MASKED MEN

TOXIC MASCULINITY. 

GIMMICK OR REAL LIFE PERSONA?

“When I put on the mask, I'm transformed. The mask gives me strength. The mask gives me fame. The mask is magical…”

— El Hijo del Santo

Under the harsh lights, mythic warriors take stage. A ceremonious spectacle. Modern gladiators of the Mexican ring. The painted pig skin transforms them into phantasmal heroes. But what do we make of the masks men wear beyond the limelight? Away from the amphitheater?

In the coliseum of life, boys are initiated into a cult of masculinity. Taught to repress vulnerability, their emotions distorted like echoes in the underground. Who lurks inside the armored façade? The true self recedes, usurped by a phantom.

From tender youth boys don masks of adamant, false versions of manhood. Their humanity muted by prideful arrogance. The rites of passage that mold boy into archetype. “Man up.” “Boys don’t cry.” “Take it like a man.” Words often reinforced by mothers, sisters, and female peers.

But behind the stoic veneer, does anguish fester? This obsession with masculine strength and repression of vulnerability creates troubled men, absent fathers, and lost boys.

Unmasking toxic machismo reveals the diverse spectrum of manhood in all its beauty. Underneath every façade beats a human heart. Better to glimpse the authentic self, naked and unvarnished, than worship empty heroic tropes.

”…Without the mask I’m a normal being who has his problems, who cries, who sometimes suffers.”

— El Hijo del Santo

Shirow

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Man vs Wild

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Midori

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.