Breaking out of the “Man Box”

Breaking out of the “Man Box”

From Disrupting Peace by World Peace Foundation

October 7, 2025 · 36 min · Season 3 · Episode 5

About this episode

This episode explores the concept of healthy masculinity and its potential to foster peace, featuring insights from Gary Barker and Caroline Ferraz Ignacio.

We’ve all heard the phrase “toxic masculinity”. In this episode, we explore why this isn’t the most helpful concept, and more importantly, how healthy masculinity can increase peace. We dig into what we can learn from successful interventions in Brazil and Colombia, unpack the “man box”, and learn tools for opening up conversations around masculinity, rather than shutting them down.   Gary Barker is an international voice for healthy manhood, gender equality and violence prevention. He is the founder and CEO of Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, an international organization that works globally, including the US, to engage men and boys in healthy masculinities. Find out more about Gary’s work at www.equimundo.org . The State of American Men 2025 report can be found here: www.equimundo.org/resources/state-of-american-men-2025 Caroline Ferraz Ignacio is an international development professional focused on gender equity and social inclusion. She has worked with Instituto Promundo in Brazil, Promundo Portugal and Equimundo to support research and programming across Latin America and Europe, and with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the…

People in this episode

Guests: Gary Barker, Caroline Ferraz Ignacio

Topics covered

  • toxic masculinity
  • healthy masculinity
  • gender equality
  • violence prevention
  • social justice
  • interventions in Brazil and Colombia

Keywords

  • toxic masculinity
  • healthy masculinity
  • gender equality
  • violence prevention
  • Brazil
  • Colombia
  • social justice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, Instituto Promundo, Promundo Portugal, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Vermont’s Dad Guild, Brooklyn S

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