Let's Talk Bruh

Tony Porter is what we call an OG when it comes to the work of healthy manhood.  He's been doing #thework of breaking out of the "The Man Box" with A Call to Men for decades.  

Tony also speaks about his personal journey of being called out for his sexism while in his career of anti-racism work and how those moments propelled him to become passionate about the work of healthy manhood and anti-sexism.  

We also talk about our differing perspectives about toxic masculinity and have a great conversation on accountability.  It's rare to see public conversations of accountability and in March Tony spoke with Ray Rice in a conversation about accountability, what it looks like for Ray and what it looks like going forward for all of us. 

A few resources mentioned in this week's episode

• A Call to Men | Tony Porter's Ted Talk
• Yesterday, I joined the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence for what was truly a courageous conversation.
• Beverly Gooden, #WhyIStayed Creator, on Tony Porter’s upcoming discussion with Ray Rice at the Partnership’s Shifting the Lens Conference

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Living your best life is more than just a song by Lil Duval. It's a real thing. But how exactly do we get there? Yeah sure we all want to get the bag and level up, but what does that really look like? How do we become our best and most authentic self in a world that constantly tells us as Black men what we are and what we aren't? 

Jason Rosario believes it's through something called: Self-Actualization

This week on Let's Talk Bruh I was joined by Jason, Founder of The Lives of Men to break down what it means to become self actualized.  We talked about why it's difficult and why we may run from becoming our truest self when approached with the opportunity. 

We also talk about our differing perspectives on toxic masculinity. Who knew you could disagree with someone and still keep the peace in 2019? 

Jason also speaks about his own journey from becoming the “fuck boy who thought he was a good guy.” to the man he is today.

A few resources mentioned in this week's episode

• You Can't Half Ass Vulnerability - Jason Rosario
• Dear Men with Jason Rosario - Yahoo Video Series w/ Swizz Beatz, Jason Rosario, Kevin Love and more

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Email us your questions/comments/feedback at [email protected] and we'll read and respond to your email on an upcoming episode.

We all know what it's like to feel like you have the weight of the world on the your shoulders. But what if that stress has become so commonplace that you've forgotten what it's like to feel normal?

What happens when we've become so disconnected from our norm that our normal is stressed out? 

Today we're joined by Arron Muller, a Social Work Therapist to discuss how we can identify the stressors in our life as well as manage the stress we experience in our lives. 

Arron also breaks down how stress causes anxiety and how to be aware of our coping mechanisms and the positive and negative impacts they may have. 

Resources used in this week's episode:

• How America Kills Black Men Without Lifting a Finger - Huffington Post
• ‘Minority Stress’ Is Causing More Men to Live Shorter Lives - Healthline
• Top 5 Stressors for Black Men - Henry Health App
• “If you do nothing about stress, the next thing you know, you’re shattered”: Perspectives on African American men’s stress, coping and health from African American men and key women in their lives

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Email us your questions/comments/feedback at [email protected] and we'll read and respond to your email on an upcoming episode.

Being a Black man and working in corporate environments can exhausting to say the least. 

Racism. Microaggressions. Stereotyping.  And all that can happen before you even make it to your desk. The struggle to bring your full self to work is real.

Not to mention, we know that toxic masculinity in the workplace is usually the expected and preferred type of masculinity. Domination. Win at all costs. Talking over people. Not taking breaks.  Where does healthy masculinity fit in corporate america?

This week we linked up with Zach of the Living Corporate Podcast to answer that question as well as break down some ways we can maintain our sanity when working in these predominantly white spaces. 

Resources used in this week's episode:

• Black professional men describe what it's like to be in the Gender Majority but the Racial Minority - Harvard Business Review
• When Black Men are Harassed at Work - Slate
• Black women describe navigating race and gender in the workplace - Harvard Business Review
• Black Women Aren’t Allowed To Be Introverted - Bese

Visit Living-Corporate.com to access all of the great content they have on navigating corporate america and join their slack group for additional resources.

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Email us your questions/comments/feedback at [email protected] and we'll read and respond to your email on an upcoming episode.

What does vulnerability look like for you? Are you in tune with your feelings? Are these questions already too much for you?

We feel you, but today I'm joined by my good friend Nomad the Native of talented supergroup Not Alone and we break down what it means to be vulnerable, how difficult vulnerability can be for us as Black men as well as the shame associated with acknowledging our insecurities.  However as difficult as it can be to open up, we also talk about the benefits of being vulnerable leading us to a deeper and more intimate connection with the people in our lives. 

It's important not to over complicate this process of being vulnerable, but for many of us it simply starts with owning our feelings as neither wrong or right or good or bad. They just are. If we can start there, being vulnerable and speaking to those feelings gets a little easier.

A few resources used in this week's episode:

• Brené Brown - A Call to Courage (Netflix)
• If Beale Street Could Talk - Black Male Vulnerability - Huffington Post
• The Trouble With Being a Strong Black Man - Abernathy
• Daring to be vulnerable with Brené Brown
• I finally learned to accept my vulnerability as a man. It helped. - Washington Post
• How To Practice Vulnerability for Stronger Relationships - HealthyWay

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Email us your questions/comments/feedback at [email protected] and we'll read and respond to your email on an upcoming episode.

This week we're giving yall a one time pass into the Let's Talk Bruh Facebook Group on for a particular discussion that set the group on fire last week.

One of our members, who you'll be hearing from shortly, posed the following questions shared from an Instagram story: Is two guys cuddling gay? Is two girls cuddling gay?"

So we break down the differences between intimacy and attraction as well as the importance of platonic touch in our lives. 

The conversation produced several different sides and angles and what better way to include yall into the conversation than to speak with a few of the guys on their perspectives.

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Email us your questions/comments/feedback at [email protected] and we'll read and respond to your email on an upcoming episode.

We live in a culture where porn is only a smartphone and a couple taps away. It's literally at our fingertips.  It's never been this accessible.  And for many of us, we've had access to an unlimited supply of porn since the age of 10 so where do we draw the line between healthy habit and addiction?

Today we try to find some answers. On previous episodes, you may have heard us say that masturbating is a good form of self care, which it is. However it's important to be aware of when that self love we rightfully owe ourselves becomes dangerous as it may get in the way of our daily responsibilities, relationships, and our actual sex lives.

So on this episode we talk about our struggles to find a healthy relationship with porn. But we also discuss the benefits of masturbating and even creative ways to masturbate without using porn. 

A few resources used in this episode:

• Masturbation Effects on Your Health: Side Effects and Benefits - Healthline
• Here's how to know if you're masturbating too much - Buzzfeed
• Does frequent ejaculation help ward of prostate cancer? - Harvard
• Pornography Addiction - The Recovery Village
• Everything you need to know about porn addiction
• Tantric Masturbation - Solo practice for men - All About Tantra

This Week in Masculinity: Dave Chappelle's Sticks and Stones

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When's the last time you sat down and talked about love? When's the last time you talked about love more than the romantic type? Today we dive deep into love and relationships and we do so with a little help from licensed therapist Bashea Williams.

This week on Let's Talk Bruh we talk about love, relationships and what all this means for us as men in both romantic and platonic relationships. Most of the time, girls are socialized to think about love at a much earlier age than boys so by the time we are of age we have no idea how to love. We have no idea to define love and we have no idea why love is something important for us to consider.

In addition to a lengthy conversation on love, we talk about relationships AND Jeremy starts the show with a slight monologue on something called, "The Relationship Escalator."

This Week in Masculinity: Jidenna, Snoop, and Reese & Faith

A few resources used in this week's episode:

• Riding the Relationship Escalator

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"Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness, it is a dynamic process of change and growth."

So that's the textbook definition thanks to UC Davis, but what does it actually look like to be well? to feel well? How can we put this into everyday practice? 

This week on the show we talk about wellness and other ways to live a healthier life.  I invited Jarrick the Floating Yogi to join me for today's episode and if you couldn't tell by his name, he's a yoga instructor.  

We talked about what wellness means for him and how we can make the process and benefits of wellness, yoga and taking care of ourselves more tangible for brothers. 

A few resources mentioned in this episode:

• A Black Man's Guide to Good Health - Ebony
• What is Wellness - UC Davis
• Why all Men Need to Talk About Their Balls - Good Men Project
• What is the difference between health and wellness? - Griffin Benefits

Follow Jarrick the Floating Yogi on Instagram

For more information on Men's Wellness Walk visit: National African American Male Wellness Walk & Run 5

If you want to check out Jeremy's "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) with Men's Lib Reddit, August 21st at 9 PM ET click here: AMA Announcement: Jeremy Herte, host of the podcast "Let's Talk Bruh"

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Email us your questions/comments/feedback at [email protected] and we'll read and respond to your email on an upcoming episode.

When you think of masculinity what comes to mind? Men. Manhood. Manliness? Typically as a society, we conflate masculinity and manhood as interchangeable terms.  We've done it many times on this very podcast.  But what does masculinity look like for women who identify as masculine?

On today's episode we talk with Nalo Zidan, founder of Black Girl Masculine, about what masculinity means for her as a queer Black woman.  Nalo breaks down why we shouldn't conflate masculinity with manhood and we also talk about some commonalities between both men and women who identify as masculine

Masculinity comes in many forms and the goal of this conversation is to continue to expand the definition of what masculinity means. 

Check out Nalo's Ted Talk here: It's Time to Redefine Masculinity

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