—
“Here’s the thing about The Good Men Project. We are trying to create big, sweeping, societal changes—overturn stereotypes, eliminate racism, sexism, homophobia, be a positive force for good for things like education reform and the environment. And we’re also giving individuals the tools they need to make individual change—with their own relationships, with the way they parent, with their ability to be more conscious, more mindful, and more insightful. For some people, that could get overwhelming. But for those of us here at The Good Men Project, it is not overwhelming. It is simply something we do—we do it with teamwork, with compassion, with an understanding of systems and how they work, and with shared insights from a diversity of viewpoints.” – Lisa Hickey, Publisher of The Good Men Project and CEO of Good Men Media Inc.
That quote from Good Men Project Publisher Lisa Hickey encapsulates what we are all about at the Good Men Project, what we mean when we say “modern masculinity,” why “we eat stereotypes for lunch” has become a part of our DNA, and what makes us such a unique community.
♦◊♦
Where did all this come from?
Time for a brief history lesson. Let’s step backwards in time by about eight years. The Good Men Project didn’t even have a name at that point.
The as-yet-to-be-named Good Men Project was born of an idea by founder Tom Matlack that men telling stories of what life is really like for men in the 21st century and how their roles were changing would be a powerful force for good. Tom was collecting stories “about men, by men and for men” and had compiled them into a book. Tom’s key insight was that “when asked to tell the story of a defining moment in their life, most men had some variation of the theme about the day they woke up, looked in the mirror and said ‘I thought I knew what it meant to be a man, I thought I knew what it meant to be good, and I found out I didn’t know either.’ Tom had done a call for submissions for stories for the book and titled it “Looking for a Few Good Men.” That was the genesis.
Most men had some variation of the theme about the day they woke up, looked in the mirror and said ‘I thought I knew what it meant to be a man, I thought I knew what it meant to be good, and I found out I didn’t know either.’
|
“It’s hard to describe the power that I saw in Tom’s idea and how exciting it was to me. A place where men talk about things they don’t usually talk about! I want to be part of that club!,” said Hickey. The power of this idea—and the realization that to discover what it meant to be a man and what it meant to be good was a deep, meaningful, and life-long journey—became the fuel that propelled the The Good Men Project forward.
A few weeks later, they had hashed out a proposal for her to help him with social media to promote the book. Tom emailed Lisa: “You seem to be working on this all the time.” That was 8 years ago, and she hasn’t stopped.
Nor have the rest of us. Today, we have over 300 million visitors from every country in the world and 700 million total pageviews since we launched. There are over 70,000 stories and articles about men, manhood, masculinity—stories about men, by men, for men. We didn’t realize the number of women who would want to be a part of this journey. Or the number of media companies who would see us a both partners and leaders in the conversation – The Huffington Post, HLN, AskMen, Men’s Health, New York Times, Toronto Globe and Mail, XOJane, Parenting, iVillage, MamaMia, BBC, The Atlantic, YourTango, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Upworthy and many others.
♦◊♦
So where do we stand today?
We believe in the power of this idea more than ever.
We are having an ongoing conversation about the most difficult and provocative topics in today’s time and we’ve opened up the conversation to everyone to give everyone a voice. Thoughtfully. Respectfully. Insightfully.
We have been talking about men in a way that nobody else has talked about men, helping to get rid of old, outdated stereotypes.
We have seen people change.
We have seen men become more open to to the idea of what masculinity is and how social pressures sometimes influence their choices.
We have seen women become more understanding of men’s experiences and what they’ve been through.
“I am no less in awe of the potential for what we can actually accomplish here than I was at that first meeting with Tom.” – Lisa Hickey.
|
We have seen the connections between what we call the ‘Man-Box’ and social issues like racism, sexism and homophobia, and that has given us insights into how to help create positive social change.
We have seen the perception of dads change throughout the years, and we are proud that The Good Men Project has been part of that change.
♦◊♦
We’ve built an incredible community here: a large, thriving, engaged community with millions of people participating every month from all over the world. Whatever your part has been with The Good Men Project, know that you have helped build something extraordinary.
A core element of the millions of people in our community are those who believe that this conversation is one of the most important conversations there is to had in the world. We look forward to getting to better know this community of people who share the mission and vision of The Good Men Project, who have helped to make this happen, and who will carry us forward.
There are a variety of ways to get involved in our community. As a participatory media company, we don’t just have content you read and share and comment on (every media company has that) — but we have multiple ways you can actively be a part of the conversation. Yes, you can write for us—but you can also jump on a conference call that happens every week, you can be a part of a video, you can work with Editors and have Writing Prompts emailed to you or create your own, you can join one of our Facebook conversational groups. However you are engaged with The Good Men Project—you can help lead this conversation.
Join The Good Men Project community. Be a part of something that matters.
And if you sign up as an Premium Member—Platinum, Gold or Bronze—you’ll get even more. For all logged in members, the ads will be gone. You’ll get a smoother, faster user experience. You’ll also get access to our exclusive Facebook Group for Premium Member Community only. And you’ll get a commenting badge (platinum, gold, or bronze, of course). Only members and authors are allowed to comment.
The top two levels—Platinum or Gold Premium Members—get even more. One of our most popular benefits is the ability to attend all of our live online classes/workshops for free. Our exclusive courses include “How to Create Social Change” and “How to Be a Rising Star in Media: Content Creation and Platform Building.” There are also advanced level courses in writing writing and finding your voice, growth hacking your network and “How to Be a Editor (or just write like one)”. Platinum Members can attend all classes, Gold can choose any one to attend.
But our flagship product is our Social Interest Groups. These are weekly calls, held almost every day of the week, where you can meet other members of the community and discuss some of the most important issues on the planet. You’ll also get free access to our Weekly Calls with the Publisher, as well as exclusive content like e-books, white papers and videos. Live and online events, such as a our NYC Storytelling Event, are also free to Gold Members.
And as the future of the world changes? You’ll be able to look back and say you were a part of that change.
***
With any membership, you will help support our mission. Find out more details of memberships here. Or, if you are ready, just sign on up below.
Thanks for helping us break down all sorts of stereotypes.
Register New Account
—
Your membership will begin once you receive the welcome email and click the link to return back to The Good Men Project.
Thank you for being a part of the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century. Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
Questions or Feedback? Email [email protected]
Join today as a Premium Member. No ads. A community of like-minded individuals holding a conversation that matters. And a whole lot of shattered stereotypes about men.
–
Thank you Jed!! Yours is such an important voice!
My moment of recognition came 37 years ago sitting with a group of men at a gathering with Herb Goldberg, the Psychologist who wrote The Hazards of Being Male. As we shared some of the ways men had wounded us in our lives, we began to open up to the stories of life and love, wounds and disappointments. From these experiences I went to write my first book, Inside Out: Becoming My Own Man. When I heard about the Good Men Project, I thought, “Finally, a place where we can really be ourselves and share the true stories of what… Read more »
Thank you Jed. I am going to mention this comment on the Evangelist call. Great to have you as someone who has been here from day one.