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Where did all the 'masculine men' go?
Has there been a decline in "masculine" men?Some women on Tiktok seem to believe so. The phrase, "Who's gonna be the boys?" has been used online to refer to all the mundane things men are doing that could be described as feminine: wearing earrings, having a skin care routine, and even eating a banana, to name a few. But what does this online question about the alleged absence of masculine men say about our society’s expectations of men? And how might these expectations be causing problems for us all? To explore these questions, Brittany talks with Shar Jossell, entertainment journalist and culture critic, and George M. Johnson, author of All Boys Aren't Blue and the upcoming memoir, And If I Die Before I Wake.Looking for more conversations about gender and pop culture? Check out these episodes: The truth about men on the 'down low'Testosterone doesn't equal masculinity.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

Welcome to the 'sassy man apocalypse'
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Has there been a decline in "masculine" men?Some women on Tiktok seem to believe so. The phrase, "Who's gonna be the boys?" has been used online to refer to all the mundane things men are doing that could be described as feminine: wearing earrings, having a skin care routine, and even eating a banana, to name a few. But what does this online question about the alleged absence of masculine men say about our society’s expectations of men? And how might these expectations be causing problems for us all? To explore these questions, Brittany talks with Shar Jossell, entertainment journalist and culture critic, and George M. Johnson, author of All Boys Aren't Blue and the upcoming memoir, And If I Die Before I Wake.Looking for more conversations about gender and pop culture? Check out these episodes: The truth about men on the 'down low'Testosterone doesn't equal masculinity.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
This episode was produced by Corey Antonio Rose. It was edited by Neena Pathak. We had engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our Supervising Producer is Cher Vincent. Our Executive Producer is Barton Girdwood. Our VP of Programming is Yolanda Sangweni.
NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews.
Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR.

