Over a year ago, I covered a protest at Fresno’s City Hall on International Women’s Day. Among a diverse sea of women, a few male heads bobbed through the crowds. One such head radiated familiarity — his South Asian appearance, activist t-shirt and warm smile immediately drew me towards interviewing him for the piece I was writing at the time…. View Post
It is easy to see the harmful effects of toxic masculinity in our society. The socially constructed version of manhood has created a culture of repressed emotions, misogyny and violence – evident in the recent deadly shootings carried out primarily by men, typically by those who felt like they did not achieve success in the way society has defined their… View Post
He left a world that didn’t give him a chance. Being raised in a Punjabi-culture environment void of nurture or love, he grew up to learn that to be a man was to be stoic, unemotional and strong. But that became too much for him when the depression hit. Expecting him to be the head of the house and breadwinner,… View Post
Editor’s Note: In this issue of The kNOw, youth discuss the presence of toxic masculinity in their lives. Women all have stories where they have felt unsafe or objectified by men. For young women, it is toxic living in a world where men feel they are able to stare, judge and make advances uninvited. This behavior creates an environment where… View Post
As a white-passing Latina, it is difficult negotiating identity when myself and others are pushed away from the culture we identify with. With the belief Latinos all have darker skin, it is difficult to imagine a person with pale skin or lighter hair to identify as Latino. Phrases such as ‘what are you?’ or ‘where are you from?’ are common… View Post