*A DEEP AND MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION , OBVS.PHOTOGRAPHY: GIUSEPPE SANTAMARIA; ADAM BAIDAWI.L
astweekmybestfriendtextedme
tosay his mother had been diagnosed
withcancer.Shehadthreemonthsto
live.Sittingontheferryhome,Itried
toprocessthesewordsfromacrosstheglobe
in a controlled, dare I say ‘blokey’ manner.
Icouldn’t.
Seeingtearsstreamdownmyface,the
gentleman opposite me whispered, “Are you
allright,mate?”
My friend’s mother is like a surrogate
mother to me, she’s been in my life longer
thanshehasnot.Iwasn’tallright,andsobbing
infrontoffellowcommuters served to
demonstrate that.
IrepliedtothemessageasbestIknewhow,
thenlaterIwaspleasedmyfriendcalledand
wehadaDMC*–sharingsupport,counselling
advice,laughterandmoretears.
Now,twoblokesblubbingintotheirphones,
plus another guy reaching out to check on a
stranger’s welfare, is all rather cringeworthy to
admit. Until you realise, actually, it isn’t at all.
Becausemoremenarehaving‘manchats’,and
seekingman-shoulderstocryon–andthis
needstobecelebrated(notsilenced).Soon,
the the days of bottled-up emotions and
remaining stoic through adversity will be
athingofthepast.Hopefully.
Sixteen years ago, when my father passed
awaysuddenly,ittookmeandmytwinbrother
two years before we inally discussed our grief
togetherandwereabletoconideinoneanother
abouthisdeath.Thatisassadasitisbonkers.
Fortunately, men are no longer shying away
fromopeningtheloodgates,andpositiverole
models play a large part in that. Our featureguysdrivingtochangethisstatusquo–
none other than theQueer Eyecast.
The show’s design guru, Bobby Berk,
sums it up perfectly when he tellsGQ:
“Guysjustgetitintheirheadthatit’s
notOKtobevulnerable,it’snotOK
toshowemotion,it’snotOKtocry.It’s
been detrimental to our society. It’s not
allowed men to really ind themselves.
Ithinkit’screatedagenerationofmen
whodon’tknowhowtofeel.”Ican
vouchforbeingpartofthatgeneration.
ButI’velearntmylessonsandnowknow
not to make the same mistakes again.
In saying this, we’re not there yet.
Societyisstillquicktojudgepeoplewho
do speak out, who do voice opinions or who
do show emotion. Especially when it’s not
what people want to hear.
Case in point, in our cover story,
Henry Cavill laments his relationship
withthemedia.Heisnotoriouslynotatalker,
butratherthanpeoplebeingrespectfulof
that,heindshe’softenchastisedforit.So,
whensomeoneofhissuperherostaturedoes
lethisguarddown(p92),itmakes what he
says all the more intriguing.
Ourbreadandbuttermaybetoensure
you’rewelldressed(theissuehassometreats
for you this winter), butGQalsohasaduty
to help men broach insecurities, talk about
their feelings, concerns – whatever’s on your
minds, however consequential.
So,asawkwardasitmayfeel,Idareyou
toreachouttooneofyourbestiesandcheck
ifthey’reallright.Themoreoutoftheblue
the better. Because you never know whenYASS QUEENS
Just like that,Queer Eye–areboot
ofthe’00soriginal–hasbecomethe
most culturally relevant show on TV.
Atatimeinwhichmenarefacing
somethingofanidentitycrisis,who
better than the Fab Five to roll in and
make your life better, forever?
Asalways,kudostoNetlflixfor
being on point with this one.THE EDITOR
LETTER
FOLLOW MIKE
@CHRISTENSENMIKEMIKECHRISTENSEN
EDITOR