What is a man’s role in society these days? This question seems to be coming up again and again. The rise of women and feminism, together with changes in the economy, and globalization are some of the factors cited as having had a big impact on men and their sense of where they belong in society. For a while the expectation was that men were to work and to be providers for the family, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore, so where does that leave them?

Men grappling with their role and trying to find a sense of purpose is also not just a personal dilemma. There is much talk that some of the political unrest happening around the world over the past decade or so is also related to this, to the changing position of men in society and this lack of purpose that many are feeling, whether they are young men still trying to figure things out, or older men who’ve been working and providing for years, but are seeing what they do increasingly fall out of place in the modern workplace, which is also increasingly filled by women, who are on average also more educated.

You could say that everyone is after a sense of purpose, but there is a lot of talk about this with women and new roles and options and opportunities. I’d say it’s generally positive talk, as women open up more paths for themselves. In fact, pushing for equality itself gives one a huge sense of purpose. But what’s the deal with men? And why is there this insistence on men having to have a sense of purpose, can’t they just, you know, be? We chat to two men about their experiences with purpose and how it impacts men specifically, and take the untangling from there.

Host & producer Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far

Co-producer Cady Voge

Guests Justin Brown, co-founder of Ideapod https://www.ideapod.com/

Michael Michailidis

Related links:

The Gender Knot https://www.thegenderknot.com/

Music: Government Funded Weed by Black Ant (used under Creative Commons) Sourpatch by Glass Boy (used under Creative Commons)