growing up, i’ve questioned what it is to be a real man. & because toxic masculinity is so common, i have a feeling i’m not the only one.
i have grown up being told what a man does and doesn’t do. a man doesn’t wear dresses or the color pink. a man doesn’t wear make-up. & a man definitely doesn’t show his emotions.
this is what boys are conditioned to believe. let me repeat that. CONDITIONED to believe. but that’s not what really makes a man.
what really makes a man is being true to yourself. doing what you want to do and wearing what you want to wear. doing it not for anyone else, but because it’s what you want. what makes a man is having empathy & the ability to feel and understand your emotions. being a man takes understand others and helping others understand you. to be a man that others respect, look up to, and never fear, is to be a mans man. so why would we want to continue with the stigma?
& i know that not everyone will share the same values as me, and that’s perfectly fine. but if i helped anyone out there feel a little more comfortable being yourself then i did all that i had hoped.
