Basically title, I participated in an interesting exchange over the past day or so, and it made me wonder what some of the more useful resources are for men to learn about their bodies, hormones, brains, emotions, support networks, etc.
So I’m interested in websites, forums, video series, books, whatever. Links would be great if you’ve got them.
(Disclaimer: I am not male myself, which is why I’ve no idea, and am curious, but if this gains traction, I’d also just like to have this post be a resource. It’s good to periodically take stock of what’s out there.)
I imagine that the reason OP framed it this way is because they are (guessing?) a woman, and most things discussing these topics from a practical perspective are created by women, aimed at women, and have a female perspective (implicit or explicit).
This is correct. I want to see what kind of resources are out there which men find helpful, and would want to share with other men. Doesn’t have to be specific to men. I know what I’ve found that’s helpful for myself, but I don’t have the perspective to know what someone with a mostly different life experience than my own would find helpful.
I think part of the reason that this sort of content is less prevalent to men is simply that men find this kind of content less interesting intrinsically. “I want to deeply understand my emotions” is not a theme that many men find resonant. Instead, I think most of the content men consume relating to their mental and emotional lives exists as a subset of achieving some sort of external goal. They want to learn about their minds and emotions because they see these things limiting them in getting to the place they want to be - getting a hot body, getting a higher salary, knowing how to overhaul an engine, living a particular lifestyle, meeting a certain standard they have set for themselves, etc.
I think this also leads to less naval-gazing. When men interact with their emotional lives, there isn’t a ton of idle contemplation, which is what a lot of resources on these topics amounts to - men are interacting with their emotions just enough to take the next step forward in whatever their actual goal is. And so the men giving the best advice in this space are almost always not seen as experts on emotions, but are rather seen as experts in other things - their emotional / psychological teachings more often come through in being a good role model.
That said, here are some people/sources that I’ve read/listened to which I think contributed to my emotional development as a man:
General life/philosophy/emotional health:
Health, fitness, and sport:
Sex and Dating: