10 Influential Men Transcending Masculine Style Norms (Including Kid Cudi Performing in a Dress on ‘SNL’)

Masculinity comes in countless colors, shapes and styles. The latter has seen a renaissance in the last decade, wherein a collection of influential men, gender-fluid celebrities and non-binary leaders have been bold enough to showcase their true colors and transcend traditional masculine style by embracing the feminine.

Saturday Night Live performance in April by a flower dress-clad Kid Cudi, honoring the late Kurt Cobain, was a reminder of how much celebrity style has played a part in widening the conversation of masculinity and undefining what being “man enough” means to the individual man, as well as people of all genders.

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Here are 10 male celebrities who wear their masculinity on their sleeve, sometimes in the form of a dress, kilt or nail polish but oftentimes with pops of color traditionally not deemed manly in the eyes of many. Or in the case of Billy Porter, something cool we didn’t even know existed until they showed us, but all of which helps to move the needle of the masculine further from the age-old machismo and closer to a spot on the scale in which everyone can feel comfortable with their own definitions of masculinity, not just for the skin they’re in but the clothes that cover.

 

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Harry Styles

 

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Jonathan Van Ness

 

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Lil Nas X

 

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Adam Levine

 

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Gerard Butler

 

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Billy Porter

 

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Brad Pitt

 

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Machine Gun Kelly

 

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Jaden Smith

 

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Preorder Justin Baldoni’s debut book, Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity here.

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Cover image: Kid Cudi (Instagram)

Are You Man Enough to Be Trustworthy To Anyone and Everyone?

As a man, it can be frustrating, even infuriating, to be lumped in with the rest of the “usual suspects” after we do something with perfect intention. But with good reason — men don’t exactly have a lengthy track record for doing kind things, pure of heart. When it comes to motive, people often assume the worst.

So what’s in it for you? they’re thinking, eyes squinted in skepticism.

More often than not, we see men in the media who do good things for the wrong reasons, or at best, doing something helpful to society that somehow leads to personal gain. Brands whose own ads are built purely around showing consumers that they’re the “good guys” so you’ll buy their car instead of the other guy’s. A lot of the times when men do something seemingly pure of ulterior motive, the knee-jerk reaction for anyone is suspicion. Not to be trusted, and rightfully so.

Let’s put the shoe on the other foot. When you see someone, especially a person of privilege, go out of their way to help someone and you can’t find a single attachable reason other than human decency, tell us you’re not thrown for a loop like we are, especially in our social media-driven age of record-first, help-later responses.

So how do we, as men, rid ourselves of this suspicion? Frequency and universality.

Man Enough to Care

By that, we mean tipping the scale from uncommon acts of kindness to regular, recurring activities. Little things like holding the door open for someone — we’ll hold a door for someone 100 yards away, we love it — or bolder acts like going well out of your way, completely unprovoked, to check in on someone, buy someone flowers who just celebrated a major achievement, send meals to a distant friend who just had their first kid, anything for anyone who looks like they can use a hand. Or even a simple “hello” to a perfect stranger passing by.

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By universality, we mean don’t just be of service to beautiful women or people you’re attracted to in hopes you will receive something in return. Do things for people who would never expect anything from you, as well. You see an elderly woman carrying her groceries, offer to help. You see a guy stranded on the side of the road, offer directions or the number to AAA. Become the universal friend, someone who is ready, willing and nonjudgmental for everyone they see.

Do it often, give to everyone and suddenly the trust wall begins to build, suspicious brows are lowered and we become a community that heals itself. After the year we’ve had, being of service should be something we jump into oncoming traffic to have the chance to do (don’t jump into oncoming traffic).

Leading By Example

Acts of kindness are the biggest dopamine hit, so even if you truly are being pure of motive, there’s always going to be a major plus in it. The point is to get to a place where kindness is second nature and worrying about motive falls into the rearview. By providing a good example to our sons and daughters, we free our boys of the scripts that say things like motive has to be tied to kindness, allowing them to be trustworthy. And we protect our daughters in the process, allowing them to trust more.

To see them pass that on to someone else later, well, that’s a thing of beauty. That’s the ultimate act of kindness, something that continues on and on, down through generations.

In the past, I’ve told the story about how I once saw a homeless man trying to get his cart of belongings up a curb, only to watch it tumble over. All I could do was watch, sitting there motionless with my morning coffee like an absolute pud. Historically — OK, once — reaching out to help the homeless with their belongings hasn’t fared well for me so I just continued to stare while a man, younger than me, went out of his way to help. I was so embarrassed by myself and yet proud of the young man for embarrassing me.

Ever since seeing that act of kindness, there is no hesitation from me. It’s worth it to put yourself out there for others.

Now, if your knee-jerk reaction to that is “so what,” then we both have work to do. We should all be willing to make the mistake of trying too hard to help, as opposed to not trying enough.

The Challenge

So what will you do this week to be pure of motive and completely trustworthy in the service of others? Look up from the phone and be observant to the world around you. There’s people in need everywhere you look and in so many ways. As we begin to move towards public life again, see where your helping hand, open ear or shoulder to lean on can be useful to others in need.

So what’ll it be, are you man enough to be trusted?

Preorder Justin Baldoni’s debut book, Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity here.

Join us on Man Enough Facebook and Twitter.

Cover image: Twenty20photos (Envato Elements)

 

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Barack Obama Shares Powerful Message on What ‘Man Enough’ Means to Him

One half of the Renegades: Born in the USA podcast, President Barack Obama has joined the Man Enough movement to discuss what it means to him to be “man enough!”And while not all of us may love the Obama years in the past, most of us can agree on his response about what it means to be a man and a father today.

His “Renegades” podcast with rock ‘n roll legend, Bruce Springsteen, tackles many of the issues related to masculinity and fatherhood in our culture, which is why it felt fitting to ask the former President for a message on being a man and a father today. He even positioned a pint of beer in the video to make it extra relatable!

As men who have experienced troubled or nonexistent relationships with their fathers, the topic of masculinity and the “trick bag” of modern manhood is inevitably at the forefront of their podcast conversations. Naturally, the President had keen thoughts on the journey, responsibility and sacrifices of being a good man and a good father amidst all the stereotypes that come with being a “real man.”

Watch President Obama’s response to Justin Baldoni’s question on what being “man enough” means to him below, then share with us what it means to you on our social!

 

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Preorder Justin Baldoni’s debut book, Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity here.

Join us on Man Enough Facebook and Twitter.

Cover image: The Washington Post (Getty Images)

Celebrating Women’s History Month With a Roundup of Amazing Women Making History Now

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it’s become very clear we’ve only scratched the surface of not only great women of history but the many great things women are doing now, enough to keep this celebration going for eternity!

With that in mind, we’re highlighting just a few of the strongest, most inspiring women of the past and of today that continue propelling the world forward. Mothers and daughters, grandmothers and sisters, there isn’t a single woman who doesn’t deserve to be recognized for her greatness and contributions to the world, but these specific women have caught our eyes time and time again.

For the entirety of human existence, women have been held back, held down and even shut out. Whether by male insecurity or fear, jealousy and just the sport of sexism, we have either engaged in or stood by to watch the holding down and shutting out of women, but no more.

Women’s History is a spectacular time to celebrate these countless contributions of women, but it’s also an opportunity, a call to men and people of all genders, to end the holding back and to lift women up where they belong — equals alongside us.

Now it’s your turn to lift up the women closest to you. Lift up all women with a capital W. How will you transform whatever you’ve done in the past that may have held women back, even if unintentionally? How will you help us move forward together? How will you do that not just today but next week and every week from now on?

Celebrate women every chance you get. Make it a daily routine. Make it historical. Make it infectious.

Thanks to Wayfarer Studios [content and research by Ava Bryan + Kate Parkin] for the following slides celebrating women of history and organizations to follow now.

 

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Preorder Justin Baldoni’s debut book, Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity here.

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Cover image: mstandret (Envato Elements)

Justin Baldoni Reveals New Book ‘Undefining’ His Masculinity (Preorder!)

We’re excited to announce that our Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Justin Baldoni, has written a new book called, Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity. A bold and transparent personal story, Man Enough’s key message encourages men to unpack the expectations of traditionally defined masculinity, and dive deeper into who they are at their core, while encouraging all of us to be brave enough to believe that who we are, as we are, is enough.

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Partnered with Los Angeles Black-owned independent bookshop, Eso Won Books, the book invites us to move beyond the scripts we’ve learned since childhood and the roles we are expected to play. Justin challenges men to be brave enough to be vulnerable, to be strong enough to be sensitive, to be confident enough to listen. Encouraging men to dig deep within themselves, Justin helps us reimagine what it means to be man enough and in the process what it means to be human.

Justin Baldoni is a devoted husband, father of two, and Bahá’í. He is an actor, director, producer, and the co-founder and co-chair of both Wayfarer Studios and the Wayfarer Foundation. Over the last ten years, Justin has been on a journey to explore masculinity and reimagine what it means to be a man—what it means to be a human—in the world today. He has spoken about his journey with masculinity in his wildly popular TED talk, and his digital series “Man Enough”, as well as on college campuses across America.

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See the book cover reveal below!