The new crisis of masculinity

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, News, Politics, News Commentary, Philosophy

4.6 • 10.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2023

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What does masculinity mean these days? Sean Illing speaks with Christine Emba, a columnist at The Washington Post who wrote the piece “Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness.” Together they discuss the confusing state of manhood, why figures like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate hold appeal, and how masculinity could be redefined. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area Guest: Christine Emba (@ChristineEmba), Washington Post columnist and author of Rethinking Sex: A Provocation References: “Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness” by Christine Emba (The Washington Post, July 10, 2023) Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba (Sentinel, 2022) “Did the sexual revolution go wrong?” from The Gray Area (Vox, May 11, 2022) “Men and boys are struggling. Should we care?” from The Gray Area (Vox, December 12, 2022) “The Rage and Joy of MAGA America” by David French (The New York Times, July 6, 2023) Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by: Engineer: Patrick Boyd Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's going on with men?
0:04.2	The question sounds strange and maybe even a little parodic, but it's one people are asking
0:10.4	more and more, and for good reasons.
0:14.4	As we discussed on this very show last year, men are indeed falling behind.
0:21.2	Whether you look at education or the labor market or addiction rates or suicide attempts,
0:27.0	it's not a pretty picture for men.
0:32.2	And the numbers have garnered a lot of attention in the public discourse.
0:36.9	Normally, more attention on a problem is a precursor to solving it, but that hasn't really
0:42.9	happened in this case.
0:45.1	Instead, the conversation on masculinity feels stuck.
0:50.4	It rarely moves beyond but not all observations.
0:55.2	Maybe it's toxic, it's socially constructed, it's under attack.
0:59.3	You've heard all this before, I'm sure.
1:02.2	But what does a more productive conversation on masculinity look like?
1:10.4	I'm Sean Elling, and this is The Great Area.
1:26.2	Today's guest is Christine Emba.
1:28.3	She's a columnist at The Washington Post, where she recently published an essay titled Men
1:33.2	Are Lost.
1:34.2	Here's a map out of the wilderness.
1:37.5	The essay, and I apologize for the cliche, but it fits, is one of those pieces that broke
1:42.9	through.
1:43.9	Besides just being well done, I think the reason it landed is that it tackled a very controversial
	...

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