The Boy in the Pink Shirt

From: Maiah

I wanted to capture the backlash toward atypical men and the consequences of the fag discourse. As young boys age and go through school they all fear being called a “fag” by their peers. This fear effects the way they dress, what they talk about, and activities they participate in. If a boy goes outside of these expectations, they are shunned and bullied. Through symbolism, color and body language I wanted to express how words can hurt and how consequential the fag discourse can be to an individual.

The photo is taken on the bleachers at a baseball field. A baseball field represents sports and masculinity (even girls who play softball are stereotyped as lesbians). Bleachers themselves represent crowds of people, support and fun. The bleachers are seemingly vacant and no one is sitting beside the person in the image. The irony of being in a public place meant for support and still being alone accentuates the meaning of the image. The background of the image was purposefully made bland and focused on nothing but the ground to express how the person in the image is completely excluded and uninvolved.

            The tight pink shirt in the photo symbolizes femininity and is used to portray the image of someone who may be subjected to the fag discourse. Boys purposely refrain from wearing the color pink because it is thought of as a girl color and is associated with femininity. Against the dull green grass and the grey bleachers, the color pink sticks out noticeably which draws the viewers eye to the main focus of the image.

A piece of paper with the word “fag” is taped on the back of the shirt to allude to abuse and gossip from peers, especially verbal abuse that occurs behind someone’s back. The focus of the image is not centered, and the image is mostly empty space to emphasize loneliness and isolation. Their body language is unmistakably negative and insecure. They are hunched over, head hanging down to express the feelings of defeat and strain they are under. Tying in with the setting, instead of looking up at the scene ahead (a baseball game) they are keeping their head down and keeping to themselves, which expresses how they feel about themselves. The camera angle is positioned down to portray that they are being looked down upon and have no power, and also to exemplify their insecurity under the cruel words of their peers.