A look at modern masculinity in America

What does it mean to be a man in America today?

NPR has been exploring this question in a series called "Men In America" revealing its many complexities and today our Friday Roundtablers take it on.

Read more: Twin Cities men discuss modern masculinity

Learn more about the NPR series:

• For These Vegans, Masculinity Means Protecting The Planet

"Everyone always thinks vegans are weak, skinny, frail, pale," Thompson says. "I get people that think, 'You're like Gwyneth Paltrow.' "

Unlike Paltrow (who is no longer vegan), Thompson grew up in a rough Chicago housing project. He was the kind of kid who would rush in to save stray cats or dogs if he saw people picking on them.

"[There's] nothing more cowardly to me than taking advantage of something that's defenseless," he says. (NPR)

• Who's The Man? Hollywood Heroes Defined Masculinity For Millions

Film -- even back when it was silent -- was like an instruction manual for the American experience. For a nickel at the nickelodeon, a foreign fellow fresh off the boat could see exactly how American men dressed, how they greeted each other (with a handshake, not with European kisses on each cheek), and, more generally, how people in his newly adopted country behaved. Admittedly, silent films used a kind of shorthand for American behavior -- stereotypes, to allow directors to brush in characters quickly without dialogue: women were almost always domestic, delicate and passive, while men were outgoing, strong and active. (NPR)