Zac Seidler

I think I was already...

on the bandwagon, I saw a gap.

And talking about my family, you needed to find a gap.

You need to find a gap in conversation to say anything.

You need to find a gap to get the last potato before it was taken.

And so I realized early on, I was doing a gender studies major at the time.

And I learned a lot from the

you know, really progressive lesbians who were like, why are you here?

Pretty much asking me in class.

And I learnt a lot about masculinity through those conversations.

And, you know, layering this on top, I think subconsciously there was a part of me that was seeking answers because...

there was this ideology and it remains in the health system, the idea that men don't seek help.

But my dad sought help.

He sought help for 20 years.

He sought help from psychiatrists and psychologists across the board and he still slipped through the cracks and he was still unable to be accessed.

And so I think that that's what has driven me.

The fact that there is this generalizing stereotype that permeates through society that,

that really is at odds with what I experienced and actually diminishes my father.

It diminishes his effort.

And it says a lot about the fact that there was something there, there were structures up that were unassailable for him, I think.