The gendering of emotion has a traumatic effect on males. Young boys are often told, "boys don't cry", but why do they not? Our socialization has characterized crying as a sign of weakness, an element of emotion men should not display. This photo represents the social out-casting of males who break the social norm of gendering emotion. The thought of isolation is portrayed by the social dislocation, no surrounding humans, low saturation, slight hint of blue (a common color used to express depression or sadness). The young man here, shields his face while he displays a sense of shame and disparity, with fear of others being able to see his emotion. A chain, from a swing which the boy sits upon, symbolizes a sense of childhood where one would learn such behavior as shameful or even deviant. Negative space surrounding the figure is in a blurred state representing the blurring of gendering emotion in society. The photo also includes the element of line, such as vertical slats in the background of the image representing the ideal thoughts of society (the negativity of a male crying). On the foreground of the figure there are additional vertical lines, but they are crossed by horizontal lines. These horizontal lines express a greater emphases to crossing what is considered the social norm. Crying is the release of stress one may carry, without the release a human may cause mental damage to themselves.
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This young man appears to be hiding, ashamed that his emotions are getting the best of him. With his head tilted down, his eyes focused intently somewhere off in the distance and his hair descending his forehead, nearly covering his eyes; he is showing us that he does not want attention or that he is embarrassed or ashamed. His hand is covering his face, acting as a shield from criticism or a weapon if he is intruded. The chain descends at an angle towards him as if it may belong to him or is attached to his body. The chain suggests years of suppressing his emotions or the burden of being a man in a society where “boys don’t cry”. The only thing that is focused in this picture is the young man. The blurred negative space pushes the focus of attention on him, forcing us to look at him and his shame. Also in the blurred background is a fence with vertical slats. The fence represents his isolation and his imprisonment associated with his gender and emotion.
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