Manhood: The Bare Reality

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While Laura felt ‘a bit embarrassed’ during the first few photoshoots, she became pretty blasé in respect to the penis by the end of the project. As you would, after photographing 100.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very personal and covered a whole lot about the inner world of men I would have otherwise not had access to. Solid state physics Quantum theory Chemical bonds SCIENCE Physics Condensed Matter Física do estado sólido Mecânica quântica We caught up with Laura to find out what she has learned about gender and humanity from photographing the parts of themselves people usually keep hidden. 1. It's so much more than just a body part As this is a driving force and predominant theme behind the mission of ABSOT, these lines aren’t new information. Nor are these notions just the musings of random men. The MENtion It survey from the Cleveland Clinic has consistently shown over the past three years that men just choose not to open up about their health. My books Bare Reality: 100 women, their breasts, their stories, Manhood: The Bare Reality and Womanhood: The Bare Reality attracted worldwide media coverage and critical acclaim. Womanhood was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary 100 Vaginasfeaturing my work in 2019. I gave a TEDx talk about the Bare Reality series.I’m stealing a challenge from my friend, Dave Fuehrer: “If I can ask you to take one action, it is to admit to something that scares you. Admit it to a friend, to a partner, or to a piece of paper. But just admit it.” No matter if you’re talking to your male buddy, your wife, or a mashed up dead tree, it’s the first step in being a “transformational” man. And what came first, the photo shoots or the interviews? The interviews were done clothed, right? “Yes! I always did the photograph first. For some people it’s quite important to get it out the way, so it wasn’t hanging over them. I think it makes it more successful – somebody feels that they’ve already bared their body, it helps them to open up and tell their story.” Everyone’s different

And finally, I found it really delightful to read perspectives from people across the lifespan, all the way up. The book opens with an interview with a 92-year-old. I found that the interviews from older folks to be the ones that most often caused me laughter and delight. Wonderful. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have a way of hearing those stories other than through a book like this (or not until I'm 92 myself), so, thanks Laura. Since the US election of 2016, which literally coincided with the day I was told my cancer had spread, there has been an inspiring movement of female empowerment between the #MeToo movement and more. This isn’t to say we need a ‘manism’ movement, which is even echoed in this quote:These and many similar quotes were woven throughout the book. Throughout history, men were supposed to keep their emotions in and just provide for the family. This narrative must change. Not belabor the point, but I’m calling this viewpoint of manhood “traditional” for a reason. How “traditional manhood” impacted men’s health I knew when starting ‘Manhood’ that I would be surprised, delighted, inspired and moved. We never know someone’s story till we ask.

Just as Bare Reality: 100 women, their breasts, their stories presented the un-airbrushed truth about breasts for women, Manhood: The Bare Reality shows us the spectrum of ‘normal’, revealing men’s penises and bodies in all their diversity and glory, dispelling body image anxiety and myths. Dodsworth has previously explored bodies with her book, Bare Reality, about people's relationships with their breasts. She says her projects are born from her relationship with her own body, and exploring what that might mean for men. It comfirmed some of the things I believed about men, but also showed a more vulnerable side to them. I’m not going to weigh in too much on these quotes since they do an excellent job of speaking for themselves. While my commentary is absent, I made it a point to include them here to show that many many are aware of the dichotomy of being raised in the “traditional manhood” eras as we enter into the “transformational manhood” time. The concept of “transformational manhood”It’s divisive to have all these projections about what men and women do. None of it’s helpful. We have to just experience each other in the moment.” I found myself less and less looking at the images of penises, and more just listening to their stories and more thinking about how far we have to go to be tender and connected with ourselves and each other. Perhaps male-identifying people have particular battles to fight in that regard. This was the opinion of many people in this book, certainly. I felt glad to hear their uncensored thoughts on these topics. It wasn't always comfortable to read - the views expressed in here were occasionally distressing to me - but I was glad to have it laid out anyway, and feel perhaps better able to have discussions with penis-owning people about these things now.