From: Rachanna
For
this assignment I decided to try and depict the unrealistic and unfair
expectations of genders in regards of how society thinks they should behave. Specifically
however, I wanted to discuss the backlash that atypical males receive when
acting different than what is expected of them. Men are almost always portrayed
as strong, buff, tough and admired. This creates a narrow and lacking character
that all males feel that they have to conform to.
In
this photo there are two subjects but the main male I have chosen because he is
a young adolescent still trying to figure out who he is in the world, or more
specifically, in society. I left them faceless to carry the attention to the
items they have, and to make it so that those items are what is defining them
in this photo. The male in the grey sweatshirt takes up most of the photo and
is the only one visible because I wanted him to be the main focus. He is
wearing a sweatshirt that does not form to his body type; he is comfortable the
way he is. His brother symbolizes the darkness of society’s image standards for
men, only being identified with the weight (which is associated with the idea
of men having strength and masculinity). Crafts are seen as a female hobby or
activity, so this makes the main male subject feel the need to shield his true
enjoyment from this dark brooding figure. The pink bowtie wrapped around the
craft jar is big and bright to symbolize that this is dominantly a female interest. The center of the light in the photo is also
on the jar to bring to light the idea that men have to hide what they truly
enjoy or find interesting if it clashes with society’s norms for their gender. If
they do not hide these interests, they will be seen as less of a man or just
plain weak. Therefore, they must wear a mask. But this mask is not just to
shield their face; it is for their entire lifestyle.
2 comments:
I chose to comment on this picture that Rachanna posted because I found the picture to be creative as well as a portrayal that hits close to home. Rachanna chose not to include the heads or faces of the two men; this brings more emphasis to the body languages of the two men and the items that they are holding. The immediate attention of the audience is brought to the items and how they differ. This immediately grabbed my attention and intrigued me to read what Rachanna has written in her blog. The color and shading of the picture is also a creative technique that Rachanna uses to bring attention to the men. The shading around the floor and border of the picture makes the items the center of the picture and immediately gets the audience to question what is going on in the photograph. The photograph promotes a unique train of thought for the audience; thoughts about how the two men differ and why Rachanna chose to portray this difference. I also find this topic one that is quite relevant in my life. Many of my siblings strive to build muscle, however, I do not. I am surrounded by men striving to become bigger, faster, and stronger. There is an eminent pressure on myself to keep up with my siblings or strive to be like brawny men that are glorified through the media. I find this picture to be very thought provoking as well as a very close to home topic and that is why I find this picture to be impressive.
The Male Maskulinity
When I look at this picture initially, I am drawn to the darkness at the bottom of the picture caused by the shadows of the boys. To me, the shadow represent an alter ego of each young man. The boy holding the weight appears to be making a point about being strong, but his body does not truly align with having strength. The other boy is hiding his strength, which appears to with a female gender craft jar. His large stature up against the small stature of the boy, seems to communicate that he is stronger by appearance on the outside. However, on the inside he is soft and delicate as a female.
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