I was resistant to signing up for my first Mankind Project weekend back in 2017. “Man” was a problematical word for me. It carried associations of animosity and alienation. Not really knowing what I was in for, I focused on the “-kind” and hoped for the best.
As a gay man I was used to being in the minority, if not the singularity. Of the discoveries I made on that first weekend with MKP, I learned that men, whatever their sexual orientation, were also capable of feeling isolated and secretly different, each in their own way.
The more time I spend engaged with the Mankind Project, the more I learn about the range of individuality of men, as well as the things we have in common: vulnerability, fear, desire, shame, strength, nobility… gradually that M word is losing its intimidating power over me.
Within MKP we have a “Rainbow Circle” exclusively for GBTQ men. We meet monthly online and have the chance to check in and share our experiences, as part of our wider interactions with MKP as a whole.
Thanks to this, six years on, I have a very different relationship with the M word. I now understand there to be as many versions of it as there are men, myself included. That said, I also find there to be a common underlying experience of something “Masculine”. It’s multi-faceted, magnificent and badly needed in our world today.
This October (2023) we’re holding the first ‘Gateway’ weekend outside North America for GBTQ+ men. It’s a major milestone for MKP UK & Ireland, and a personal one for me.
- Aiden H.
To register for our next Rainbow Circle CLICK HERE
For information about our GBTQ+ GateWay NWTA CLICK HERE
