Australian CrossFit athlete Khan Porter posted a video on his Facebook of him dancing to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” on Wednesday.
“I posted my video for fun obviously, but also because l think the way the public reacted reflects a pretty cool shift in preconceived notions of masculinity and think that’s grounds for starting some more positive conversations about what it means to be ‘a man,’” he writes.
“A well known male celebrity goes on national television, dresses in drag and dances to a girls song and the world embraces it with open arms.”
“I post a video dancing and it too gets plenty of positive attention, showing a shift in the way society views masculinity or what is acceptable for a man to do or say. But how far does that acceptance go?
“There’s still so [much stigma] around masculinity and blokes face very real issues in terms of dealing with what society has deemed as appropriate behavior for their sex.”
“Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of death for males aged between 15-44? How about that the rate of suicide in men is almost triple women? As someone who has personal experience with mental health issues, I know how difficult it can be for a man to seek help for something that is often brushed off as ‘just being a pussy’ or a ‘soft cock’.”
“If society can have a good laugh and accept a man dressing up and / or dancing like a woman these days, how hard is it to have a chat to your mates about something like mental illness.”