Our culture is confused. Like the unsettled parents of a budding Glee fanatic, we’re anxious over unanswered—and unasked—questions about sexuality and gender. Pregnant men and Megan Fox alike entrance the world with their surreal takes on gender, simultaneously amplifying and deconstructing old values. This roller coaster of gender and sexuality propels us on a dizzying ride, and none of us is safe from its turbulence. Feminist soccer moms, straight boys for Gaga, and rifle-wielding army gays are all implicated through the lens of MASC.


MASC Project is a multidisciplinary and multimedia project that interrogates the fetish of masculinity in queer culture. It incorporates film, art, new media and essay, and draws from the fields of cirtical theory, social work, psychology and anthropology. Such work will be featured on the MASC website, providing a home for content and a forum for discussion. We want to foster dialogue across the board and are seeking the contributions of everyone from visual artists to YouTube commenters, radical faeries, butch dykes and everyday people. We encourage anyone who wishes to help to contact us.


posts tagged "links"

Can a stroke turn you gay? ↘

Today, the Mail reports that 26-year-old Chris Birch broke his neck while attempting a back flip and suffered a stroke. When he woke up in the hospital, he instantly felt different. “I wasn’t interested in women any more,” he said. “I was definitely gay.” The story is heavy with stereotypes: Not only did he trade in his fiancé for a live-in boyfriend, he also opted for hair styling over banking. For proof of his transformation, the tabloid provides a sassy photo of Birch posed with a blow dryer at the ready.


Comments, 4 notes

The Good Men Project ↘

“Twenty-first century masculinity needs thought leaders. We are letting The Good Men Project community be those thought leaders. It is our community that will help define the future of manhood. We don’t define what good is, we don’t even define what a man is. We are the catalyst for discussion so that men and women both can come to insights that will help them navigate this changing world in a way that is most helpful.”

Comments, 1 notes

Teenagers: Being 'Scrawny' Is Not an Option ↘

“A dedicated football player, a disciplined martial arts practitioner or a respected weightlifter? According to a recent Norwegian study, young girls are most concerned with their appearance as they become teenagers, but boys must do something to become young men. Their choice of activity is also a choice of masculine identity.”

Comments, 1 notes

The Annals of Science: Are Numbers Gendered? ↘

Comments, 1 notes

Transgenders and justice in Islam ↘

“In refusing to allow Ashraf Hafiz Abdul Aziz to change his name, the courts may have adhered to the letter of the law but did they lack the compassion for transgenders, asks MOHAMMAD HASHIM KAMALI.

THE untimely death of Ashraf Hafiz Abdul Aziz at 26 and the difficulties he faced put many in a reflective mood as to what could have been done better to address his suffering when he was alive. By refusing to grant Ashraf his plea to change and register his name as Aleesha Farhana, the courts may have adhered to the letter of the law but it is questionable whether they were compassionate enough.”

Comments, 2 notes

str8bro ↘

check out this awesome tumblr that skewers America’s favorite demographic: str8bros!

Comments, 2 notes

Beyond XY ↘

With the new exhibit Beyond XY: Four Photographers Explore the Masculine Continuum, the phd Gallery (2300 Cherokee Street) takes a close, celebratory look at gender identity and “maleness.” The show, which coincides with PrideFest 2010, opens with a free public reception from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 26. Gallery owner Philip Hitchcock showcases the work of four phenomenal photographers: San Francisco’s Loren Cameron, Calgary’s Joshua McVeity, New York’s Trix Rosen and Miami’s David Vance. The photographs explore issues of youth, aesthetic idealism, transmale identity and more. Continue reading Brooke Foster’s preview of this Beyond XY. 

Comments, 5 notes

Dude Magazine ↘

Comments, 3 notes

Friend testifies McInerney was 'embarrassed and mad' before student's slaying ↘

“Keith L. knew the look on his buddy Brandon McInerney’s face that afternoon. He’d seen it many times on the basketball court during noon pickup games at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard.

When Larry King, a small effeminate boy, made a flirtatious comment to McInerney in a crowded hallway, Keith said his friend’s face tightened and turned red.

“That’s how he gets when he’s mad,” the 17-year-old boy, identified only by his first name and initial, testified Thursday at McInerney’s murder trial. “Both embarrassed and mad.”

McInerney continued on to his final class of the day, but afterward he joined up with Keith again. “He told me he was going to bring a gun to school the next day,” the tall, athletic teenager told the court.”


Comments, 10 notes

A4A Blog: HOT OR NOT - POLICE OFFICERS ↘

“I haven’t post a “Hot or Not” for a while… and they are my favorite posts because they get lot’s of comments and you know how I love to get your feedback on things I post…

So today I decided to post on Police Officers. The idea came because I met this amazing black Police Officer recently and I have to say that it was one of the best hookup ever! I always liked Police Officers probably because most of them are hot, and also because they represent authority. They usually are athletic, tall and confident and those are three things I look at when I meet a man.

Next time I will see my Police Officer, I think I will ask him to wear his navy outfit! Big turn-on for me!!!”

Comments, 15 notes