Sunday, November 10, 2019

Justin Baldoni's TED Talk: Why I'm done trying to be "man enough"


I highly encourage you guys to watch Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni’s TED Talk. He eloquently speaks on masculinity and his experiences with it. The points he brings up perfectly aligns with what our texts talk about. He brings up the concept of hegemonic masculinity and how it has affected him growing up. Justin mentions how masculinity is socialized to be the opposite of femininity. So to be a “real man” one has to reject embodying any feminine qualities or risk being socially exiled. Justin mentions the scripts we have been taught to abide by and how these scripts have made him feel conflict within himself. He realized after 30 years that he was tired of being a kind of man that he was not. He challenged other men to explore deeper within themselves: to redefine what it means to be tough, brave, and strong. He emphasized that is okay to be vulnerable and feel weak. It is acknowledging these feelings that takes their power away. Justin mentions a powerful quote that I have to share: “The world of humanity is possessed of two wings, the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly." 

Again, I recommend watching this TED Talk and sharing it with men in your life you feel could benefit from it.

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