What does it mean to become a man? And who teaches us how? In this episode, Tim is joined by author Shannon Kearns to explore the stories, expectations and assumptions that shape masculinity. Drawing on his experience as a trans man, Shannon offers a unique perspective on what it means to consciously navigate a world that many assume comes naturally.
Together they explore male loneliness, friendship, vulnerability, violence, faith, and the quiet fear many men carry of not being enough. Rather than offering another culture-war take on masculinity, this conversation asks a more generous question: what might it look like to improvise a better way of being a man?
After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim and Joy reflect on their own experiences of gender, friendship and vulnerability, and wonder whether some of the familiar stories we tell about men and women are quite as simple as they seem.
Interview starts at 13m 13s
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No One Taught Me How to Be a Man
QUOTES
“I’m still trying to figure out how masculinity works, mostly because I don’t think it’s working very well for a lot of people.”
“I had this idea growing up that men got this handbook… but the more men I talk to, the more I find they too feel like everyone else got the handbook and they were left out.”
“I was surprised by how close to violence men felt all of the time.”