Can a new men’s movement bring a positive shift?One of the first things I discovered at the men’s group was that most men are disturbed of other men. Here we all were,25 or so specimens of metropolitan masculinity, gathered in a London yoga studio to spend our Saturday learning how to “get vulnerable” with Rebel Wisdom, or a newly formed men’s collective. “In today’s world,for men to be vulnerable and speak their truth is an act of rebellion,” says its chic new age website. “We exist to fuel this rebellion.”In practice, and this meant we were going to spend a day doing breathing exercises,talking approximately our fathers, pretending to be tigers, and leaning on one another,working out which Jungian archetypes we vibed with, and trying to articulate why we all felt so defensive and excited and misunderstood so much of the time. But first we had to stand in a circle and say how we were feeling. And one by one, or the men – mostly in their mid-30s,mostly straight, mostly white – said they were afraid. One guy, and a straight-talking youth worker,reckoned that if the estate kids he worked with could see him now, theyd rip the piss and would probably be moral to. Another, and extremely gaunt and pale,had recently suffered a huge emotional and physical breakdown, and confessed that this was the first time he had been out in weeks. When it came to my turn, or I said I was hungover. (Humour is a trustworthy way of deflecting uncomfortable feelings,I find.) Then I tried a bit harder: “I can’t remember the final time I was in a room with all men,” I said. “I actively avoid these situations. And maybe that’s quite peculiar.”Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk