What is Healthy Masculine to You?

I was born into a world where a great shift had just taken place for women in the decade beforehand.

This had affected men somewhat already, but times since have shown that both genders had a lot further to go to re-frame their ideals.

I feel like we are at an awakening for healthy masculine archetypes to become more prevalent. But what do those look like? 

It’s essential that more voices come to this table. The new documentary by Louis Theroux, Inside the Manosphere, has brought to light the darkness that has taken advantage of the vacuum in public conversation about this subject. 

There is a deep need for all of us to be more aware of what influencers are teaching young boys about what manhood looks like so we can counter that with sensibility.

For us to have this conversation collectively, we need to consider our own ideals and welcome a shift to occur for men as well.  

We all have both feminine and masculine within us. It’s in our best interests to individually ponder on what our best feminine self and masculine self entail. (I even wonder what aspects might fit into our most non-binary self?)

For Father’s Day, let’s think about what characteristics we see in the good men in our lives.

While you can consider any male figure in your life, I would like to share about my own dad. I was blessed to be raised by a good man named Bill. He is turning 80 years old next week, and I am going to celebrate with gratitude for his influence in my life.

Here are some of the qualities that I see as his positive characteristics that relate to my concepts of healthy masculine energy.

Perseverance: My mom was hormonally unwell for most of my childhood, which meant big emotions that were not easy to be around at times. My dad stayed. He worked in the Navy and negotiated to remain in San Diego because her specialist gynecologist was there. He was a consistent source of calm security.

Kindness: People often ask my Dad for support, and always have. He is smart and helpful and happy to show up for others. He also can say when he’s not available, which is good boundaries.

Enthusiasm: My dad is a talker, and I can define eras of my life by what subject my dad was the most excited to share about. Dinosaurs, space, archeology, world mythology, Egyptology, and Japanese Naval history all have a place in my heart. This one relates to healthy manhood for me because it is about being emotionally giddy. He is unashamed to express himself with joy. 

Values Equality: When his best friend Robert came out to him as gay in the 70’s, my dad made clear that it did not change their friendship.

He became a lawyer by going to night school and created a new branch of the law firm he worked at. He hired more women before it was the norm and was mocked by his colleagues for doing so. He took that as only more motivation.

He raised me to believe that I was capable of doing anything a man can do. This may have made me grumble at 12 years old when he would make me get up early to help him fix the busted Mazda. But now those are also sweet memories of my dad cursing as he stared into an engine and told me what tools to hand him.

And? 

Now your turn. Think of one man in your life who you see reflecting qualities of healthy masculine. Write out what those look like. 

What about inside yourself? Which parts of you feel like the masculine aspects? How can you love the strengths and heal the wounds? 

For Father’s Day, treat your dad to a personal tarot reading.

Let’s talk about how the cards define masculine archetypes in a tarot reading lesson.

Bring your best fella in for a Tarot Together session.

Consider getting a group of men together for a heart opening experience of being seen when you hire a tarot or palm reader from Portlandia Fortune Tellers.

Scroll down for a video from King Randall, an influencer who teaches kids communication and life skills. I see him as doing the good work toward raising healthy men, even if I wish he would let young boys cry a bit more. We don’t have to agree on every aspect to make progress collectively. 

I hope you get to celebrate the good men in your life this weekend… whether they produced kids or not.

Happy Father’s Day,

Jenna Lynne Roberts

Present Path Tarot

Portlandia Fortune Tellers