Intervention

 

Description of my poster: In the middle, there’s a head that represents society. As you can see where the brain is, it has the words that men think due to society. The title of my poster is Stop the Stigma! Men are Allowed to Express Their Mental Health. All around the head are words and pictures letting men know it’s okay to cry, to ask for help, and to be who you are.

My poster is based on Men’s mental health. For many years and even today, men feel like they have to hide how they feel mentally due to society. We live in a patriarchal society it might not be as bad as it was before but it’s still around. So, what men do is continue to act strong and keep pushing how they feel aside. However, just like the saying, you can’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Indeed, you can’t keep holding your feelings aside because one day it will break you. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and so much more shouldn’t be dealt with alone or hidden. I even have male friends who hide how they feel when I ask if they want to talk about how they are feeling. What was told to me is that they feel like they would get laughed at or nobody would care how they feel. This is not true, and we need to fix this!

Quotes:

“Patriarchy is the single most life-threatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation “(Understanding Patriarchy Bell Hooks)

Patriarchy means male dominance, strong men, who can’t show weakness, carry the world on your shoulders, and much more. I can say there is nothing wrong with a strong man, but a man is not always strong. It should be acceptable for men to be weak physically and mentally. Instead of talking down on them for being weak, help build them up and stick by their side when they are in need. Society fails to realize that patriarchy breaks men down mentally. Then this is where men become weak but try not to show that they are.  Instead of talking about their feelings, men turn to drugs and alcohol to relieve their pain. Which is not okay They also get aggressive and to be honest I don’t think they meant it. Even though they shouldn’t, I believe it’s them projecting their pain and hurt onto somebody else because they don’t express it properly. Which is a big problem in our communities! Also, this is why men have a greater suicide rate. We need to change this!

“Art allows us to imagine things that are otherwise unimaginable, and then to live them” (The Art of Activism)

I agree with this quote, and I also feel like this represents my poster. When you look at my poster, you’ll probably be like it’s just a bunch of graphics. However, when you look deep into it you can see that society would have men stay closed up mentally. On the outside of society, it’s a difference telling men to be who they are, ask for help, and that it’s okay to show emotions. We need to stop the men's mental health stigma. That’s what I promote, and hope that when men and even society look at my poster, they will change for the better.

 My poster in public 

"Our feelings matter as much as yours." 

                                                       

                                                         "Don't be ashamed of your story."

"My feelings matter too."