boys don’t cry

Student Campaign, 2021
Supervised by Warren Taylor

Contact Zone studio project aiming to raise awareness of how patriarchal social norms and toxic masculinity can be harmful, not only to men, but to everyone around them. The goal of this campaign is to spark conversations about young mens’ mental health, giving them a safe space to voice their feelings, showing them they’re not alone and that it’s okay to be vulnerable. It doesn’t make them any less of a man to open up.

Design Research Kit used to research valuable insight on toxic masculinity from a select range of participants for the campaign. The idea behind packaging the exterior as blank as possible with the activities on soft coloured pages was to contrast the topic theme. The initial concept playing on “man of the house,” the cut out windows represented “opening up” like one would a house, as well as their personal insight, experiences and feelings directly related to the cultural probes.

Board game designed to break the stigma that vulnerability is a weakness with players working collaboratively rather than competitively. The concept plays on the idea of “the man of the house,” and focuses on opening up about one’s mental health in a youthful and playful manner.

Educational prompts are embedded throughout the game for players to learn about toxic masculinity, as well as alternative options to address these issues. Combatting toxic masculinity together, the aim of the game is to work as a team and help one another move across the board in as few turns as possible.

Split zine publication accompanied with the board game as a manual for players to use, as well as snippets of anonymous confessions submitted by young individuals from the social media Instagram page to spark conversations about toxic masculinity in a safe and approachable manner.

Instagram page raising awareness on toxic masculinity’s effects on mental health in a safe manner. The point is to anonymously reveal personal experiences, no matter how uncomfortable they may be, in a public space. This reflects how toxic masculinity is pushed onto others as an intrusion of space. This segment of the campaign aims to showcase that people are not alone.

Public poster series of boys don’t cry with QR code linking to the campaign’s Instagram page for more information and anonymous confessions. The playful and soft images are juxtaposed with stereotypical phrases of toxic masculinity, highlighting contradicting perceptions of masculinity: men need to be strong, protective, tough, caring, kind, all while hiding their emotions.