Upholding responsibilities towards loved ones - fighting internalized patriarchy

As my partner and I enter our gorgeous tryst with parenting, it has led me on some self-reflective explorations, the kinds of which I have never done at such a deep level before.

One of the most important ones has been this core life value of upholding my responsibilities towards loved ones, having their backs to the best of my ability, and grounding care in the craziness of real life.

It's actually pretty simple and quite beautiful. We care deeply for our people and we want to be there for them to the best of our abilities, and we want them to be there for us to the best of theirs.

I think it might also be called love or something, but let's not get mushy here.

Now, being a cis-male, i.e. a dude (and a self-hating one at that), this life value also comes with shitty baggage around patriarchy. It's so very easy to go into gender-oppressive modalities when it comes to upholding responsibilities. Social and cultural values the world over abound with extremely problematic  frameworks for the way men uphold their responsibilities towards their loved ones and their children.

Make no mistake, I believe that we all have very, very important responsibilities towards our community and family. I just think it has to begin with the fight against internalized patriarchy and it has to be done in egalitarian partnership with our loved ones. It makes it far easier to prevent regressive, sexist frameworks from taking root...I explore all this and more in this podcast

It is 2016 and we're back with yet another day in the life of the happiest guy...my name is Sri. I'm a healer, wannabe writer, failed activist turned stand up comedian, and aspiring mama elephant. And I can't stop talking...