DISCERNING BRUTES: SHAUN FLORES

“too many linear, deterministic lines lock men into crazy expectations of what it is to be a man today.

Society has changed and we are evolving.

my dad died when I was six years old on Christmas day. growing up in the black community, I had to discover what it meant to be my own man.

the belief that a man must be this and that is toxic and it puts pressure on men when the world has changed so much. we need to explore new types of masculinity as there is not one type that fits all.

i am vegan, AND a core tenant of my existence is simply being an example to other young men in the world. we have so much power, our identities should be malleable — after all we either make this world more harmonious or filled with strife.”

Shaun Flores @theshaunflores

Shaun Flores is a 24 year old model, actor, and activist. He is “a man striving to leave the world in a better place than I found it with the investment of my personality and simply my being”. Follow Shaun FLores on Instagram: @theshaunflores & watch his tedx talk here.

DISCERNING BRUTES is an ongoing series highlighting masculine-presenting vegans and asking them to offer insight, revision or critique about what it means to "be a man" today.