Toxic masculinity impacts both men and women. For some women, it has prevented them from having meaningful relationships with their fathers and brothers, current and future partners, and lurks as fear in the shadows of alleyways, long runs and simply existing on the planet. For men, I can imagine, it has forced a standard of living that is impossible to maintain and doesn't give permission to be an emotional being. I cannot speak on the experience and impact cultural norms have had on men, but I can speak to how those norms translate into my own lens. In this Deep Dive, Brian and I talk about all the ways societal norms of what it means to be a man have impacted how he showed up in the world, the ways in which he engages in friendships and relationships, and his path to remove those ideas to find his personal truth on what it means to be a man. Brian touches on the impact of his childhood and familial roots that helped establish the narrative of what it meant for him to be a man and how he embraces the journey of unlearning and building his own truth of how he wants to show up in the world. I am so grateful for Brian’s courage to share his story and journey with the world and offering me the privilege of sharing space with him in that process.