Elliot Page Discusses Healthy Masculinity and Emotional Openness
Transgender actor Elliot Page expressed views on healthy masculinity, emphasizing the importance of emotional openness. Speaking on the ‘It’s Open with Ilana Glazer’ podcast, Page described healthy masculinity as resisting the impulse to emotionally shut down.
Now 39 years old and known for roles in ‘Odyssey,’ Page was asked about healthy masculinity both as a public figure and as someone experiencing a personal ‘gender journey.’ Page stated that moving away from expectations to be emotionally closed off is key.
Healthy masculinity, to me, is or even just something I’ve felt as, like, transitioning, is like leaning away from whenever there is some sort of impulse or expectation you’ve put on yourself to, like, shut down,
Page explained.
Page once felt the pressure to minimize expressive gestures, such as speaking with hands or smiling in photographs. Now, post-transition, Page notices a personal change, as implied when mentioning smiling in photos—a contrast to earlier reluctance to be in them.
Observations include interactions with male fans, where Page noticed reluctance to smile, sparking thoughts of whether to also appear less open. Page confronted this by recognizing such thoughts as part of the broader issue of imposed emotional limitations.
And also just, you know, doing what you can to be intentionally and mindfully not letting yourself get swayed or twisted by the rules that I feel like end up leading to so many of the problems that we see that do get inflicted by toxic masculinity, violence and abuse, just general cruelty. I think… healthy masculinity could just mean a really good cry,
Page added.
Page encourages practical habits like staying hydrated and urges men to embrace self-love. This perspective is part of a larger discussion on challenging the norms that lead to toxic masculinity and associated behaviors such as violence and abuse.
Since coming out as transgender in 2020, Page has used ‘he/they’ pronouns and gained recognition previously as Ellen Page. Well-known for roles in ‘Juno,’ ‘Inception,’ and the ‘X-Men’ series, Page’s insights contribute to ongoing conversations about masculinity.