I wish I had time to do something more in-depth this week, but I’ve read a lot since my last one of these and I’ve worked a lot since my last one of these; as a result, my head is empty of original thoughts but I’ve got a lot of opinions.

Cameron's Book Round-Up -- 2020, part 1

Okay, I knew I was going to do these on the Facebook page, but I haven’t done that, and I’m under a great deal of time pressure right now — I had to get a replacement phone yesterday, and in 12 days begin my first class intended to be a completely online class. So…yeah. Let’s jump in to the seventeen books I’ve read thus far this year.

"Those Breakdown Days Are Done": Growing Up With the Bands We Grew Up With (The Nostalgia Trap, Part 3.)

That line hits me like a ton of bricks every time. I have cited it to therapists in outlining my goals. And it seems to be a theme of some of the music I’ve enjoyed the most recently, and about which I have complicated thoughts. (Content Warning: Discussion of Eating Disorders.)

Crafting a Healthy Masculinity: Part 1

Much has been written about toxic masculinity, much of it by much better scholars than me. What I would like to do in this piece, and subsequent pieces under similar headings, is analyze non-toxic manifestations of masculinity, discuss their functioning, and – as much as possible, without oversimplifying – present guidelines so that we can follow them in the future. There are, of course, pitfalls here and I want to acknowledge them at the beginning: just about everything we do has unintended consequences, and the suggestions that I make here will no doubt be liable to have them, too. Moreover, any behavior can be twisted into a toxic manifestation: you have to have the self-awareness to try to recognize that when it happens, and to accept the criticism when it comes up.