17. David Whitney

James McDermott talks to fitness advisor James Dean about gym culture, masculinity, and the value of talking for mental and physical health.

'I sometimes say to my current partner, 'I'm very camp. Are you sure you want to be with me?' And she says to me: 'those are the things I love about you.' I now present myself as a man in a way that makes me feel comfortable.' James McDermott talks to theatre maker David Whitney about the relationship between gender identities and sexual identities.  

'If we want to start turning out well-balanced young men, we need to mentor boys into adulthood.' Andy Wood, founder of Menscraft, talks to James McDermott about peace, love, and the difficult relationship between aggression, cowardice, bravery and masculine identities.

'I don't have gender dysphoria. I have gender euphoria!'

'I always had this sadness mixed with pity for men as a child. I remember thinking "it would be so much better to be a girl"'. Chris Gribble James McDermott talks to Chris Gribble, Chief Executive of National Centre for Writing, about gender, sexuality, and the opportunities and limitations of language.  MANTOR is hosted by James McDermott: www.jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com Produced by Story Machine Productions: www.storymachineproductions.co.uk Music by Jordan Mallory-Skinner  For more on Mantor: The Masculinity Conversations see www.storymachineproductions.co.uk/portfolio/mantor-the-masculinity-conversations

'We still have this sense that working class males are disposable cogs in a machine. Working class men are too often told to shut up.' James McDermott is joined by Freya Gallagher-Jones to discuss working class masculinity, intersectionality, and power.  MANTOR is hosted by James McDermott: www.jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com Produced by Story Machine Productions: www.storymachineproductions.co.uk Music by Jordan Mallory-Skinner  For more on Mantor: The Masculinity Conversations see www.storymachineproductions.co.uk/portfolio/mantor-the-masculinity-conversations

'I truly believe that community is going to be one of the things that enables masculinity to be whole.' James McDermott is joined by Alan Buys to discuss masculinity, feminism, faith and community. Hosted by James McDermott: www.jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com Produced by Story Machine Productions: www.storymachineproductions.co.uk Music by Jordan Mallory-Skinner For more on Mantor: The Masculinity Conversations see here.

'There is such an immediacy to poetry. I wanted to say "this is me, this is my experience." James McDermott discusses and reads from his debut poetry collection, MANATOMY. Hosted by James McDermott: www.jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com Produced by Story Machine Productions: www.storymachineproductions.co.uk Music by Jordan Mallory-Skinner For more on Mantor: The Masculinity Conversations see here.

'This is where trans people’s perspectives on gender become really interesting; because for a lot of us we have been thinking about the concepts of what it really means to be a man or a woman since our earliest memories. At the age of six I knew I was a boy.' James McDermott is joined by trans man Charlie Caine to talk about masculinity in this final episode of season 1. Hosted by James McDermott: www.jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com  Produced by Story Machine Productions: www.storymachineproductions.co.uk  Music by Jordan Mallory-Skinner  For more on Mantor: The Masculinity Conversations see here. Supported by Arts Council England's Emergency Fund.

'It is okay for me not to be perfect. It is okay for me to reach out for support. And it okay for me to be vulnerable...At the same time it is okay for me to be magnificent. To show up brightly, with intent and integrity in this world.'  James McDermott is joined by James Wong from A Band of Brothers, to talk about his work tackling young male disaffection, rites of passage, and growing towards healthy manhood. Hosted by James McDermott: www.jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com Produced by Story Machine Productions: www.storymachineproductions.co.uk Music by Jordan Mallory-Skinner For more on Mantor: The Masculinity Conversations see here. Supported by Arts Council England's Emergency Fund.