For project III, we were tasked with remediating our Project II using a new form of media. This meant really focusing in on some element of the last project and finding a new way to present the material and do more research.
In my second project, I researched gender performance and analyzed the sitcom Friends with this perspective. I touched on the idea of toxic masculinity and how it was at play with the characters in the show, but it wasn’t my main focus. I decided that this was the component of my last project that I wanted to focus in on. I wasn’t sure what kind of media to use, though, and I looked through the media I use in my own life. At first, I wanted to do a PSA type project about the dangers of toxic masculinity. I was hoping to do a campaign like one you might see on Facebook. However, as I started to do some research, I realized that the work being done on how masculinity impacts health and behavior is still relatively new. While there are sources out there, there aren’t a lot of hard numbers or statistics that can be directly attributed to the toxicity of masculine stereotypes.
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Hitting this roadblock actually encouraged me to go in a direction that I had been considering initially but was nervous about. I wanted to be a little more creative and draw/paint/create a few of my own scenes depicting common stereotypes of masculinity and characters defying them. My initial project III proposal said “I am interested in possibly using a character or two of my own creation as the focal point of the ad. The character(s) would feature men combatting traditional masculinity.” I had been toying with this idea, but I didn’t commit to it until I realized that the educational campaign might be better served by something other than factual posters.
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When I decided that I wanted to take a more artistic route, I had to figure out a vehicle to share the project. Facebook seemed to a less effective form of media for what I wanted to do, so I turned to Instagram. Instagram is the medium I use to follow artists. It’s really popular for people sharing things they create, so I decided to try for Instagram.
The hardest part of this project, once I had my idea, was definitely getting started. It occurred to me that I had some very lofty ideas that were dependent on art skills that I had never practiced. Since Instagram had been my muse, at least a little bit, I turned to it again for inspiration. I started looking through the artists I followed and doodling things that I liked to find my own style. It felt like a lot of pressure, since I don’t do really any artwork on my own, and there was a time crunch for figuring out a style that I could replicate and making it look good enough that I would be satisfied with turning it in. I looked especially to @nanlawson and @adamtots, because I really liked their depictions of cartoon-y, oddly proportioned people. I spent hours looking at their work and trying to incorporate things I liked into my own.
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I finally figured out a style that worked for me, and I broke out the watercolor set that had been sitting and accumulating dust for the past two semesters. It took awhile to get the hang of that, as well, but it was worth it. I had a lot of fu doing this project, and it never felt like work. I got to sit in bed, listen to music, paint, and research a subject I’m really interested in.
This project is complete for now, but I don’t want to say it’s totally finished. I hope to add to it in the future as I learn more about toxic masculinity and as I find opportunities to do more painting. This issue is so complex and nuanced and I don’t want to ever close the book on a project about it, so I’ll keep the Instagram active in the hopes that I can return to it.
You can find my project at @detoxifymasculinity.
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