I didn’t know how to be vulnerable, so I clung to control. I didn’t know how to say I was afraid, so I became the kind of man who forced everyone else to be frightened of me. Cruelty became my currency, and privilege was the bank that never ran dry. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementI didn’t know the term “toxic masculinity” back then. And selfhood isn’t a destination — it’s a practice, a daily reckoning, a choice to become, again and again.

Source: Huffington Post October 05, 2025 14:42 UTC