Be A Man About It – George Bell

For me, being a man is about being the provider and the protector. We bring home the bread, we provide for our family, we protect our family. That’s what I grew up believing, and I still do. Joining the military, you go from protecting your family to protecting your country. I believe in strength, fitness and looking after myself. If we look at this in simplistic terms, that paragraph aligns with the ‘traditional’ view of masculinity.

But Mark didn’t stop there, and explained that his sense of masculinity has changed, particularly after becoming a father. Knowing he had to care and nurture a child, he knew he needed a more expansive approach to masculinity. I need to be the guy that can change nappies and go clothes shopping with the wife, but also the guy that can protect my family.

Being a man can’t always be ‘just get on with it mate’, you need to be able to listen, to understand, to be a bit more flexible as a bloke. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The stuff I’ve been through, I’ve had to go through therapy, I’ve had to be vulnerable and raw. Does that make me less of a man? I don’t think so. Mark’s perception of masculinity was forged in his youth, shaped by the military, but then had to change after his accident.

It’s one that’s maintained the good parts of traditional masculinity while bringing in a healthy, balanced edge. And this was much the same as I found with Luke Tarrant too, who, while travelling around South America, was involved in a motorbike crash and ended up having to have his leg amputated: ‘I woke up in hospital where they spent 24 hours trying to save my leg, before having to chop it off.

I thought that was the worst bit, but then within another 24 hours I had sepsis. My organs started shutting down and things went from bad to a lot, lot worse. I was in critical care in Colombia when my parents arrived. In total I had to have eight surgeries on my left leg’. Life has obviously changed a lot for Luke since the accident, who has chosen to see as many of the positives out of it as he can: Cool things have happened to me since.

We wouldn’t be here talking about your book if it wasn’t for the accident. I wouldn’t have gained a load of Instagram followers and ended up at all these cool events. But there have been some really tough moments. The first time I got back to my flat after release from hospital was tough.

A Bit About Me Part One: The Pressure Cooker 1 The Biology of Masculinity Nature and Nurture Bottled Up: Emotional Suppression Versus Emotional Expression Key Summary 2 The History of Masculinity Key Summary 3 The Present-Day Cost of Emotional Suppression Key Summary Summary to Part One Part Two: When the Pressure Breaks 4 Breaking Point #1: The Hidden Cost to Health Avoidance When Men Ignore Their Bodies When the Mind Is Left Behind Key Summary and Reflections 5 Breaking Point #2: Addictions Substance Abuse: Addicted to the Escape Gambling: Losing More Than Money Work: When Work Equals Worth Porn: When Sex Becomes a Scroll Gaming: Living Virtually Key Summary and Reflections 6 Breaking Point #3: Disconnection and Displacement Technology: When Screens Replace Connection Men and a Growing Loneliness Epidemic The Seductive Pull of Harmful Influencers The Dad Gap Key Summary and Reflections 7 Breaking Point #4: The Mask of Performance When Sex Becomes a Performance Sexuality, Labels, and Liberation Competition: The Race to Prove Yourself Masculinity After Injury Key Summary and Reflections 8 Breaking Point #5: The Shame We Carry Penis Size and the Myth of Manhood Sexual Anxiety and Silent Shame Mirror, Mirror: Men and Body Image The Hidden Eating Struggles of Men Hair Loss: When Identity Falls Out Key Summary and Reflections 9 Breaking Point #6: The Wounds That Don’t Heal The Hidden Grief of Male Fertility Baby Loss: Grieving in Silence Bullying: The Bruises That Don’t Show When Men Are Hurt at Home Trauma: When It Doesn’t Go Away Key Summary and Reflections Summary to Part Two Part Three: Releasing the Pressure 10 Release Point #1: Building Better Connections The Lost Art of Male Friendship What Masculinity Looks Like in Love Community: The Power of Belonging Key Summary 11 Release Point #2: Bridging the Gender Divide The Power of Female Allies Men Leading the Change 12 Release Point #3: A New Space for Masculinity Beyond the Breadwinner Redefining Dad A Bigger Box for Masculinity Key Summary 13 Release Point #4: Reprogramming the Feed Unplugging to Reconnect Changing the Content Diet The Role Models We Need Key Summary 14 Release Point #5: Talking and Healing The Power of Talking and Listening Rewiring the Brain Let’s Talk About Men’s Health Key Summary Summary to Part Three Conclusion References Signposting Acknowledgements Contributors About the Author Index End User License Agreement 1kitap1.com/en Praise for Be a Man About It ‘An absolutely fascinating enquiry into the nature of masculinity, coming at a time when it’s really needed.

Hats off to George Bell’. —Stephen Fry UK comedian, actor, writer, and presenter ‘An essential read for our generation of men, rewriting the rules in a way that’s honest, freeing, and makes me excited for our future’. —Tj Power Sunday Times bestselling author of The DOSE Effect, and neuroscientist ‘Powerful. Moving.

Necessary. George Bell’s book about being a man, manhood, and masculinity is a much-needed and precious resource.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 2551b7d7aa6dbfe7
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,937,966 bytes (1.848 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781907326134, 9781907326141, 9781907326165
• Pages: 279
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 406.34 minutes
• Total Words: 81,268
• Total Characters: 477,918
• Average Words per Page: 291.28
• Average Characters per Page: 1712.97

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