Real men cry: One man’s mission to redefine the term masculinity

An award-winning spoken word poet, poetry slam champion, speak and writer, Carlos Andrés Gómez also starred in Spike Lee's Inside Man — An award-winning spoken word poet, poetry slam champion, speak and writer, Carlos Andrés Gómez also starred in Spike Lee’s Inside Man

I had the pleasure of interviewing spoken word artist Carlos Andrés Gómez at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October this year. Like most young boys, he was taught that a man needs to put up a fight and must never shed a tear. I wondered if all this talk of softening up a man’s hardened shell was bound to draw a heckler or two.

Gómez concurred, saying, “Sometimes, things get uncomfortable during my performances. It’s alright if people disagree with me, but it’s important that they hear me out and understand what I’m saying in the right context. We’re definitely going to need more such moments when two opinions collide because we can never have change if one opinion dominates. It’s going to take many an exchange, both of the courageous and uncomfortable kind.”

His is a story worth reading, so if you’d like to give the interview a proper read, head over to The Label by Louis Philippe. You’ll also find an excellent video link there that has Carlos talking about his very own ‘Man Up Moment’.

Here’s a link to the interview: http://thelabel.in/lifestyle/people/real-men-cry

9 Replies to “Real men cry: One man’s mission to redefine the term masculinity”

Writing to Freedom says:

November 18, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Nice article Beverly. I’ve been learning this lesson too. Thanks for visiting and following my blog. blessings, Brad

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1. Beverly Pereira says:
  
  November 18, 2014 at 11:18 pm
  
  Thanks for stopping by my blog too, Brad! And really glad you enjoyed the piece and the fact that many men like you are ‘unlearning’ all the rules they were made to follow. I hope you checked out the entire interview; the link’s in the blog post itself. Have a great day ahead!
  
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  1. Writing to Freedom says:
    
    November 18, 2014 at 11:22 pm
    
    You are welcome Beverly. I did and read the whole article! blessings
    
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  2. Beverly Pereira says:
    
    November 18, 2014 at 11:27 pm
    
    Thanks Brad! Your blog is very inspiring. Glad to have chanced upon it on the WordPress Reader!
    
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  3. Writing to Freedom says:
    
    November 18, 2014 at 11:53 pm
    
    Thanks Beverly. I look forward to connecting more.
    
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John W. Howell says:

November 19, 2014 at 7:22 pm

Thanks for following my blog. This “man” thing can be a conundrum since early imprinting is hard to overcome coupled with pressures to persevere no matter what. Nice post.

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1. Beverly Pereira says:
  
  November 19, 2014 at 7:38 pm
  
  Hi John, absolutely agree with you. Thankfully, as Carlos put it, there’s a growing movement of men that’s helping them to overcome or unlearn what they were taught,and this too, might play a big role in helping a young boy realise that it’s all right to just be friends with a girl, or for a man to look at a woman as a comrade — and to realise that women are not just meant to be dated or to have a sexual relationship with.
  
  Many thanks for stopping by my blog too!
  
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  1. John W. Howell says:
    
    November 20, 2014 at 5:17 am
    
    It was my pleasure.
    
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Beverly Pereira says:

May 3, 2016 at 12:09 am

Reblogged this on A Delightful Space and commented:

Real men cry: One man’s mission to redefine the term masculinity. I’ve never bumped up (reblogged) any of my stories before, but this one is relevant to date.

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