In 2025, we’re living through a moment where community feels more fragile than ever. For many people who don’t fit traditional expectations, it can be a frightening and uncertain time. Masculinity – or the presumption of what it means to be masculine – is in crisis, and this is the moment for all men – irrespective of whether they’re cis, straight, older, younger, LGBTQ+, trans or non-binary, a person of colour or disabled and/or neurodiverse – to come together and show the world that being a man is rich, diverse, colourful, and that regardless of what people think – we’re man enough.

As someone who has lived in Manchester — one of the most diverse cities in the UK— I’m able to be myself. Manchester is a melting pot of people, cultures, and communities, and it largely embraces difference. I’m also privileged in my role as Head of Marketing, Communications and Editorial at LGBT Foundation, the UK’s leading national LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing charity.

I have a front-row seat to the extraordinary progress we’ve made as LGBTQ+ people and a passionate range of allies — and the challenges that stubbornly remain. Every day, we hear from people who cannot live authentically because of prejudice, discrimination, or fear – stigma that should have been left behind.

What it means to “be a man” has never been something I explored deeply. But working in such a diverse organisation, and hearing so many different experiences, makes it clear that expectations placed on men can cause real harm.

LGBT Foundation’s Man Enough campaign has offered a moment of self-reflection — both for me and for the men involved. Across the campaign, men spoke honestly about the pressures they face, the stereotypes they’ve carried, and the expectations that have shaped their lives. It created space for difficult conversations, personal truths, and moments of vulnerability.

I found myself drawn toward a different question: what can we do – together – to make things better?

I’ve always been a massive believer in the idea that most people want to do the right thing. Most of us want stronger communities, more understanding, more fairness, and more kindness. Truth is, there is far more that binds us together than divides us. Our shared humanity, hopes, and desire to belong make communities strong.

And Men have a crucial role to play in bringing people together and choosing kindness – and that is strength.

We’re seeing the consequences when that doesn’t happen. Toxic behaviours and dialogues have become normalised. It manifests as discrimination, exclusion, violence, and a constant message that certain identities are somehow “less than.” It hit those at the margins the hardest, making the world feel less safe, less welcoming, and less possible.

Men need to step up — not with bravado, but with purpose. And within that conversation, there is a special role that cis and straight men play in that. Sons, fathers, brothers, nephews, grandparents, friends, colleagues and neighbours – the people who walk alongside us in everyday life.

These men are often the first line of support, the ones in the position to make the most meaningful difference. Their allyship isn’t symbolic — it’s transformative. When cis and straight men show acceptance, understanding, and pride in their LGBTQ+ loved ones, it creates safer homes, stronger communities, and a ripple effect of compassion wider than they often realise.

LGBT Foundation is inviting men to pledge to support one another: to act with kindness, to challenge prejudice, to uplift our communities, and to be allies where and when it matters. The pledge, available on our website, is a small, meaningful action that makes a difference.

Because when men choose compassion over judgment, solidarity over silence, and hope over cynicism, everything changes. Communities grow stronger. People feel safer. Joy becomes more possible. And we move closer to a society where everyone feels proud of who they are.