The Gay Men’s Brotherhood was founded in 2019 in order to bring a new type of voice and healing to our gay community. Within six years, over 250 podcast episodes have been created, nearly 450 Youtube videos uploaded, and over 30,000 social media followers listening and contributing to the Brotherhood. This exceptional growth has produced and reaffirmed a need for connecting gay men across the world. The continued success has culminated into a desire to create a blog highlighting who we all are on a personal level from members of our community.
Since the beginning, the leaders of the group have given me and thousands of others unconditional understanding and incredible strength when we couldn’t find it anywhere else. The topics have ranged from exploring our relationships with mental health, sexuality, personal development, and so many more. The goal, vision, and mission has been to create a new type of gay community.
And if we look at our community, a place to find connection and healing is difficult. If we’ve read anything about the pioneers of gay history, we’ve found the most influential were LGBTQIA+ people tired of living in an unaccepting world. Political uprisings created change. Historical tragedies brought awareness. Great leaders went out in the community, protesting in the streets, demanding to be seen, heard, and respected.
As gay men, we’ve been through major life events directly affecting us or someone we know and love. We’ve experienced epidemics and civil rights battles like the Stonewall uprising, decriminalizing homosexuality, AIDS, and the fight for gay marriage.
Now, we are well into the twenty-first century, but suffering from many new insidious creations: the negative effects of social media and hookup apps, images of perfect male bodies contributing to an ever-increasing low sense of self-worth, and addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, and food. Overall, the existential crisis of what it means to be gay has never felt so relevant and so muddled at the same time.
But just like the GMB is a “new type of community,” that new type of gay community needs to be heard from all of our members. The gay men who have fought long battles, short battles, both near and far. The GMB is looking to feature those voices in a blog every month, bridging the gap between the connection and similarities we all share versus the differences and anxieties the world is showing us.
Our new vision, an extension of the GMB, is to let new voices shine. Let these blog posts culminate into a “new type of blog,” where all are welcome and topics extend beyond the shallow sentiments we often see in our community. We want to hear your voice, no matter where you’re at in your healing journey.
GAY MEN GOING DEEPER PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS:
- “Our Relationship With the Gay Community”
- “Authenticity and Social Media: Instagram Gays and the Line Between Real and Fake”
- “Dealing with Loneliness”
- “How to Make Friends”
- “Navigating Depression: Finding a Way Through the Darkness” “The Core Wound of Growing Up Gay”