UK government ministers are urged to set targets for increasing the number of male teachers in England. MPs are also pushing for extended paternity leave, citing the UK's poor standing among OECD countries and the need to combat 'toxic masculinity' and the 'manosphere'.
Charlie Polinger's debut film, "The Plague," explores the anxieties and violence of male adolescence in 2003 San Diego. The film, which won awards at the Deauville American Film Festival, uses body horror to depict social ostracization and the pressures of conformity.
Jamie Bell discusses his role in Richard Gadd's "Half Man," detailing the challenges of portraying explicit scenes and exploring themes of toxic masculinity and self-loathing. He also touches on his upcoming "Peaky Blinders" sequel and his career longevity.
Hitman developer IO Interactive’s pluralistic take on the British secret agent – his first video-game outing in almost 15 years – promises a Bond for all eras. Here’s what you need to knowIf you want to tell the tale of a young James Bond, you first need to pick which James Bond he’s going to grow into. This was the task handed to Hitman developer IO Interactive, the studio taking digital custody of the spy in 007 First Light, Bond’s first video game in almost 15 years. So what’s it to be? Will their agent take baby steps towards Sean Connery’s gruff masculinity, or is he practising Roger Moore’s arched eyebrow in the bathroom mirror? That’s if he’s a “movie” Bond at all. For a generation of gamers, the character exists most vividly as a hand at the bottom of the screen in GoldenEye 007.As it turns out, 007 First Light’s Bond, depicted by Patrick Gibson (cornering a specific market, having played the serial killer-to-be in the Dexter origins show) is an amalgam: the facial scar is an Ian Fleming detail, but the sweet-talking charm is straight from the Pierce Brosnan playbook, and the second you barge a goon into a bookcase you know someone’s been studying Casino Royale on a loop. Trying to devise a Bond for all fandoms could risk satisfying none, but in the demo we played, the performance works. Crucially, Gibson brings an outsider’s unease that’s all his own, anchored by the arrogance that’ll one day be weaponised by MI6. Continue reading...
A counter-movement of qualified health professionals is challenging masculinity influencers promoting extreme trends like looksmaxxing and bone-smashing. Research shows nearly two-thirds of men aged 16-25 in the UK, US and Australia regularly consume such content. Prominent counter-influencers including Dr Michael Mrozinski and nutritionist James Brash are using their platforms to debunk dangerous advice, while the most influential looksmaxxing figure, 20-year-old Braden Peters, has faced hospitalization after promoting bone-smashing and substance use.
Richard Gadd has transformed himself physically and emotionally for his role as Ruben in new BBC series Half Man, a six-part drama exploring the breakdown of a brotherhood over three decades. The show, written by and starring Gadd, follows two men forced to live together as teens whose mothers are in a relationship, with one struggling to accept his sexuality and the other grappling with past trauma. Gadd underwent significant physical changes including growing a beard and bulking up to embody the hard-man character, far removed from his previous role in Emmy-winning Baby Reindeer.
