The term ‘Toxic Masculinity’ has come to represent society’s expectation that men be active, aggressive, tough, daring and dominant. Some believe this narrative to form part of a politically-motivated war on men, whilst others argue men should be encouraged to share their vulnerabilities, failures and doubts, so as to spark a bigger conversation. With Suicide the most common cause of death for men under the age of 50 in the UK, are we having enough of these difficult conversations?
Blaine travels to IDLES’ hometown of Bristol, to talk with vocalist Joe Talbot about male vulnerability, overcoming grief and to hear about his experiences over the band’s meteoric rise, ahead of the release of their mighty UK No1 third album, Ultra Mono.
This week’s opening thought comes from Frank Carter, vocalist with Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, speaking about the pressure on men today to measure up against outdated male archetypes.
At the end of this episode you will hear ‘Watching Yourself Slowly Disappear’ from Mystery Jets’ critically-acclaimed new album ‘A Billion Heartbeats’. You can buy and stream the album here.
This episode of ‘Things Worth Fighting For’ was brought to you by Acast and produced with Matthew Twaites. Thanks to Courtney-Aiesha Mortimer and Kate Jones at UROK for production assistance and coordination.
Grayson Perry on Masculinity (Channel 4 News)
Read ‘The Descent of man’ by Grayson Perry (Waterstones)
Gillette commercial: ‘The best men can be’ (Youtube)
Order ‘End of Suffering’ by Frank Carter and the RattleSnakes (Rough Trade)
Frank Carter on Instagram
IDLES on Instagram
Order IDLES new album (Banquet Records)
Catch IDLES on tour in 2021
Watch Joe Tracini’s videos (Twitter)
Watch Gaspard Noe’s chilling 2003 movie ‘Irreversible’ (Amazon Prime)
Samaritans.org
MusicMindsMatter.org.uk
Worried about a friend? (mind.org)
Listen to Frightened Rabbit’s album ‘Tiny Changes’ (Spotify)
‘Tiny Changes’ mental health community
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