joe erhman

yesterday my school had a guest speaker come and share some thoughts about masculinity.  joe erhman is a retired nfl star whose life and perspective dramatically shifted after the death of his little brother to cancer.

the whole school was required to read a book about the man, his philosophy and how he incorporates it into coaching high school football.  those that didn't read the book written by jeffrey marx, at least saw a video interview with joe that touches on many of the same key points.

joe's primary theory is that as a society we have a faulty definition of masculinity.  that instead of defining it by money, strength or sexual prowess,  a man should value, above all, relationships. that rather than teaching our young boys to "suck it up" and "take it like a man" and "not to be a sissy" their emotions should be, recognized, articulated and validated.

i found most of his ideas to strike a chord.  watch the video to get a sense of what i am talking about.