On this week's episode, we're joined by Jason Rosario - director of The Lives of Men, host of the web series "Dear Men" and the podcast "Hey Jason." We discuss how he copes with dealing with failure, making the unconventional choice and the challenges of negotiating masculinity as a Black/Latinx man. We also hear from a dad who is struggling with pushback to raising his son as a feminist.

You can find Jason at:

The Lives of Men
Dear Men
Instagram & Twitter

Hey Man, 

I’m having an issue with my in-laws that I’m hoping you can help me with. My wife and I are both 35, have been married for 5 years and have a four year old son. My wife and I both proudly identify as feminists and want to raise our son in a way that is consistent with our values. Among other things, this means allowing him more flexibility in deciding who he wants to be - how he wants to dress, what he gets to play with. I know he’s young, but we support him in expressing a broad range of feelings and are trying to set a precedent now so that he knows it’s okay when he’s older. As a result, sometimes he chooses things that other boys may not choose. He might wear pink or purple, his hair is long because he likes it that way, he has trucks and balls but also likes to play with a baby. This is not weird for our group of friends and my parents are very chill and open-minded. My wife, however, is from Georgia and has always been the black sheep of her family. Her parents are uncomfortable about how we are raising our son and her dad, in particular, seems very put off by it. He often expresses this to me, more so than to his daughter although she is in ear shot - sometimes by saying things to me, like “you’re gonna have to toughen up that boy”, sometimes by asking him if he really wants to wear his hair like that or wear a particular shirt. It really grates on me and my wife. Do I just let it go or is this important enough to stand up for?

Signed, 

First Avenue Feminist