A few years ago, I – OOBP founder Will Soer – realised that a lot of the pain in my life had come from my efforts to prove myself as a man / prove that I am a man (I was bullied for my apparent femininity when I was younger). I decided to write a talk about it, in the hopes of discouraging any other young men from making the same mistakes, and helping others understand how these issues really feel.

I used my radio show to work out a first draft, presented via a one-off, musical audiobook, you can listen to it below. I went on to edit the show down to a half hour talk, which I was invited to deliver at a 6th form college where one of my friends teaches, shortly before covid hit.

Life got a bit mad after that and I haven’t written much more about toxic masculinity (except for a heavily self indulgent speech given at a friend’s wedding), but I’m always open to any kind of work or conversations related to this issue, please email me at will@loose-lips.com if you want to talk about it!

Tracklist:

Chances (instrumental) – Kaytranada
Ferment – Murlo
Yamaha – Aleksandir
Real Life – Emiranda
Four – Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm
Pol In G – The Durutti Column
Male Intuition – Suzanne Kraft
Introvert – Duval Timothy
Monoto – Badia
Shot For Me – Drake
Carbonated – Mount Kimbie
Why Didn’t You Save Me – Nicolas Jaar
Self Portrait – The Durutti Column
Song Of Injured Love – Gabor Szabo
Adriatic – Mount Kimbie
Pour Olympe – Trypheme
Ball – Duval Timothy
Rob Grey’s Elegy – The Durutti Column
Reflection Eternal – Nujabes
Song 1 – Rico Casazza
Mango Drive – Rhythm & Sound
Northern Soul – Norken
Portrait Of Tracy – Jaco Pastorius
Midnight In Peckham – Chaos in the CBD
La Ritournelle – Sebastien Tellier
i – Nicola Roberts
Old Town Road – Lil Nas X
Nobody Cares About Us (instrumental) – J Dilla
Any Way The Wind Blows – Sara Bareilles