A year-and-a-half ago, I brought the question: “What happened to masculinity?” to the red carpet. I talked about my concern around modern guys not stepping up to the plate, being overly emotional, and just being less assertive and more passive in general — thus making 99 percent of the straight female population lose their goddamn minds. And while I still feel like there’s validity in some of this, I was definitely cut-fucking-throat. Seriously gave no mercy.
Cut to 2019 when mental health problems are plaguing us ALL, and my views on men have almost taken a 180-degree turn. I noticed that we tend to make discussions around mental health geared towards women, and it’s just not fair. (For example, when Justin Bieber opened up about his difficulties, people were shook. Why?) I not only experienced mental health obstacles myself, and while painful, the process has allowed my savage streak to grow more empathetic. I also had men in my life dealing with their own mental health issues as well and it’s been a real eye-opener.
I took this to the red carpet with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Rachel Bloom and Superstore‘s Lauren Ash and Nichole Bloom. While it can be frustrating dealing with men who don’t want to look inside and deal with THEMSELVES, there was a common theme in our talk: We need to give men permission to talk about what they’re going through and help facilitate and open the dialogue. It’s smart and it’s sexy. If these guys aren’t taking care of themselves, how could they take care of you?
Leave a Reply