Anxy No. 4: The Masculinity Issue
What does it mean to be masculine?
How does masculinity influence our sense of self and the culture around us?
Masculinity isn’t just about men. Masculinity is about everyone—our power, our vulnerability, our self-expression, and our state of mind. Our fourth issue explores the spectrum of masculinity through intimate essays, reported features, insightful interviews, gorgeous photography and more.
Here are some of the highlights.

INTERVIEWS
One-on-one conversations with creative people about mental health
Terry Crews
“If you only hear one story, you stay with one perspective. If you control the narrative, you control the people.”
Karamo Brown
“If you ask somebody how they’re doing and their answer is ‘fine,’ there’s something deeper there.”
PERSONAL ESSAYS
A collection of reflective, intimate essays
Josh Schollmeyer on eating your feelings
“I can’t say that I enjoy it—or that any of it tastes particularly good—but it’s among the moments I most look forward to every week.”
Alexis Madrigal on male self image
“The trouble is that falling short of the ideal, as all men must as they get older, can cause the kind of mental health issues that have plagued women for decades.”
Katie MacBride on considering masculinity
“My resistance and anger grew through one disappointment and dismissal after another, both personally and in the world at large.”
REPORTED FEATURES
Incisive, thoughtful reporting that gets to the core of the issues
Elisabeth Sherman on chef culture
“For women, cooking was a duty. Men often saw it as a hobby, a sport, another realm to conquer. And when men made cooking a business, they seemed to decide their kitchens would be superior to those their mothers worked in.”
Anxy+MEL Trajectories
A long-term collaboration between Anxy and MEL Magazine that shares men’s real lives, and real struggles, as they happen.
VISUAL STORIES
Compelling photo essays and illustration that bring boundaries to life
Justin J Wee
Justin J Wee's portraits of gender non-conforming people show how broad the definitions of masculinity can be.
Stacy Kranitz
“Whether they know it or not, boys come here to become men. It’s a place where they can experiment and try on different emotions and behaviors that they’ve repressed until now.”
Deshun Smith
“The Ever Forward Club was created to give young men a place to talk about anything that’s going on in their personal life, whenever they feel they don’t necessarily have anybody to talk to.”
Anxy No. 4: Captivating, meticulously-crafted storytelling that will change your perspective.
Table of Contents
What Masculinity Means Real Men Don't Cry Over the Lines A Timeline of Testosterone Give Us a Smile A Most Peculiar Way Scary Times for Men MEL Trajectories The Monster of Machismo |
Eating My Feelings Instagram Man I'm Not Afraid of the Word 'No' The Locked Box Too Many Cooks Terry Crews Wants To Know What You Are Going To Do No One Way Rage, Rinse, Repeat |
Criminal Acts Not All Men Removing the Mask of Masculinity Hide & Seek The Survival Kit Reinvent What's Possible Crossword Shelf Life Anxy in the World Mental Health Resources |