“There is a malaise among men and we don’t talk about it much,” says Dany Turcotte straight away. More than a year and a half after his resounding resignation from Everybody talks about itthis one initiates a sober media return by animating On the men’s sidea documentary series by Savoir media that attempts to define current Quebec masculinity.
“Don’t look for jokes, there aren’t any,” explains Guy A. Lepage’s former court jester, who has tackled this “tremendously important” subject head-on. He believes that in 2022, addressing masculinity publicly is necessary to understand where the consequences are coming from — hate on social media, the #MeToo movement, etc. — from a latent malaise.
“The problems are everywhere and I see that the men are in very bad shape. As a homosexual, I also found it very interesting to explore masculinity”, continues the host who was chosen by Jean Roy, the director of On the men’s side, precisely because he is not associated with toxic masculinity and he is not afraid to express his emotions. It should be recalled in this regard that in February 2021, Dany Turcotte preferred to withdraw from Everybody talks about it after asking an inappropriate question to Mamadi Camara, wrongly accused of assaulting a police officer.
The surge of the media storm that followed had, at the time, greatly “disturbed” him and convinced him to take a step back. “I was pre-burnout. What I was going through was disturbing. I endured the hate for a while, and then it was no longer possible, ”he recalls bluntly.
The tip of the iceberg
Today, Dany Turcotte confides that he is getting better and allows himself to joke: “But there are many angry people! I know because they all still write to me on social media! According to him, the cocktail of frustrations and silences specific to men in general ends up creating “an emotional cancer”, harmful in several respects, both in private and public spheres. “I’m happy to learn more about the origin of our ailments,” he rejoices.
From lack of education to fear of consulting for health problems mental, the documentary indeed plays cards on the table in terms of masculinity. “At school, boys have more difficulty reading than girls, and only 50% of young men go to CEGEP, compared to 75% for their female classmates,” says Jean Roy, visibly surprised. by the discoveries he made while filming his series. “In the long term, I don’t know what it’s going to be like… adds Dany Turcotte. Several men are on the siding. Due to lack of education, they have not followed developments and they do not know how to react. »
When he compares the female counterpart of On the men’s side, 50 years of women’s advances, which he produced in 2020, Jean Roy also does not hide his surprise at the flagrant lack of experts and studies devoted specifically to masculinity. “We had to look for a long time to find the right people and the appropriate resources,” says the director, who is worried about the fact that men, ill-informed, persist in relying on their achievements.
What place for masculinity in 2022?
“I certainly think that there are masculinities to redo”, now notes Jean Roy, after having been able to probe the issues with which men are confronted. He thus believes that, even if masculinity is multiple, shifting and seems to be moving in the right direction, the most “traditional” of them continues despite everything to cause damage, both among young and old. “She still kills,” he raises.
And because a specialist met in his documentary series affirms that every human being who suffers has the right to be treated and that certain men are visibly in distress, Jean Roy is convinced that On the men’s side has its place in the media. “If only to open the discussion between men,” he says.
For his part, Dany Turcotte doubts that the criticisms likely to emerge after the broadcast of this documentary intended for men, without being exclusive, on the contrary, are justified. “As a man, I think we also have the right to have our problems addressed. »
For him, the more dialogue there is between men and women, the more the situation will evolve in the right direction. He also points out that the change in mentality that seems to appear is very slow, because “everything starts from education, and these things that have been embedded in our brains for a long time are now like fossils”.
Finally, aware of being part of the cautious generations to debate what bothers, Dany Turcotte wishes more than ever to do useful work during his television appearances. “I embark on projects that tempt me and teach me a lot, but which also allow me to have fun. Does he now see himself as a documentary filmmaker? “Looks good”, warns, in self-mockery, Dany Turcotte, while preparing a program that is close to his heart on the aging of LGBTQ + people.