The Gender Knot

A man going off on a solo expedition into the wilderness when he’s having a dilemma or a tough time or when he needs to make a difficult decision is a staple of so much literature, and especially of fiction aimed at boys. It also seems to be a thing in reality too.
Is this simply a form of romantic escapism or can it help men to solve their problems and to deal with difficult times? And do men actually need to spend time in nature to become better men? An outdoors-y Californian man helps us untangle this, with the help of some great essays too.
Note: We are on hiatus until June, when we’ll be returning with Season 3\. There will be another bonus episode of The Gender Knot again before then.
**Guest:** Seth Miller, founder of [Justice TVA](http://www.justicetva.com/)
**Related links:**
Farther Away: “Robinson Crusoe”, David Foster Wallace and the island of solitude - by Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker April 2011 https://bit.ly/2Hjqie7
Pond Scum: Henry David Thoreau’s moral myopia – by Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker October 2015 https://bit.ly/2vkJpgQ
The Miseducation of John Muir: A close examination of the wilderness icon’s early travels reveals a deep love for trees, and some ugly feelings about people – by Justin Nobel, Atlas Obscura July 2016 https://bit.ly/2XwG0YO
The Gender Knot podcast https://www.thegenderknot.com/ and Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/182851532302085/?ref=br_rs
Host and producer: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Co-host: Jonathan Freeman
Co-producers: Sam Baker and Jonathan Blackwell
Music: Government Funded Weed by Black Ant (used under Creative Commons)

We’ve heard a lot about the dilemmas surrounding men and their feelings on this podcast: how boys are raised with little acknowledgement of their feelings or disallowed from expressing or exploring them, to the destructive impact this has when they grow up, be it through high rates of depression and suicide in men or potentially violent behaviour. And then there's the huge amounts of emotional labour that many women end up performing in many areas of life as a result.
Last time we tried to discuss this topic, the co-hosts had an argument! This time around, we’re joined by another podcast host to help us see what we can all do going forward: what are things we can all do to help men who want to explore their feelings, and how should we be having these conversations in the first place?
Note: we are on hiatus and will be back with a new series in June. We will have a few more mini-episodes coming up for you before then.
Host and producer: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Co-host: Jonathan Freeman
Co-producers: Sam Baker and Jonathan Blackwell
Guest: Dan Carroll co-host of the podcast Fine and Dandy with Dan and Andy
Related links: The Gender Knot podcast https://www.thegenderknot.com/ and Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/182851532302085/?ref=br_rs
Music: Government Funded Weed by Black Ant (used under Creative Commons)

#MeToo has seen women around the world sharing their experiences with sexual harassment and sexual assault. Now two other hashtags have grown in response, and these are about experiences on the other side of #MeToo.
With #IHave and #IDidThat men who have harassed or assaulted women publicly confess to this. But we argue that this doesn’t do women or the whole point of #MeToo any good. These hashtags take the focus away from actually listening to women’s experiences, and are deeply problematic on a host of levels.
Host: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Co-producer: Cady Voge
Guest: Lucy, guest from the episode on Men and Feminism
Sponsor: Casper mattresses https://casper.com/
Relevant Links:
The Gender Knot https://www.thegenderknot.com/

Should men be involved in feminism, and if so, how?
Men are super involved in feminism these days – and there appears to be a cultural trend in getting men involved in the fight for gender equality.
We’re seeing this daily: be it the UN’s HeForShe campaign which is all about this, or male celebrities like Pharrell Williams and Ashton Kutcher talking about rights for women (and of course, tennis player Andy Murray’s recent stand against casual sexism), and it seems like everyday there are articles in the world’s leading publications about all this too (a recent hit being the New York Times looking at how to raise feminist sons). It makes sense; men also need to change their attitudes and biases if we are to live in a world with gender equality, so of course they need to be part of the fight.
But what about when some men mean well but end up doing more harm than good? This episode explores that.
We look at male feminists – do they actually help the cause of feminism, or do they end up making everything about them, and in essence do they just talk over women, whose voices aren’t heard as much in first place? And should women ask for help from men to increase gender equality, and if so, how should they ask for this help so that it’s carried out most effectively? Or is catering the message so as not to upset men a problem in itself? We explore and untangle all this. And we also hear about the darker side too: the things that even progressive men don’t want to share publicly about their fears and resentments towards feminism...
Host: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Guests:
Anonymous male essay writer from England
Lucy, woman from England
Michelle Lim, Relationship coach from the US and based in Sweden https://www.michellelim.co
Shea Wilson, American male living in Sweden
Related links:
The Gender Knot www.thegenderknot.com
Jackson Katz’s Tedx talk “Violence against women, it’s a men’s issue” https://www.ted.com/talks/jacksonkatzviolenceagainstwomenitsamensissue
Sheila Kelley’s Tedx talk “Let’s get naked” http://tedxamericanriviera.com/sheila-kelley-lets-get-naked/
Music: Government Funded Weed by Black Ant (used under Creative Commons) Sourpatch by Glass Boy (used under Creative Commons)

The podcast where we untangle the new masculinity and femininity. These are exciting times; we’re re-defining gender roles, but let’s be honest, we’re pretty confused about it all too, so let’s get untangling!