What does it mean to be a 'good' man? Ben Vasiliou learned the hard way
Better Man is Ben Vasiliou's contribution to what has become an urgent, if noisy, conversation about what it means to be a man, and at what cost. Just don't mention the 't-word'.
Ben Vasiliou, author of the new book Better Man: Reclaiming masculinity for good, has learned the hard way about the true meaning of being a good man. Despite his efforts to help teenage boys embrace a more expansive definition of masculinity, Vasiliou himself paid a heavy price for suppressing his true self. After coming out as gay in his late 20s, he experienced deep shame and despair.
In his book, Vasiliou argues that outdated, rigid stereotypes of masculinity - such as the expectation for men to be tough, stoic, and unemotional - are contributing to a national crisis of gendered violence and men's mental health issues. He calls for a shift away from toxic masculinity and towards a more inclusive understanding of what it means to be a man, emphasizing traits such as caring, compassion, respect, and gender equity.
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