Nontoxic Male

I sat down with three fellow dads for a conversation, ahead of high school graduations, to reflect and share our different experiences as our kids transition from childhood into adulthood. I learned some great insights to help guide me during this next chapter of my life, and I look forward to sharing them with you now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re going to be talking about fatherhood — particularly the modern father who is strong, yes, but also a loving, tender, attentive, and responsible parent and partner. The type of father who embodies both the masculine and the feminine sides of the parenting spectrum — the type of tough traditionally attributed only to mothers — and the type of man for whom dad is an integral part of their identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stories have power. Stories are how we make information relatable. Stories allow us to have connections with one another, to share in each other’s life experiences. To learn something unique—or that we are not so alone after all. Telling our stories has a profound impact on building and strengthening and healing communities. And telling our story has a profound impact on healing ourselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introduction to Nontoxic Male. I’m going to be talking about the joys and challenges—and sometimes heartbreaks—of raising my kids…hovering somewhere between being the default parent and a coequal partner—as well as what it means to be a coequal partner—in a blended, multiracial family with some of us on the LGBTQ spectrum. I’ll talk about my struggles trying to balance being a work-from-home parent. About the effects of patriarchy from a male perspective—or at least a gentle (or nontoxic) male perspective. About my journey as a newly-diagnosed neurodivergent and the unique experience I’ve had learning about that—and how I am using what I learn to parent my children—or trying to, anyway. We’ll be navigating faith and spirituality a bit together, and for that I promise far more questions than answers. And I’ll be weaving in issues like mental and emotional health, equality, patriarchy (as I already mentioned), gender roles and identity, and social justice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.