The conversation no one else is having.®
“The Good Men Project® is a glimpse of what enlightened masculinity might look like in the 21st century,” the press raved when we launched. We had set out to start an international conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century. And with over 3 million visitors coming to join in every month, it looks as if we’ve done exactly that. The Good Men Project was founded by Tom Matlack in 2009. Tom set out to collect stories about the defining moments in men’s lives. What he discovered was that the connected idea between all the stories of the men Tom talked to was that there was a moment when each man “woke up, looked in the mirror and said ‘I thought I knew what it meant to be a man. I thought I knew what it meant to be good. And I realize that I don’t know either.’” These are the types of stories about men that change the writer and change the reader. We set out to open doors you didn’t even know were closed.
The stories became a book, a film, a series of events, and then, this website, where we are creating a space for a much-needed cultural conversation about manhood. Over the years, The Good Men Project has grown into a diverse, multi-faceted media company and an idea-based social platform.The Good Men Project is a diverse community of 21st century thought leaders who are actively participating in a conversation about the way men’s roles are changing in modern life—and the way those changes affect everyone.
We explore the world of men and manhood in a way that no media company ever has, tackling the issues and questions that are most relevant to men’s lives. We write about fatherhood, family, sex, ethics, war, gender, politics, sports, pornography, and aging. We shy away from nothing. Our content reflects the multidimensionality of men — we are alternately funny and serious, provocative and thoughtful, earnest and light-hearted. We search far and wide for new stories and new voices from “the front lines of modern manhood.” And we do it without moralizing and without caricaturizing our audience; we let guys be guys, but we do it while challenging confining cultural notions of what a “real man” must be.
Guys today are neither the mindless, sex-obsessed buffoons nor the stoic automatons our culture so often makes them out to be. Our community is smart, compassionate, curious, and open-minded; they strive to be good fathers and husbands, citizens and friends, to lead by example at home and in the workplace, and to understand their role in a changing world.
But not only are we having the “conversation no one else is having”—but the ways in which we are having those conversations is completely unlike other media companies. We invite you to actively participate in the conversation in a variety of ways:
1) Write about it. We are always looking for new voices to add to the conversation. You’ll find that being a contributor helps you more clearly articulate your ideas, puts those ideas in front of new people, helps you be seen and heard—and helps us create the type of change we want to see in the world. Once you contribute as a writer, there are ways to become more deeply engaged as a columnist or editor.
2) Talk about it. We have weekly calls about specific topics of interest. Imagine that—real live discussions about some of the most important and difficult topics on this planet. Currently we have weekly calls about: The Disposability of Men/CTE in Football, Sex/Love/Etc., #StopRacism, Politics, Mental Health, Living with a Disability, #StopRacism—with more starting all the time.
3) Join the community. Our Premium Member community brings together like-minded people for ALL our conversations.
4) Learn new skills. We have classes in writing, platform building, editing, creating social change, and leadership. A platinum membership gets you access to recordings and live versions of ALL our classes.