In 2017, old school toxic masculinity reared its ugly head. As 2018 began, it became clear that the world needed a new kind of masculinity. One that was in stride with feminism. One that would put men back get in touch with their emotions. One that would support the modern man through a period of growth.
So early in January this year, I teamed up with ex-editor of shortlist Martin Robinson and Mark Sandford to battle toxic masculinity and launch a new men’s digital media platform called "The Book of Man". Working alongside the men’s charity CALM and musician Professor Green, we launched on April 16th. This is a mission we are on. And we’re not alone.
Our research showed that 9 out of 10 men believe men have a role to play in driving equality for women. Our research also raised some new questions. Like “should i still hold a door open for a lady?” “Should I not suggest alcohol on a first date?”. The Book of Man will explore all these questions, we’ll look into mental health issues and why suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45, and we’ll discuss all topics of modern masculinity from style, grooming, to how to BBQ the perfect burger.
Men not only want to change the perception of masculinity, we know we need to. Not just for ourselves, but for the women in our lives and our united belief in feminism.
Below is a link to the site, as well as a social media campaign we put together to get us started. The campaign and launch made national press from the Independent, to Grazia Magazine, to the Daily Mail, to industry favorites Campaign and The Drum.
#thenewmasculinity
The week of the 14th of May was Mental Health Week. As it's still a taboo amongst many men to openly talk about mental health, we ran a number of provocations across social. And to help show our support, we changed our site from our usual red, to the green of the mental health ribbon.
