Miss Amanda Chen Show

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all walks of life about gender roles, expectations from society and how that affects our self worth.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life. And this week I'm challenging the judgment we receive from ourselves, and others, when we don't follow the path that's been set for us.

Masked Man #40 is the Childless Man. It's interesting how little we talk about a man's role in bearing children. I found a man who was involuntarily childless, who was jealous of other fathers in his peer group. And that comes at such a different space than with women trying to juggle motherhood and a career. I learn so much in this conversation, from a man from a completely different generation. And I wonder how much history will repeat itself. I hope you enjoy the show.

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the miss Amanda Chen show podcast. If you’ve been following this show, you know I have been relentlessly interviewing random men from all over the world, mostly virtually, about gender and social norms that affect how we identify ourselves and ultimately, our self worth, based on our interactions with others.

Most of you know that I have been living in sunny Tulum for a couple months now, the place where all digital nomads escape their hometown lockdown buzz kills to thrive, fuck, and join what we call here the Tuluminati.

Its taken me a while to get comfortable living here, without masks, with tourists coming in and out every day, without getting overcharged for tacos, without getting robbed. And one of my most privileged issues to date is finding decent wifi to conduct my podcast interviews. So I thought, why not find someone in town and interview them live, in person? Whoa, what a trip! Listen to the play-by-play on this podcast episode.

I’m sharing this story because I don’t owe this guy shit and I am not going to publish his interview, I am not going to promote his app, I am not going to ever speak to him again and I won’t try to convince myself to publish the content just because I made it. I’m not going to allow myself to validate the entitlement of others anymore. I almost slipped again, and this is why todays episode is so important. We never talk about these things. And the joke is this the Miss Amanda Chen Show and I’m still struggling to keep it mine.

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all around the world about gender roles, expectations from society and how that affects our self worth.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life. This week I'm interviewing men that are challenging gender norms.

Masked Man #39 is the Stay at Home Dad. What I loved the most about this interview is hearing about the jealousy other fathers felt for this man's life. Wishing they could spend more time with their children. I feel like most dads were always mysterious, had their own shit going on, and were generally unavailable, so you value their presence more. You'd never see dad doing the mundane everyday stuff, that was always mom's job. Have you ever stopped to wonder if dad knows your blood type? The last time you had a physical or dentist appointment?

And of course we have to get into the conversation of consent, but this time we unpacked sexual education in schools. This was such a cool chat, with how sex and consent needs to be discussed both in school as well as at home. Let's get into it. I hope you enjoy the show.

Challenge accepted, anyone want to share their stories on fathers giving the sex talk? Does the conversation happen between father and son? Or is it just father and daughter, or mother and son, or mother and daughter? I think it's wild to see the rise in pressure among young men. And if you are looking for a space to chat about sensitive subjects, check out Tethr. I think it's insane that we're in 2021 and we just have this tool available now.

Make sure to subscribe and if you’d like to be on the show or know of someone with a unique perspective, slide into my DMs at missamandachen on Instagram and see you next Wednesday with more episodes of 100 Masked Men.

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all walks of life about what masculinity means to them, gender expectations and how that affects how they interact with women.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life. And this week I'm challenging the judgment we receive from ourselves, and others, when we don't follow the path that's been set for us.

Masked Man #38 is the Divorced Man. This is the first man (so far) that has come on the show sharing his divorce story openly and honestly with me. Isn't that crazy? I've heard a million divorce stories from women, but barely from the other side. And what I find truly refreshing is hearing about his journey to self love and how important it was to feel safe among other men.

If you haven't already, I really hope you guys check out the Tethr app if you are looking to find peer support along your journey. The more men I speak to, the more I see how important it is to have a safe space to express your emotions.

Make sure to subscribe and if you’d like to be on the show or know of someone with a unique perspective, slide into my DMs at missamandachen on Instagram and see you next Wednesday with more episodes of 100 Masked Men.

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. If you’ve been following this podcast, I am almost halfway through the 100 Masked Men Series, where I interview men anonymously about what masculinity means to them and how their self worth is measured against their interactions with women.

This month we have had the pleasure of partnering with Tethr, the world’s first peer to peer community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life. I think it’s kinda crazy that this platform was created now, that it has taken this long for us to realize how important it is to have conversations among peers about what were going through, how were feeling, and be able to openly and honestly express ourselves without judgment. I guess that also explains why I was so compelled to start interviewing men and trying to understand why we are the way we are.

Today I’m sitting down with the founders of Tethr, Matt and Addison and we talk about how these two came together, the landscape for mens mental health, and how women can also get involved in this space to improve our relationships with one another. Let’s get into it.

Make sure to check out Tethr and let me know how it goes. And as always make sure to subscribe to the show and I’ll see you next Wednesday with more episodes of the 100 Masked Men.

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all around the world about gender roles, expectations from society and how that affects our self worth.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life. This week I'm interviewing men that have taken the courageous journey in making a deliberate change in themselves. And some even go on to help encourage others as well.

Masked Man #37 is the Life Coach. Overcoming obesity as a teenager and entering the coaching and mentorship world at a young age, this man shares his feelings of imposter syndrome when trying to lead others to change and betterment, yet actively choosing to value alcohol over his own life.

He tells me a huge turning point was when his wife asked him if he's a man that he would want his own daughter to marry. I find it so interesting, the impact this concept has on men, that comparison, that desire to be the representation of a man that would be suitable for the women that matter in your life. Let's get into it. I hope you enjoy the show.

There's so much inadequacy we feel about our own gifts that really breaks my heart. I really hope this story gives you the courage to give the world your true authentic self. Like I've said before, i think we're more fearful of our own greatness than our failures.

Make sure to subscribe and if you’d like to be on the show or know of someone with a unique perspective, slide into my DMs at @missamandachen on Instagram and see you next Wednesday with more episodes of 100 Masked Men.

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all walks of life about what masculinity means to them, gender expectations and how that affects how they interact with women.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life. And this week I want to talk about sobriety.

Masked Man #36 is the Certified Babe. If you tuned in to Season 1 and enjoyed the episode on the Band Boy, here's another member sharing his story as the sensitive one among very alpha, masculine males. He talks about playing up this energy in fitness and sports to avoid dealing with his emotions, and the discouragement he received from his male friends on his journey to sobriety.

We get into a lot of stuff on this interview, particularly on his stovetop analogy on rating the quality of women in different cities and how to have open and honest conversations about sex, before, during, and after the fact. Let's get into it. I hope you enjoy the show.

So we've heard from two band boys now, and I am loving the growth. I really hope you guys check out the Tethr app if you are looking to find peer support along your journey. The more men I speak to, the more I see how important it is to have a safe space to express your emotions, and that is a space I can say I had the privilege of being a woman. Make sure to subscribe to the show and I'll see you next Wednesday with more episodes of 100 Masked Men.

You’re listening to another episode of the Miss Amanda Chen Show. Everywhere I look today, there is a push for women empowerment. I used to think empowerment only meant strength. And that strength was a result of resilience. And that resilience could only be respectfully achieved by suffering through all the shit and coming up on top. It validated the pain. And it also normalized it. Making the pain something all of us women endured as part of womanhood.

This year, we have all had to build resilience. We have uniquely shared the experience of a global pandemic. And that made me think about strength differently.We’ve all heard the story that not all men are trash, and yet, almost all of us women have experienced trash men. That means all women have allowed trash men to plague the world.

With experience, with endurance, with tolerance, we have granted permission for this type of behaviour to continue. And what’s worse is we have used this terrible experience as a way to come together. Discussing the poor behaviour of men has been a toolbar us to add salt to the wound.

My problem is there is a gate with women movements. The fact that you’ve got to be one in order to participate. And that means you’ve got to be one that has suffered through some shit in order to feel compelled to want to impact change. With that mentality, every woman on earth will have to suffer an injustice in order for feminism to succeed. And now that I think about it, fuck, we’re pretty damn close to that.

The theme of International Women’s Day 2021 is Choose To Challenge.

And with challenge comes change. This year I did something different. Rather than showcasing strong, badass women, I have been sharing male vulnerability. I have been partnering with mens mental health resources, like Tethr, apps that I literally can’t participate in.And in sharing these stories, I now have the opportunity to penetrate the minds of men, to allow space for a unique role as a woman in their lives, and that is a newfound strength I never knew I could achieve.

Today I challenge us to rethink how we define what strength is, and which aspects of our shared experience as women we value over others.

Change begins when we welcome the challenge. Seek to understand, not just for what it can do for you, but for how it an help the larger conversations we are trying to have. Happy International Women’s Day!

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all around the world about gender roles, expectations from society and how that affects our self worth.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life.

It's been a year since the pandemic hit and crashed the hospitality industry. Masked Man #35 is the Masked Bartender. In this episode we talk about how life has changed since then, and the judgment that comes along with drinking. Does everyone that is 'doing well' have to be sober too? Or can we be ok and also have a beer? I hope you enjoy the show.

Are we romanticizing the drama with mental health issues? I thought this was an interesting perspective, on the quote unquote 'normal guys' that seem to be doing okay. But nonetheless went through their own shit to be in a secure place today. This reminded me that not all of us have to speak out in order to normalize mental health.

Make sure to subscribe and if you’d like to be on the show or know of someone with a unique perspective, slide into my DMs at @missamandachen on Instagram and see you next Wednesday with more episodes of 100 Masked Men.

Hello and welcome back to the Miss Amanda Chen Show. We’re now in Season 2 of the 100 Masked Men series, where I anonymously interview different men from all around the world about gender roles, expectations from society and how that affects our self worth.

This month we are taking a special focus on men's mental health, sponsored by Tethr, The world’s first online, peer-to-peer support community connecting men for open and honest conversations about life.

Masked Man #34 is the Honest Man. You might even call him too honest, he's an open book, completely transparent to everyone in his life, especially his parents. He shares his story on wearing many masks to conceal his honesty after learning very quickly that a lot of people just don't want to hear the truth. Let's get into it. I hope you enjoy the show.

What a refreshing interview with a complete stranger. It's been very interesting seeing the difference from one conversation with the next. Would you be nervous having to talk about this topic instead of the conventional hey, what do you do?

To be honest it has been a bit of a challenge finding men in the UK that are open to being on the show. So if you are someone from that side of the pod with a unique story to tell, slide into my DMs at @missamandachen on Instagram and make sure to subscribe to the show. I'll see you next Wednesday with more episodes of 100 Masked Men.