Hello, Brian. Maybe the article didn’t properly convey it, but there was some concern among my family at the time that I was a little too…soft.

I believe it was toxic masculinity because it was a part of a number of things that were said or done to make me be, or at least act, more “manly”.

I’m not sure how they would have figured I’d be bored with it because I obsessed over it for years. And, of course, even if I had, it wouldhave been no different than the other gifts that I grew bored with.

And no, I was never given any other chef’s tools, though I did help my grandmother cook.

Thanks for reading.

Chris