In Defence of Masculinity | Mikaal Bates

Feminism has created vital progress but the shadow we’re now witnessing has left many men behind, without pathways for healing, purpose, or brotherhood. As hosts we’ve been witnessing something heartbreaking: a silent pandemic of emotional and mental unwellness among men in our collective. Stories through friends, brothers, partners, colleagues. So many are struggling, withdrawing, or reacting in ways that leave us wondering: What’s really happening beneath here?

In this conversation, men’s work coach and leadership facilitator Mikaal Bates returns to LTC to explore the deeper wounds beneath what’s often labeled “toxic masculinity” and the rise of e.g. the red pill counter-movement. This isn’t about defending patriarchy, it’s about understanding the collapse of connection, meaning, and belonging that’s driving many men into despair, loneliness, defensiveness and suicide.

Together, we ask: What are the costs of this omission? What is being asked of us?