“Do you really think you’re tougher than Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt or Lord of Winterfell, Ned Stark?” This is the seemingly nonsensical question Marcus and Esme pose to their male listeners in this week’s episode (Please note: This question will make sense once you listen to the episode).

One of the central tenets of traditional masculinity is that men must be protectors and providers for their families. This is not a bad impulse in-and-of itself. Men should want to take care of the people they care about. However, manosphere grifters like to use the concept of being a protector to justify aggressive, domineering, and violent behaviors and attitudes towards women.

The problem with this framing is that men – specifically husbands, boyfriends, and fathers - are the leading perpetrators of violent crime and homicide against women and children globally. In other words, these traditional beliefs might lead men to become the antithesis of protectors.

But, Marcus and Esme still think that being a protector is a good impulse; and they identify two things men can do to help them become the kind of protectors who partner with their loved ones to ensure their families’ physical and emotional safety.

Now, some men won’t like it when they hear what this two-step process entails. But this is when those same men must ask themselves the very peculiar question from the top of the description (which, again, will make sense once you listen to the episode . . . promise). 

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