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"My dad is my male role model and he never sought counseling [for his mental health]," Cramer told me. "It was a daunting task because, for me, growing up, I never saw men in my life seek help."That's hardly unusual, according to Carolyn Peterson, undergraduate director in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at the University of Cincinnati, who says there is a pervasive stigma when it comes to men looking for emotional support."Boys and men in our society are terrorized into behaving and performing a specific type of masculinity that forbids sadness, vulnerability, intimacy, or anything else that is considered 'vulnerable,' and therefore feminine," she told me. "They are explicitly punished if they do not conform to this standard."When I told her about DHD, she said she could see how a group like this would be beneficial. "For one, it is private, and this gives men a space to be authentic human beings who can reach out and connect with other men honestly and openly. They can drop the front for a minute.""It's a community where people are generally cool to each other. That's sort of a rare thing on the internet." — Daniel Betzner
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