
Positive Men´s Work
Worlwide
THE IMPORTANCE OF POSITIVE MEN´S WORK
Can we agree, that most problems in our modern world are directly linked to toxic masculinity?
After all it's the motor behind a dangerous combination of greed and recklessness. The cause for
people being supressed and exploited, collectively and as individuals. The reason for wars,
extremism and environmental destruction.
And let´ s not forget: men are not only perpetrators in this, but also among the victims.
We live in times, where some of the most powerful people on the plante are trying to sell us
these toxic ways as an "alpha behavior" and a sign of true masculinity...
That's why it's so important that we, as a society, do everything in our power
to spread the word about what true masculinity is really about!
And yes, fortunately, there is a growing movement, that is all about "Positive Men's Work" (PMW).
I´m talking about men who come together in circles, who offer workshops, guidance, mentoring
and mutual support around a new masculinity, which embraces both, strength and vulnerability.
A masculinity that isn't afraid of the feminin, doesn't consider it as an opposing principle,
but rather as a complementing energy that wants to be respected, valued, integrated.
PMW is oriented to find new ways of men and women to live together in a sacred harmony,
to heal both individual and collective pain that has accumulated over the past centuries of patriarchy,
Every year there are more workshops, seminars, coaching offers... It´ s beautiful movement
that is helping men worldwide to cope with the challenges they experience, to free themselves from unhealthy patterns and to grow into their full potential as fathers, husbands, brothers to their sisters,
as individuals and as members of their communities.
It´ s important to differentiate this positive movement from the so-called "menosphere",
which unfortunately is also on the rise, but promoting the old toxic ways in a new, glamorous light,
teaching men to be tough on themselves and dominant towards women. You can usually tell the difference between the two movements by what is said about feelings and how to deal with them,
The international Action Week (IAW)
In order to support and promote the PMW - movement, I came up with the idea of an
International Action Week (IAW) that puts PMW on the map - literally!
Since PMW is happening all over the planet, imagine all of the various facilitators of men circles,
workshops, retreats, sweat lodges, ice bathings, fire walks, anger management etc. offering
ONE of their programs for FREE that week! And we all get visible on a website where men who are interested and hear the call can register and find a program of their likes and close to where they live,
or at least an online-program in their language!
The idea to make if free or donation-based is to make it available to every man, independent from his financial situation. The donations can go into the pockets of the facilitators or they can forward it to a charitable cause of their choice.
As a facilitators you can register with your program(s) offered, your location / language and a link to your website and pay a reasonable fee that enables this project to sustain. You benefit from a greater visibility and potential new clients / participants for your programs and together we help to promote PMW and to raise the awareness of its benefits for both, the individual man and society as a whole. By using hashtags and talking about the IAW on our social media accounts, in our podcasts and among our peers, we could really make this a global happening, Local and international press are likely to cover it and the word will get out there, strongly!
e, to be empathetic with oneself and others.They share their insights not only with friends but also there is a thriving movement of workshops, men-circles and retreats that I like to call "positive men´ s work". It's happening all over the world.Yet, it's still a niche, the mainstream opinion about men's work is still blurred, riddled with clichés and oftentimes sadly confused with the propaganda and teachings of the so-called "manosphere", which promotes the toxic ways of the "good old days" when men dominated women and any reflection was a sign of weakness.I do see a great need and feel a call to make positive men's work more visible.
. Yes, I do think there is a direct linkbetween wars, social injustice, extremism and the destruction of the environmentand a catastrophic (mis-) understanding of what “true masculinity” really means.Fortunately, there is also a growing number of men who are daring to challenge this idealof masculinity which is all about gaining material wealth and inflicting power onto others.Instead, they are advocating a masculinity that is embracing both, a strength and willpowerand the capacity to be vulnerable, to be empathetic with oneself and others.
If we take a closer look at what´s wrong with the world today, it´ s quite obvious that
toxic behaviour of men is tied to most of these problems. Yes, I do think there is a direct link
between wars, social injustice, extremism and the destruction of the environment
and a catastrophic (mis-) understanding of what “true masculinity” really means.
Fortunately, there is also a growing number of men who are daring to challenge this ideal
of masculinity which is all about gaining material wealth and inflicting power onto others.
Instead, they are advocating a masculinity that is embracing both, a strength and willpower
and the capacity to be vulnerable, to be empathetic with oneself and others.
They share their insights not only with friends but also there is a thriving movement of workshops, men-circles and retreats that I like to call "positive men´ s work". It's happening all over the world.
Yet, it's still a niche, the mainstream opinion about men's work is still blurred, riddled with clichés and oftentimes sadly confused with the propaganda and teachings of the so-called "manosphere", which promotes the toxic ways of the "good old days" when men dominated women and any reflection was a sign of weakness.
I do see a great need and feel a call to make positive men's work more visible.
So I came up with the idea of a "GLOBAL ACTION WEEK" from March 1st-7th.
In this week, facilitators worldwide can present at least one program to introduce
men to PMW!
If you are a man (or an organisation) that offers positive men's work:
This is your chance to register your offer
But it seems to me that these offers are still not widely known. There are still some funny stereotypes and clichés in the heads of people, both men and women, when it comes to men´s work. Like a bunch of dudes with bare chests in the wood shouting a trees while learning how to survive with only an axe and a piece of rope. Or endless rounds of talking in a circle full of strangers about how mean your caretakers were when you were young.
