I think there is a lot in this 14 minute talk that we all can relate to in some form or another.
Wade Davis covers gender performance, a topic that he was mindful about his whole life. He touches on how he tries to keep the mask of masculinity on and trying not to let it slip. His singing of Whitney's "Queen of the Night" didn't help.
Wade Davis, an ex-NFL player for the Titans, Redskins, and Seahawks, shares a gripping story of growing up gay in the world of football and urges us to reconsider our definitions of "masculinity."
[He's] a pioneering educator on gender, race, and orientation equality. He is the NFL’s first diversity and inclusion consultant, and co-created the YOU Belong initiative and the Speaker’s Collective. Davis is also a U.N. Women HeForShe Ambassador, a U.S. State Department Speaker Specialist, and the official LGBT Surrogate for President Obama. – youtube.com
Growing up, I loved that people saw me as a masculine man. I loved the power, the access, the respect and the perceived safety that masculinity provided me. So in late 2015, when the University of Florida asked me to give a Ted style talk at their 2016 TedX Conference in March, I decided to call it “The Mask of Masculinity.” – ebony.com
Thank you Wade for sharing your story of the burden of wearing that mask of masculinity.
It hit home.
Thank you Ebony.com for bringing this to our attention.