Link Party: Political Masculinity, Male Porn Stars, and the Rise of Psychedelics in Pro Sports
Some more things to read and watch!
The Mandate focuses on topics that men don’t like to talk about. It’s written by Olympic Medalist and frequent Men’s Health contributor Jason Rogers. If you were forwarded this email, subscribe below.
🩻 The Rehearsal — I can’t stop watching Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal, a meta-documentary show on HBO about helping people prepare for problems they want to confront in their lives. My first impression was that the show is just bizarre, a characteristic I tend to like in film and TV. But, as I watched on, I also realized that the main character is scratching at a question that’s closer to home for me: how can I learn how to feel more? — Trailer on Youtube | Series on HBOMax
🗳 Political Masculinity — This WashPo piece largely follows Lucas Kunce, a democratic candidate for senate and ex-Marine. However, it also suggests that the 2022 elections are shaping up to center the topic of masculinity on both sides of the aisle. — Washington Post
🍄 Psychedelics and Pro Sports — More and more professional athletes are saying that psychedelics have helped them in one way or another. Some are seeking emotional clarity. Others hope to stave off the harmful effects of brain trauma and CTE. It poses an interesting question for sports regulators because they ban most drugs, but in most cases, psychedelics are technically a plant. This is definitely a space to watch. — Sports Illustrated
🕺Male Porn Stars — I only recently came across this 2019 GQ feature about male stars who’ve made their way in the world of porn. Porn is, of course, a fraught topic for some (For example, I’ve written about the pressure I felt to live up to unrealistic expectations in the bedroom on account of porn). But putting that aside for a moment, this piece is a fast-paced and engaging read. — GQ
🧔 Self-Made Man — In 2006, Norah Vincent published Self-Made Man, a book about her experience living undercover as a guy. Sadly, I only learned about this author after reading her obituary, but this book is going in my (rapidly growing) pile books to read. (This link comes to us via a Mandate reader. Thanks, Jim!) — NY Times
📖 Hari Kunzru — I just finished Red Pill, a wonderful novel about an author who suffers a psychotic break while attending a writing fellowship in Germany. It tracked along with many of the themes I’m interested in, namely privacy, technology, masculinity, etc. Highly recommend! — Goodreads
Thank you for rec'ing The Rehearsal, entirely agree - took me an ep to get into it, but it's brilliant. Metamodern/new sincerity, reality versus perception, feeling, child actors... it's unlike anything else out there. It's also really funny to watch w people, feel like that helped my experience, was wondering how it might land alone