From LA’s ‘gangsta gardener’ to a stay-at-home man in Hertfordshire, the new issue of Positive News magazine interviews people who are ‘rewriting the man code’
Published today, issue 90 of the inspiring current affairs magazine traces how ideas about what it is to be a man are changing – and why this is a good thing. The cover story looks at the unique difficulties facing guys and how mental health statistics in particular show that many men are suffering. But as ideas about male identity evolve, men are helping each other to thrive.
From celebrities sharing their emotional vulnerability, to the mentors supporting young men who have been in the criminal justice system – Positive News speaks to those who are breaking down stereotypes and rebuilding brotherhood.
The magazine’s cover star is Ron Finley, known around the world for his positive take on being ‘gangsta’. As he tells Positive News: “Being educated, creative and self-sustaining is gangsta.”
Finley’s TED talk about growing food on the streets of Los Angeles has been viewed almost 3m times, while a sign in his garden reads ‘Real Gs grow food’. As Finley explains, he considers being a man to be about “being a conscious citizen of this planet”.
Care about how the media shapes your world?
Editor-in-chief Sean Dagan Wood said: “Tragically, suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. At the same time, we’ve been picking up on inspiring projects supporting men, and hearing a growing conversation about rethinking what it is to be a man.
“We felt this was an important undercurrent of change in society right now, so our latest cover story looks at some of the ways male identity is shifting and how this could help more of us to thrive.”
Positive News magazine offers quality, independent journalism that focuses on progress and possibility. Other key articles in the new issue report on the global fightback against fake news; the surprising science behind why we love emojis; what’s driving the renewable energy revolution; and how tattoos are helping heal the trauma of domestic abuse in Russia.
The new issue also includes an interview with Lori Lakin Hutcherson who founded the US-based website Good Black News to fill what she saw as a cultural void of positive stories about people of colour.
Meanwhile, author Richard Louv writes in the magazine about why “we must have the courage to be idealistic again” when it comes to our relationship with nature; and we travel to San Francisco to explore peace, love and big tech, 50 years on from the original summer of love.
Our readers tell us they want to remain engaged with the problems that exist – but to be informed about, and inspired by, the positive responses to society’s challenges too
The issue also includes a feature about the mass participation sports that are urging even the most dedicated coach potatoes to become active; a look at the projects helping make renting fairer and more affordable; and it casts an eye over potential solutions to ocean plastics.
Plus, the magazine’s news section tracks positive developments across the world, from the opening of the UK’s new Migration Museum, to a reduction in shootings in New York City.
“From the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, to the US withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, there has been a lot of tragic news in recent months,” Wood added.
“We’re back with another issue of Positive News magazine to help contribute to the fuller picture of what’s happening. Our readers tell us they want to remain engaged with the problems that exist – but they want to be informed about, and inspired by, the positive responses to society’s challenges too.”
Good journalism about good things – delivered to your door
