Launching “True North,” a new video series for men, presenter Karl Faase said when Olive Tree Media first made The Men’s Series more than 15 years ago, the word “toxic” wasn’t part of the conversation.
Answering a question about a key insight gained as he produced “True North,” Faase opened up about that comment.
” In preparation for the True North series, I read a number of books such as Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves, The Boy Crisis by Warren Farrell, The Toxic War on Masculinity by Nancy Pearcy and others. They all make the same point: men are not doing well. This theme was also in the March 2025 release of The Lost Boys Report by the CSJ (Centre for Social Justice) in the UK. The research for this report across the UK clearly showed that in almost every indicator, boys and young men are not doing well.
“Over the past 10 years the term toxic masculinity has gained momentum. This is not for specific actions of men but the generalisation that men by nature are toxic. As Nancy Percy says in the series, we vilify men for acting like men. Alongside of this there is the ongoing narrative that there is a patriarchy that needs to be dismantled and masculinity is toxic.
“This leaves many young men confused about what it means to be a man and apologetic for their masculinity. This is occurring at the same time that Universities STEM courses are now dominated by women (60/40 split), men are struggling in many workspace’s and the number of young men who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) in the UK has grown 20% in the last four years. There is an increase in “incels” (involuntary celibates) as dating app for don’t work for the majority of men. 80% of the women on dating apps are interested in only 20% of the men.
“All of this is to say we need to help men feel comfortable in their male skin, to celebrate male virtues and stop penalising men for who they are.”
Possessed of toxic masculinity, or not, the place of men in our society is more of an open question than it was the first time Faase’s team looked at what it means to be a male. Here are the questions, maybe we can call them possible gaps in male life, the eight-part series tackles:
1. Challenges For Men Today
2. Defining Masculinity
3. Building Faith
4. Marriage & Relationships
5. Kids Need Dads
6. Redeeming Work
7. Health & Wellbeing
8. Men Need Mates
The Other Cheek asked Faase which interviewee surprised him. “We interviewed Warren Farrell in California, he co-authored the book The Boy Crisis, he also wrote the book The Myth of Male Power. Farrell spoke about the tension for young men being told they are part of the oppressing patriarchy and that they are toxic. He recalls a young man talking with him about these challenges and close to tears said, “I wish I hadn’t been born a male.” That’s not just sad, that’s tragic.”
True North is available on Olive Tree’s Watch+ platform, ready for you to view, share, discuss and explore whther it fits a men’s ministry you might be running.
Karl Faase’s team invite everyone to preview episode one for free, with no need to sign up for an account.
They hope you’ll then consider who you could share the series with, and the contexts in which True North might serve the men in your life.