Willy Nilly Repercussions and Reactions

Luna's fed up and outraged by the world and by the silence of men and non-femmes.    But what are we to do? Well, maybe the Amazonians (the fictional but historically based matriarchial society of womxn warriors) had it right.  It's time for a real life Themyscira.  As misogyny, transphobia, and toxic masculinity continue to terrorize folks - from the repeal of Roe v. Wade, to mass shootings, to the ongoing rise of fascist white-supremacist christian nationalists - Luna's building a whole new society. But are the Meh's - Eric, Glenn, and Ben, even invited?

This episode feels like warm apple pie, a night cap with your closest friends, or an exploratory conversation with your nearest and dearest as you gaze up at the stars.  In our fourth installment, hosts Eric, Glenn, & Ben explore everything from grieving to joy under the structures of masculinity, while producer and Joy Channel vibe officer Luna chimes when she can't hold back anymore.  Listen and play along to Eric's intro game, and learn and grow along with what we hope feels like your new friends, the MehSculinity team. 

Masculinity Cosmic topics, are you red, yellow or green, bruh?

Ben models vulnerability and shares about his experience with grieving,

Glenn raises thoughtful questions about the structures of masculinity

Eric, proudly announces the gay agenda. 

Luna asks, "Who Does This All Serve"? 

The Joy Channel's very own Beyoncé (Eric Fleming), Kelly (Glenn Carrere) and Michelle (Ben Stevens) are joined by a very, very, special guest, filmmaker and actor Aden Hakimi, who raises the question - are we talking about masculinity or misogyny?  Throughout the conversations, our hosts and guests share vulnerably and humorously about their experiences with the intersections of physical safety and masculinity - and how body size & shape and expression often lend itself to feelings of more or less safety.  This all leads up to the debuting of Eric's new game: "Is this Masc, Bruh?".  Play along at home and maybe think once or twice about buying a masc- person in your life some flowers. 

Aden Hakimi is a filmmaker, editor, and actor. He has worked with companies such as MTV, VH1, Logo, Disney, MLB.com, Viacom, Macy’s, Curious Pictures, Whole Foods, Harmonix, and many more. He also founded the creative agency Silver Crown. In his spare time, Aden enjoys photography, hanging out in Prospect Park, music, board games, wandering through museums, and spending quality time with family and friends. He currently resides in Brooklyn with his two bear cubs (okay, they’re cats), Pip and Little Bit.

You can find out more about him here: www.AdenHakimi.com

The Black "Meh's" have all been been consumed, in one way or another, in the first few days following that  Will Smith incident at the Oscars, but like Jemele Hill pointed out in The Atlantic, There Are Two America's Debating Will and Chris Rock.

Hell, there might be 3 different America's exploring this in our conversation. 

Quotable Notables: 

"What I'm noticing is for Black women, this really, hits some like trauma points and some wounds and like need to be witnessed and like need for safety. And I feel like another conversation has been created as a result of it that, um, it's just fascinating and it's so much pain out there of not being seen, not being heard, not being witnessed." - Eric Fleming

"I think the first conversation that we need to have that I still don't think everybody has heard is that Black women have been out here unprotected and Black women have been traumatized in a lot of different ways, by the way, folks within our own community do not protect us. So first we need to all agree and understand that Black women do need to be protected period. And then we can talk about how and what does that look like." - Luna Malbroux 

"I think what Will put on line is his brand. And in some ways that's not big stakes, but his, his brand is so tied with a Black acceptability. And that is one of those things that I think we're kind of ready to let go of." - Glenn Carerre

"How do we make protecting Black women about Black women and not about our honor?" - Glenn Carerre

Music by IIll Will Rhythms Inc.

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In this episode, we hear how Glenn & Ben may have internalized some concepts of masculinity, how Eric evades it as a queer non-binary person and how Luna's hands are rated "E" for Everyone. 

"I think one of the ways I'm seeing it function is that it creates a collective shared trauma that we can all then relate through whether it's through humor or asserting power or just even language and words." - Ben Stevens

"I think about peacocking and hiding when I think about Masculinity" - Eric Fleming 

"I think the subconscious reactions around masculinity are the things that are most scary and insidious to me because they work in my brain in ways that even when I do a lot of work and reflection on this, do they show up in my actions." - Glenn Carrere 

"I grew up watching all these action movies with my dad and just like, so a lot of like the tropes that young men grew up admiring. I also admired too."  - Luna Malbroux