A Million Ways To Be A Man

A Million Ways To Be A Man

This International Men’s Day, LNER' men's network, ManKind is launching ‘A Million Ways To Be A Man’. Why? Because for too long, men and boys have been surrounded by ideas about what a man should be. Strong. Tough. Successful. The provider. The protector. Someone who gets on with it and doesn’t show when things are difficult.

But there isn’t one way to be a man. There are a million.

Our campaign is about celebrating men in all their difference. Different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, sexualities, ages, personalities and experiences. It’s about fathers and sons, husbands and partners, colleagues and friends. Men who are loud, men who are quiet, men who lead and men who are still finding their way. That fits closely with International Men’s Day in the UK, which encourages organisations to promote positive conversations about men, manhood and masculinity and to make a difference to the wellbeing of men and boys.

On 19 November, we’re planning to take that conversation across the railway. The ManKind Express will leave London King’s Cross at 09:33 for Newcastle, bringing colleagues together along the route for conversation, connection and hopefully a bit of fun too. We’ll also be taking the question “What does being a man mean to you?” into stations and on the trains.

And we don’t want this to belong to just one train company. Any TOC, rail organisation or colleague can get involved. Run your own conversation, put up a whiteboard at your station, share somebody’s story, hold an event or simply ask people what being a man means to them. We’d love to connect those activities together and show just how many different answers our railway can give. Because perhaps the most important message we can give men and boys this International Men’s Day is a simple one:

There is no right way to be a man. There are a million ways. And every one has a story worth hearing.