MASKulinity Podcast

This is week on MASKulinity, Remoy and Samantha are joined by Anthonine Pierre, Deputy Director at Brooklyn Movement Center. Anthonine shares about fighting street harassment through the collective No Disrespect, underlining how important it has been to have men involved in this effort. Samantha shares her own recent instances of street harassment and Remoy and Anthonine ponder what it looks like for people, men especially, to intervene when witnessing it. They talk about the causes of harassment, and discuss the importance of people who are directly impacted by issues to be leading those movements.

This week, Samantha and Remoy talk masculinity as a non-binary. What does it mean to redefine masculinity as a transgender man and gender-nonconforming person? Ryann Holmes of bklyn boihood helps us navigates the tough waters of non-conformity, and what it looks like to provide support and space for boihood while dealing with one's own notions and performance of masculinity, individually and collectively. Ryann shares useful and practical knowledge that everyone can use to move the needle forward, while emphasizing the need for safe spaces.

Not Samantha and Remoy! Ha! This week, they explore one of the incentives behind keeping traditional gender roles alive: profit. They start by reflecting on the Parkland shooting, veering into the gun safety and addressing men’s and women’s uses of guns, eventually understanding how the performance of masculinity is a central component to 42% of American households owning at least one gun. They address why men-led movies make the most money, and close out by highlighting how binary systems as being central to 1% capitalism.

Samantha and Remoy continue this season with more illustrious guests! This week, Hudson Taylor paints a picture of accountability in the world of sports, at all levels. He founded Athlete Ally, an organization that keeps coaches and school at high school, college and professional levels accountable for ensuring that LGBTQ athletes are treated and equally. He shares how athletes are discouraged from being vocal about political issues, and some tips on how to do your part as an ally to move up the ally commitment curve. Don't miss this insightful episode!!

“HELPING YOUTH IS A KEY TO BUILDING A MORE CONSCIENTIOUS, RESPONSIBLE, AND PRODUCTIVE SOCIETY” is the Boy Scouts of America tagline. But conscientious and responsible doesn’t mean inclusive. At least it didn’t for a long time. Samantha and Remoy are joined by Eric Busse, Training & Volunteer Engagement Director at Scouts for Equality, who breaks down what it looks like to hold such an established American institution accountable for their exclusionary policies and practices. He shares the organization’s successes and he and Remoy trade stories about their own experiences as Scouts. Tune in!

Black Panther is FINALLY out and Remoy and Samantha are excited to talk about it! They explore themes of unity throughout the film, how traditional notions of masculinity are turned on their head, and how much of a badass Shuri is! They explore the dueling masculinities displayed by King T’Challa and Erik Killmonger, Okoye’s embodiment of what is usually thought of as masculine, and the importance of bringing the intersections of race, culture and gender live on screen in Ryan Coogler’s masterpiece. Tune in and let them know what you think, at [email protected].

In the past 40 years, the American prison population has increased from 300,000 to 1.6 million. This week, Samantha and Remoy examine the prison industrial complex and the cyclical impacts of mass incarceration on men and society. They are joined by Alejo Rodriguez who faced incarceration himself before becoming the Mentor and Alumni Coordinator at the Prison Reentry Institute and shares his wisdom, weighing in on the dehumanization and intergenerational perpetuation of incarceration, how bullies are rewarded and how men are only allowed to deal with anger and pain.

This week, Samantha and Remoy explore the blurrier regions of sexual consent. We've seen what happens when the James Tobacks and Kevin Spaceys wield power for sex, but what if it's the beloved Aziz Ansari who gets a bit aggressive? What if it seems Grace had opportunities to say no and she didn't? What if you just don't want to have sex anymore? What if it's your spouse? MASKulinity looks why we need to redefine how we view and talk about sex and consent, and how we've mostly been complicit to our existing notions until now; it's not enough to choose sides anymore, we all have to do our part.

Welcome back! In Season 2, Samantha and Remoy are looking forward to understanding the systemic character of MASKulinity. They kick it off with the illustrious Dr. Michael Kimmel, founder of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities at Stony Brook University, digging into his last book Angry White Men to understand how a group whom most consider to be the most privileged could be feeling left behind. Listen as Dr. Kimmel offers key insights about the notion of a 'good man' versus that of a 'real man', and how, in anticipation for his new book, Healing from Hate, he opens up about a surprising outcome for him when finishing this new book about life after extremism. Finally, they close out with an effective solution to this gender conundrum. Tune in!

Bonus episode! The first season of MASKulinity closed out last week, but Samantha and Remoy couldn't go without sharing their conversation with Jason Tan de Bibiana from NextGenMen! Jason shares his work as a researcher with Samantha and Remoy, and lays out what it looks like to teach young men to be responsible and supported in their social lives, and to talk about those gendered things that they just don't teach in schools relative to what it's like to grow into a young man. Samantha, Remoy and Jason talk about the future of education, NextGenMen's initiatives working with adults and show a lil appreciation for Canadian artists.