Every Wednesday, the Fight for Peace Academy holds a session called Man Talk. It begins with a check in: who are you today? What do you want to leave outside and what is something you’d like to talk about?

A group of both new, and familiar faces are given the opportunity to answer these questions in a space that’s created just for them – a space for all young men. 

This male personal development group is an opportunity for anyone to share their experiences, listen to others, offer advice, and discuss challenges around what it means to be a man in today’s society.

But why is a dedicated space such as this so urgently needed? 

Modern masculinity is wandering in limbo. As the erosion of the male identity dissolves in a culture fixated on calling traditional traits ‘toxic’, expectations of what a man should be today remain undefined and uncertain. 

For young men, navigating this shift in the digital age has further exacerbated this issue. When social media influencers under the ‘manosphere’ are selling the golden standard of masculinity – where one is ripped, rich, and sexually desirable, 24 hours around the clock, it’s clear to see why many feel confused and isolated. 

These feelings can severely impact wellbeing, and when three out of four suicides in the UK are by men, it’s a crucial reminder that talking about masculinity and mental health is a priority. As one young member who attends Man Talk said, it’s rare to find spaces that are “welcoming and non-judgemental.”

With the Movember movement focusing on men’s mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer – the month of November is a vital time to promote and encourage these conversations and healthy ways of expression. 

Diving deeper into this, we spoke to Fight for Peace Youth Mentor Jason, who leads our Man Talk sessions, about how these spaces operate and why they are so essential. 

“Man Talk is in a controlled space and it’s a safe space…it’s safe from the judgement of society.” Jason leads on to explain how young men are “expected to be resilient to all conditions, without expressing emotions.” But in Man Talk, these conversations and forms of expressions are normalised. 

Yet, this space is not only for raw reflection, it’s also for building friendships: “just the fact that they get to come and hang out with other guys, just have a laugh sometimes…or for a serious conversation…they may not feel that they fit in and here they have a space where they do.”

Young member and recently qualified personal trainer Mike, who often attends Man Talk, spoke about the energy of the session too: “It’s a different energy, a comfortable energy, where there’s freedom and structure. But it’s the energy from Fight for Peace too, where I feel I can come here at any time, for whatever I need.”

In response to those that may be hesitant to attend the sessions and other spaces such as these, Jason says: “I can tell you how great it is. Like my grandma’s cooking. I can tell you that it’s the greatest thing on earth, that my grandma has the greatest dishes, right? So I can tell you about the flavour but until you have a dish, you won’t know what I’m cooking.” Echoing Jason’s point: until you give it a go – how will you ever know?

With young men and boys facing increasing challenges, spaces like Man Talk are needed now more than ever. Spaces where we prioritise mental health, personal growth, stronger communities and supportive friendships, all through the simple act of sharing and listening. 

Because, as Jason puts it, “they seek shelter when the rain comes. And if we meet young people in the sunshine, they have no need for shelter, which is often the case. But when the rain does come, as long as they know where the shelter is, then they can find us.” 

Let’s make more of these spaces, where young men and boys can access support, make connections, or ask questions about masculinity or their mental health whenever they need to. We can’t remain silent any longer. 

On November 19th, the world celebrates International Men’s Day, a day to positively value what men bring to the world, their families and communities. This year it falls on a Wednesday when we run Man Talk – consider joining us, but if not then, please know the door is always open. 

Man Talk runs every Wednesday 5:30pm till 7pm, but our doors are open Monday to Friday all year round for any young person seeking support, or just looking for a chat.