In this creative project, Veronika created a digital exhibition highlighting the complex relationship between masculinity and mental health. Stunning visuals combined with compelling text explore the societal stigma, the spread of misinformation, and the unique challenges that men face when navigating mental health and wellness.
To view the digital art exhibition please follow this link: https://prezi.com/view/FosFYmod86LmT9GToc8Z/
Veronika selected to use Prezi when crafting her exhibition, capitalizing on its visual and interactive capabilities. The first page of the exhibition is set up to look exactly like what one would find at an art gallery. Between the contemporary white backdrop and different picture frames this design sets the scene for the exhibition.
To take a closer look at the art featured in Veronika’s exhibition, simply click on the frame that you want to take a closer look at.
Selecting an artwork to view brings you to a page where you can admire the art more closely as well as check out some further pages that contain the Artists Statement and some additional insight into the Creation of the artwork.
For this first piece of art, the Artists Statement reads:
“In the first piece I wanted to focus on the more general idea of the way masculinity impacts men. To do this I wanted to show a contrast between masculinity and femininity in a way that appeared less literal than men and women. I chose the ocean to symbolize bravery and strength which are typically desirable masculine characteristics. I wrapped the hand in this cage like fish net to represent the bias that restricts men from allowing them to get in touch with their vulnerable and emotional side. This idea is concluded with the storm in the background which can be interpreted as the aftermath of what happens when mental health is unprioritized and it begins to manifest itself in different ways, something we will explore more throughout the gallery. Contrasting these ideas I created a hand that appeared growing from the foliage behind it, this to represent the knowledge and strength rooted in allowing yourself to seek help in this case of mental health. It has been researched that people who are more knowledgeable about both their individual mental health in general are more likely to have a positive attitude towards and seek out treatment (Bonabi et al., 2016). I wanted this contrasting side to feel very organic and inviting as to welcome the two hands to hopefully meet which we see later on.”
Moving onto the Creation box, this box leads to a series of supplemental materials including visuals and a timelapse of the creation of this art.
If you are interested in viewing more of the artwork shown in this digital gallery please check out this link: https://prezi.com/view/FosFYmod86LmT9GToc8Z/
Note to Reader
Men are historically underrepresented in the mental health space. Traditional masculine values are a major contributor to why men have so many misconceptions in regard to mental health. The misinformation that masculinity preserves is extremely damaging and it is crucial that this relationship be further explored in order to break down the stigma. Stigma in regard to mental health is what prevents people from seeking help. The best way to fight stigma is with knowledge and by informing men about the harmful aspects of the relationship between masculinity and mental health as well as strategies taking that relationship into consideration, we will be able to set up a better future in this facility.
With this exhibit, I primarily tried to appeal to a male audience. I believe to best inflict change upon the issues associated with men’s mental health and masculinity, I needed to first address the root of the issue. To speak directly to men is to face the problem head-on and disrupt the status quo at its core.
Mental health is something that everyone will need to deal with in their life at one point or another. It is an unavoidable and real issue that historically has not been addressed properly. Masculinity is one of the ways in which mental health has remained so unaddressed specifically in the mental health of young boys and men. Traditional masculine values and hemogenic masculinity promote misinformation about healthy coping mechanisms to deal with mental health issues and prevent men from seeking the help they need. I think it is important to create a space where masculinity and men’s mental health are investigated as one and that is what I attempted to do with this gallery. If we are able to further explore this relationship, we can make informed decisions about what steps to take in order to alter the aspect of masculinity that promotes negative images of mental health and spread more effective messages to boys and men.
At the beginning of my research, I wanted to look at how stigma existed in the mental health space more generally. Mental health services are extremely underutilised today, which can all be traced back to a lack of knowledge. When people are under-informed about both their own mental health and mental health in general there are significantly less likely to seek out help (Bonabi et al., 2016). Furthermore, negative attitudes or false understandings of mental health services can lead to underuse (Bonabi et al., 2016). Even if one is able to acquire help from these services, these negative ideas can continue to impact its recognizable severity. Stigma in the mental health space has observable effects on the way that people consider their own mental health issues, it has even been observed that people drastically under-report past mental health issues in comparison to other health issues (Bharadwaj, Pai & Suziedelyte, 2017). The evidence that this issue exists is evident, so I began to narrow my research and look more directly at misinformation, masculinity, and men’s mental health.
Masculinity begins to impact boys very early on in life; with messages from influential people like teachers about masculinity, emotion, and mental health, they are introduced to this relationship early on in life (Pearson, 2021). Telling male children “man up” or “act like a man” in times of mental distress can impact their relationship with their masculinity and the way in which they cope with mental health issues (Lindsey, Brown, & Cunningham, 2017). The line between bravery and neglecting emotions is unable to be drawn by young boys and so it begins to blur. This directly contributes to the spread of misinformation and bias implemented by men’s mental health. Boys who relate more closely with typically traditional masculine ideals also exhibit more negative attitudes towards mental illness and seeking help for said illnesses (Clark et al., 2020). It is because of this that I was inspired to make one of my focuses the reshaping of masculinity and the way it is presented to boys. Masculinity plays an important role in the development and identities of boys and men, which is why it is important to shift rather than disband the values that uphold it. Projects like “Man Up against suicide” seek to address this issue by altering the narrative of masculinity (Ogrodniczuk et al., 2016). As men mature these misinformed masculine messages appear much less overt. Representation in the media can play a huge role in one’s perception of themselves without them even realising. The media often discusses masculinity and mental health hand in hand (McNeish et al., 2020 p.1281). It is important that we prioritise healthy connections in the media in order to reverse the damage done to these men as boys and ensure the continued promotion of informed ideas about men’s mental health.
To further my understanding I wanted to look more into the relationship between men and women’s mental health. When looking at the differences between the two, a traditionally masculine mindset must be taken into account (Seidler et al., 2016). This can cause men to express their feelings of depression or anxiety through “function problems” relating them to issues with work or sex (Ogrodniczuk et al., 2016, p. 463). The workplace tends to bring on competition which affects both men and women, which each thrives when their gender is the same as the dominant gender in their work environment (Milner et al., 2018). The contrast between masculinity and femininity plays a role in the mental health of men and women so I wanted to ensure it was a relevant theme in my gallery. A topic of interest in relation to masculinity, competition in the workplace, and mental health is pluralistic ignorance. When one believes something to be true for the majority but does not for himself, pluralistic ignorance impacts the perception of oneself (Munsch et al., 2018).
References
Bharadwaj, P., Pai, M. M., & Suziedelyte, A. (2017). Mental health stigma. Economics Letters, 159, 57–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2017.06.028
Bonabi, H., Müller, M., Ajdacic-Gross, V., Eisele, J., Rodgers, S., Seifritz, E., Rössler, W., & Rüsch, N. (2016). Mental Health Literacy, attitudes to help seeking, and perceived need as predictors of mental health service use. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 204(4), 321–324. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmd.0000000000000488
Clark, L. H., Hudson, J. L., Rapee, R. M., & Grasby, K. L. (2020). Investigating the impact of masculinity on the relationship between anxiety specific mental health literacy and mental health help-seeking in adolescent males. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 76, 102292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102292
Lindsey, M. A., Brown, D. R., & Cunningham, M. (2017). Boys do(n’t) cry: Addressing the unmet mental health needs of African American boys. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 87(4), 377–383. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000198
McNeish, R., Rigg, K. K., Delva, J., Schadrac, D., Walsh, S., Turvey, C., & Borde, C. (2020). Media coverage of the mental health of men and boys. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(4), 1274–1283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00223-1
Milner, A., King, T., LaMontagne, A. D., Bentley, R., & Kavanagh, A. (2018). Men’s work, women’s work, and mental health: A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between the gender composition of occupations and Mental Health. Social Science & Medicine, 204, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.020
Munsch, C. L., Weaver, J. R., Bosson, J. K., & O’Connor, L. T. (2018). Everybody but me: Pluralistic ignorance and the masculinity contest. Journal of Social Issues, 74(3), 551–578. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12282
Ogrodniczuk, J., Oliffe, J., Kuhl, D., & Gross, P. A. (2016). Men’s mental health Spaces and places that work for men. Can Fam Physician, 62(6), 463–464. https://doi.org/ 27302996
Pearson, R. (2021). Masculinity and emotionality in education: Critical reflections on discourses of boys’ behaviour and mental health. Educational Review, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.1987390
Seidler, Z. E., Dawes, A. J., Rice, S. M., Oliffe, J. L., & Dhillon, H. M. (2016). The role of masculinity in men’s help-seeking for depression: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 49, 106–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.09.002