shame. And how shame colors the barriers of men to truly engage in the conversation of anti-violence and masculine liberation. To be able to confront those actions of our past, and to flex what Jeff calls “those empathy muscles.” In this conversation, we also get a chance to bond over one of our favorite bands: The Beastie Boys and I also get a chance to reflect on International Men's Day. You can find Jeff Perera on Twitter and Instagram at Jeffperera. And you can check out his work through Higher Unlearning. Clip in the episode is from the movie "The Punk Singer" about Kathleen Hanna This episode is sponsored by ECF's Well Endowed Podcast Modern Manhood is proud to be a part of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

I reached out to Jeff Perera, activist and public speaker out in Toronto that has been working for anti-violence projects out there for at least 10 years now. We talked about reconciliation for men, and we also connected on how we came to do the work we do, along with stories about his father, safe spaces, and the tragedy of December 6th. I had such an awesome convo with Jeff, actually felt lighter afterwards to be honest, that I’m splitting this up into two! Stay tuned for part 2 next episode You can find Jeff Perera on Twitter and Instagram at Jeffperera. In this episode we also talked a lot about Next Gen Men, an organization that are doing some big and awesome things down in Calgary and in Toronto. You can find them at nextgenmen.ca This episode is sponsored by ATB Financial Modern Manhood is proud to be a part of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

When the media, schools, and society at large speak the issues of body image and how it affects your self-esteem, we usually hear about from a female lens. We don’t think of this as a male issue, but I can tell you honestly that the majority of men face body issue problems. And I think men of all sexual orientation have a specific relationship with their penis. UK artist and photographer, Laura Dobsworth started a project to help women deal with body issues called Bare Reality in which she invited 100 women to bare their breasts for a photo book, and then have them share their stories around body image. She then asked, why can’t I do this for men? So she created Manhood: A Bare Reality in which she asked 100 men to bare their penises. This was all in an effort to normalize the way we look at penises, and especially for men to show us a real version of what a penis looks like. We had an awesome chat about the process and the privilage of asking 100 men about their penis. You can order Manhood: The Bare Reality from Amazon in Canada right now and if you get a chance take a look at this blog post about the process that Laura has gone into to making this book. Along with all the press she has done for the project. The Man of The Hour was Simon Gorsek, check out the episode to find out why. This episode was sponsored by the Edmonton Community Foundation and as always The Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. You can also find the Tight Ends Podcast which we talked about here. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Do we have a problem when politicians such as Justin Trudeau and Theresa May call themselves feminist? Especially if they back policies which in their root cause are anti-feminist? And the other big one, does feminism truly lead to a liberation of traditional masculinity? Or does it just critique? And if it just critiques, where does that lead the men who want to find their own masculinity? Ally Fogg, writer for The Guardian and many other publications, has been asking these questions for years. And not only that has worked to push the UK government for a more gender inclusive language when they talk about issues like violence. We spoke in the summer a little after the many terrorist attacks in the UK, which we get a chance to speak about, and we also talk about the dangers of labels, especially on politicians. I would encourage you to check out Ally’s fight with the UK government in the role of mislabelling male victims of abuse over at his blog. I would also encourage you to check out one of his latest posts about stopping men being violent through the lens of Raewyn Connell. Asking instead the question “why does society value violent men?” which makes it hard for men to walk away from violence. This episode of Modern Manhood is brought to you by the Edmonton Community Foundation which is host to the Well Endowed Podcast, check out their new episode with the one and only, George Takei I will also be speaking at the upcoming Rad Dad's event called The Summit. Check out Rad Dads on Instagram and Twitter if you want to come. Modern Manhood is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

All of those times I changed my career path, they really gnawed at my question of identity. What was I supposed to be? What am I supposed to give out to the world? And it also answered the question that the path for a career, even for yourself was never in a straight line. We’re lucky if that happens. Andrew Paul faced the same questions of identity. But Andrew is quick to say that his story is not singular, and it is actually helped along with the many fantastic powerful women in his life. We also ask what kind of man am I if I’m not doing my passion? Who shapes our passions? And who questions them? You can find more about the Well-Endowed Podcast and the Edmonton Community Foundation here. The podcast I Don't Get It is back too! Desmond Cole is our Man of The Hour, and you can find out the store of Beverley Braham here. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Kristain Basaraba grew up on punk rock, and his idols were punk rock singers. But he didn’t play or he didn’t sing, but he still wanted to do something punk rock. Being a dad he saw didn’t look punk rock, so Kristain has injected a bit of it to the Dad movement. He paired up with a local designer (Nigel Hood)and created a skull and hearts logo to make Rad Dads, a chapter of a group down in the states of positive, active fathers wanting to create a network of empowered dads in the community. Why did he want to do it though? What brought him to a place of saying I want to build something cool for my son and for other little kids? And why dads? Well his story has heartbreak and lessons learned, and his story should be heard. Check out Rad Dad Edmonton on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram On this episode we talk about Robert Webb of Mitchell and Webb fame, and his fight against traditional gender normative, especially as a man. You can find more awesome podcasts at AlbertaPodcastNetwork.com, support for Modern Manhood comes from ATB and on this episode The Edmonton Community Foundation This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

How we as men here in Canada, especially in Alberta, view hockey players is right at the top of the masculinity hierarchy. This has been ingrained to us since we’re kids. And I can say even as adults we admire these players to what they can be, and look to them to be examples of leaders, to show us perseverance, resiliency, and humbleness. So hockey players have a distinct role to play in how Canadian men act and behave, so the question then becomes, are these men doing a good job?To try to answer these questions, I invited Carl To try to answer these questions, I invited Carl Landra who runs The 4th Line Podcast and also part of the Alberta Podcast Network. And we take some time to talk about issues like LGBTQ representation in the NHL, Domestic Violence with players, and questions like does the NHL care about players being idols to kids. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Today we’re going to continue our exploration of things “nerdy.” by talking about video games. And to help us, I invited Carolyn Petit who is the managing editor for Feminist Frequency. Now you might have heard of Feminist Frequency because of it’s executive director Anita Sarkeesan who was a prominent player in Gamergate. But besides this whole mess, I was more interested in how an almost male dominated platform as video games has effects in masculinity. How we see ourselves in this monster of a medium, in which many boys partake in, and how we can work to show a more wholesome narrative. Carolyn not only has experience in critique of these platforms, she’s also worked at GameSpot.com and is herself a transgendered woman. And we get a chance to talk about all of this. You can find Carolyn and Feminist Frequency here: Carolyn Petit https://twitter.com/carolynmichelle Feminist Frequency: https://feministfrequency.com/ Modern Manhood is proud to be part of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB The music for this episode is by: Chill Soul Rap Instrumental by Nkato https://soundcloud.com/nkato Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Wonder Women came out in May, and along with it came a wake of good feelings, well wishes, and empowerment among women superhero lovers. Now of course, with anything involving geeky fandoms and women, the trolls came out. First it was whining about the all female screening of Wonder Woman in Texas, and then the just souring of the movie as some sort of “propaganda tool.” Not only that we see it not just with women characters, but also any characters that don’t fit the white male archetype. I’m thinking of Squirrel Girl, Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel, and Black Panther. Why do men, specifically white men, get so riled up with the diversity this industry needs? Well I brought in a lived experience expert, Brandon Schatz, co-owner of Varient Edition comics here in Edmonton. He’s got expert knowledge as to why males behave this way, and it has a lot to do with the history of the matter, he’s also indirectly lived the sexism when opening his store with his wife Danica. Besides that we’re also going to talk about his own life as a business owner, his life as an introvert who helps other introverts, and why he puts his money where his mouth is. Question of the Episode: What was the coolest, most selfless thing another man has done for you? Send me your anwsers at @modernmanpod You can find Brandon’s store Varient Edition at 10132 - 151 Street NW, Edmonton, AB or online at varientedition.com You can find brandon on twitter @soupytoasterson please send all geeky questions to him! He knows a lot! You can check out more Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB at albertapodcastnetwork.com This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

When you work in any type of professional field, you usually end up meeting the same cast of characters. Working in what some people call the “men sector,” the people that are committed to issues like ending violence against women, creating healthy masculinities, and working with male victims is pretty small. Especially locally. One of the perks of doing this podcast, and living in a world where people are connected via social media, is that you get a chance to connect with people all around the world. Ashley Thomson is one of those people. Ashley started up the website Homer, dedicated to creating conversations around masculinity. Through this interview we’re going to talk about why he started Homer, his feelings of connections with other male friends, his time though depression and what helped him get out of it, and the things two people wondering about the same thing from other parts of the world have in common. Homer: http://homeronline.com/ Homer's Half Hour Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/homer-half-hour This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Have you ever looked at your body, looked in the mirror, and just hated it? So much so that you would go out of your way to not do things like go swimming, take off your shirt, and maybe even have sex with the lights off always. The concept of body image which in the past was something that for the most part gets attributed to women, now we can say that it affects both men and women. The policing of bodies though does happen in a higher frequency for women than it does for males, and I believe that’s one of the many reasons why we do focus a lot in respect to body image with women. But men definitely suffer through it, I know I have. Nate Proctor also has, and he took to YouTube to do what he thought was an almost impossible task, take off his shirt for everyone to see. Nate did this because he knows the value of self-love, self-awareness, and how we can be more vulnerable with each other. He shares this message through his very popular Instagram account, his Youtube channel, and his articles he has written for Huffington Post. He knows this because he too has suffered through a lot, addiction, homelessness, and depression. But he uses the lessons he has learned to share with everyone, and that’s what we’re going to do here, listen about his life, his lessons, and what we as men can take out of this. Nate talks about two books on the podcast: Cheryl Strayed: Tiny Beautiful Things Katherine Schwarzenegger: I Just Graduated...Now What? This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

On today’s show, we go a little more personal, and speak directly about Elliott and Michael’s background as first-generation Canadians and how their family households made them unique participants in the line for political commentators. How their dads set them up to be more sensitive and vulnerable males, and how they enjoy each other as male friends. Not only that we speak to the masculinity and politics of Justin Trudeau, and the way some conservatives have pegged liberal masculinity. Particularly around the word “cuck” That and a lot more in my second part of talking to Elliott Tanti and Michael Vecchio from The Highlevel Showdown You can find Michael and Elliott on Twitter @highlevelshowdown and I will put their personal accounts in the shownotes which you can find at modernmanhood.org. Also check out the Patreon page at patreon.com/modernmanpod. You can find MMP in iTunes, Stitcher, or anywhere you find awesome podcasts. If you want to be a guest of the show, send me a line @modernmanpod on Twitter and Instagram, or find me on Facebook at Modern Manhood: The Podcast. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

I started listening to The Highlevel Showdown, a local politics show with two guys, Elliott Tanti and Michael Vecchio, from opposite sides of the political view talk about what the heck is going on in the world of politics. Now, lucky for me they also were curious about questions of manhood, and questions in how masculinity works in politics as much as I did. Even more lucky for me, they were curious about their own masculinity, and how their lives intertwined as immigrants, first generation Canadians (like they are), and most importantly as long time friends. Now because I had a lot to ask of them and the conversation was flowing I decided to split this into two parts. The first part you’ll hear right now is Elliott, Michael, and myself talking about what was going on with the intersection of politics and masculinity which involves, yep, Donald Trump. But we also talk local politics and specifically the struggles that women have to get into politics, be heard, and the harassment they face. Check all episodes of the podcast at modernmanhood.org This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

For today’s episode, I wanted to speak directly about men’s mental health and how men have problems getting the help they need either through the system that creates barriers or the society that sees them in a different light. This ties hand in hand with Men’s mental Health Awareness Day on June 13. So for this, I wanted to speak to a front line worker here in Edmonton that deals directly with people with mental health disorders and problems. Jessica Craig has been helping kids and adults with mental health problems for years now, and is now an intake worker for a prominent place in Alberta. Lucky for me, she’s got a keen particular interest in men’s mental health, and also is a good friend of mine. I was lucky to share a bowl of pho with her, and sat down on her couch with her dog Zoe to speak about the issues that she sees in the front line. Some of the links I have mentioned: Alberta Men's Network Metro Community Choice Award Men's Mental Health Awareness Day G Radio Night Vision Music This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Allen Featherstone has gone through his own journey of understanding how to be a proper man and human being. And it took him a long struggle with addictions, with hard drugs, then alcohol to understand what he has to do. In this interview, you can see that he is still on this journey, one that he is willing to share with anyone who will listen. You can hear that he is working to better himself, and some days he wins and some days he loses. You can tell he wants to be more at peace with himself, with his wife, and with his daughter. In this episode, I also talk about Ryan Getzlaf and his fine over an inappropriate comment. You can check out Allen’s podcast The Featherstone by searching it on iTunes or on Stitcher . You can also find him on Instagram @theFeatherstonehimself an on twitter @thefeatherpod If you want to support the Modern Manhood Podcast, check out the patreon page at patreon.com/modernmanpod This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

In early May, Modern Manhood Podcast celebrated one year of life. In the last 12 months we have had an awesome collection of interviews and guests, each providing a unique spin on what they call manhood. In the first of many different clip shows, I'm going to be providing some feedback on my favorite parts of these interviews, as well as try to parse them in a way which is relevant to the study of masculinity. Today we talk about fatherhood, with guests like Micheal Hingston, Ryan Valley, and Darren Cheverie. And what that means to yourself as a man, and to your sons and daughters. I hope you enjoy and you can catch all these episodes in full at the modernmanhoodpodcast.com This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Today I'm very excited to talk to Dr. Joseph Gelfer who is the founding editor of Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, and the creator of the Future Masculinity online course and Director of Masculinity Research. He also created the Five Stages of Masculinity model, which is used to view a person's understandings of masculinity. This model is the basis of the Masculinity Research organization directed by Joseph Gelfer which offers " insight into men and masculinity in three key areas: Market research for products and services, Social research for non-profit and governmental policymakers [and] People and culture development for businesses and organizations." The conversation that we'll be talking about today, delves a lot into how we as people who talk about masculinities. We talk about the current problems of the discourse involving masculinities and how we can move beyond just talking about the opposite of "toxic masculinities" and how we as a society are stuck in stage 3 of masculinities. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Today we're going to talk about the law. Not the law in regards to masculinity or how it affects males, but the law profession. How it affects the notions of self-care, and how the law profession is heavily run by males, and what the effect of that dynamic can be. We're going to talk to law student Ian Moore from Vancouver about this, plus I wanted to ask about his own life and what stories might he have over how he views his masculinity. Including an interesting story in which he gets mugged. If you haven't done so already, please check out The Ferdinand's new story by Derek Nadeau titled "Coping." In which Derek goes through his journey into finding coping skills to take care of his own mental health, which took a drastic toll. If you want to share your own story through Modern Manhood, please send me a line at [email protected] or find me on Twitter @modernmanpod. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

On April 1st, Men Edmonton put on a special event screening the movie The Mask You Live In by the Representation Project. Through this movie Men Edmonton invited a panel of different men with different viewpoints, including old guest David Shepherd, to talk about masculinity in an open manner. The panel was hosted by 630CHED’s Ryan Jesperson, and the event was kicked off by Councillor and friend of the show, Scott McKeen. I was so happy that Men Edmonton did this, and received quite well too. More than 400 people attended the free event, and I got a chance to talk to some of them before the movie, to hear what brought them to watch a movie about masculinity, after the movie to hear what they liked and didn't like, and their own perspectives on masculinity. I also got a chance to talk some of the presenters. In this episode, you will hear past guest Matt Souch, Jason Garcia, Scott McKeen , also The Ferdinand contributor Micheal Cameron, and a special appearance by Montreal Sauce host Chris Sikkenga. This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/joinYou can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/