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Becoming A New Man: Redefining Masculinity

An illustration of a cracked mirror. A different version of one person's face is in each section of the cracked mirror. The upper-left face has a beard and eyes with eyeliner on the top lid. The face to the right of that features a handlebar mustache with the ends curled up, a nose stud, multiple earrings and eyes donned with eyeshadow and a cat-eye in eye liner. The face on the righthand side of the mirror features a full beard and no makeup. Only the eyes of the face on the bottom of the mirror are visible, and they are lined with eyeliner and feature eyeshadow.
Charnel Hunter

Toxic masculinity has become a popular — and loaded — term in conversations about gender. Anita meets two people who are questioning the definition of manhood and inviting folks of all genders to explore what masculinity means.

What does it mean to be masculine? There are historical definitions that describe masculinity in terms of stoicism and strength, but younger generations are more frequently questioning those rigid expectations.

Host Anita Rao talks with college student and trans writer Ocean Wei about experiencing pressure to walk and act like a “typical” man when he first transitioned and how he’s found a sense of masculinity that feels comfortable. Also joining the conversation is Anjan Alavandar, founder of Masq, who talks about the in-person community gatherings they organize to discuss everything from expressing love in male friendships to the impact of colonialism on masculinity.

Special thanks to Charlie, Donat, Nikilesh and Erin for contributing to this conversation!

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Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.