The View From A Broad
Hi welcome to The View From A Broad. I'm Teresa Norton and this podcast dives into my past, revisiting columns I wrote for the South China Morning Post between 1993 and 2000 during my 40 years living in Hong Kong.
These often funny, sometimes tender, occasionally provocative musings cover everything from marriage and working motherhood, to national identity and global events. As a weekly columnist I aimed to capture the quirks of human interactions, carve up a few sacred cows and tell it like it is... but did I? In the 30 years since those columns were written much has changed and... so have I.
In each episode I read a column and talk to a guest about how the piece stands up today - what still rings true and what feels out of sync with today’s world. They then share a true story from their past that's been unearthed by something in the column.
The result is an engaging and honest conversation about the evolution of social norms, culture and humor, re-examining the past through the lens of today’s values.
By looking back with compassion and curiosity, my hope is that The View From A Broad encourages reflection on how our perspectives have changed... or not... and why.
The View From A Broad
The Real Men of Days Gone By | Teresa talks to Tom Norrington Davies
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Revisiting a 1999 column I wrote about the “real men” of the 1960's, I embark on a discussion of masculinity, banter, consent, and the cultural roots of the manosphere, with chef, writer, and yogi Tom Norrington Davies,
We discuss whether masculinity has been “pathologized” in some modern discourse, and why boys need space grow into men without being told there is something wrong with being a masculine male.
This is in counterpoint to observations they share on Louis Theroux's Netflix documentary "Inside the Manosphere" and the negative impact this is having on young men.
What's preventing the healthy balance between masculinity and respect for women and their achievements?
Tom describes the influence of women in his life and work, especially the strong women in his family and chef Carla Tomasi, whose rigorous, seasonal, low intervention approach shaped both his cooking and his sense of professional identity.
My 1990's column makes reference to Milton Berle and her criticism of his "dressing up in frocks" and the question of how my comments might be cancelable today. Tom shares a clip he found of Berle and RuPaul at an MTV Awards ceremony that laid any qualms I had of offending the drag world to rest.
It's a loaded conversation and it get's unpacked thoughtfully, compassionately and with warmth and humor.
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