Masculinity has created a beast—a construct that feeds on contradictions, fear, and silence. This beast thrives on dominance yet trembles at vulnerability, demands strength while rejecting tenderness, and builds walls where bridges once stood. It draws power from constrictive expectations, inherited myths that poison, and an unwillingness to question its authority.
For the past few years, I have been making images and collecting masculine ephemera as part of my exploration into the rhetoric of masculinity. Media imagery and language have long constructed ideals of manhood, promoting distorted versions of masculinity that diverge from reality. These portrayals continue to shape contemporary standards, reinforcing rigid notions of strength and suppressing vulnerability.
My work engages with these narratives by combining the visual language of documentary photography with both analogy and direct representation. Through this approach, I weave together seemingly disparate images into a cohesive visual story—one that acknowledges these myths while offering a more nuanced understanding of masculinity. My images seek to uncover connections and unravel the threads that bind conflicting ideas, mythologies, and a quietness that mirrors silence.
Phrases like 'Boys don’t cry,' 'Man up,' and 'Take it like a man' still echo through daily life, perpetuated by authority figures and cultural norms indifferent to their harm. The archetype of the stoic 1950s cowboy—shaped by the 'Greatest Generation'—continues to cast a shadow, urging men to suppress their emotions and maintain composure at all costs. Vulnerability has historically been, and often still is, perceived as a weakness. Men are conditioned to bear responsibilities as loners, taking on roles as providers and protectors while burying their struggles out of fear of being seen as inadequate or 'less than.' These fears often manifest as violence—violence against others and, just as destructively, violence against the self, perpetuating cycles of harm and repression.