Photo Series Self Portrait Project - Ricky Ochoa

 Photo Series Self Portrait Project - Ricky Ochoa

Come Home, Ricky Ochoa

Description

This series is inspired by Ana Mendieta: Documentation and Artwork, 1972-1985. In these four photos, I have a book bag, jacket, and computer bookcase, which is supposed to represent a suitcase. These things represent a man's status. The third and fourth photos show the leaving of material wealth behind that defines a man, while the blue sweater represents vulnerability and sadness. Many men are constantly pressured to achieve significant achievements and feel worthy of respect. This often leads to overworking hours with no sleep, rest, or eating. Especially when it comes to having a partner, men are often expected to have everything in store for them the moment they date. Men to this day are judged by how much work they do as well as how many achievements they have done in life. Constantly talking about success tends to feel superficial and places men on a pedestal solely on achievements and not on meaningful connections besides their success. This often leads to the trappings of greed, wrath, and pride that many men exhibit through those standards they need to live up to. These sins are often the product of what men become after societal conditioning through the system of patriarchy. Speaking of Patriarchy, Feminism also doesn't touch that much on men's issues which led to the creation of the manosphere as well as men's rights movements. However, most of them come from hate and resentment instead of healing and support. I know that some women took advantage of those said rights and used them to further harm men by taking revenge. However, these actions are leading to the crumbling of Feminism because of the actions of men and women alike. What I love about this Series is that I'm opening up doors to many guys who are struggling with the same issue of always being great as well as giving women insights of what men go through on a daily basis. Not a lot has been talked about what guys go through because they are never allowed to be weak and vulnerable which is why failure is men's greatest fear. We are not gods of perfection to be idealized, we too are human just like women are. No man should be god nor a woman a slave to other gods to be accepted in society. The best for all of humanity to move forward is to not put men or women to high standards of what is considered normal.

Quote 1

"To indoctrinate boys into the rules of patriarchy, we force them to feel pain and to deny their feelings." Revisiting Understanding Patriarchy, Bell Hooks.

Response 1

I chose Bell Hooks because she touches on how patriarchy affects men. I've been wanting more concrete answers because of what I've witnessed on YouTube recently. I also realized that this is the piece of the puzzle that many feminists didn't know as well because most of the issues have been targeted toward women. However, through careful research and constant questioning of what it means to be a man. I came to realize that it's a human issue since both males and females participate in patriarchy subconsciously, the double standards that both males and females face. 

Quote 2

"Both the feminist and antifeminist views are rooted in a peculiarly modern American perception that to be a man means to be at the controls and at all times to feel yourself in control." Revisiting Understanding Patriarchy, Bell Hooks.

Response 2

This is true for the double standard of men that many people rarely look into since many believe feminism is just women's issues. Men have to deal with being in control at all times, externally and internally, without help. This fuels unhealthy behavior because it often puts the belief that you will be happy if you can control everything in your life without fault, which is an ideal you can never reach. That's why abuse keeps happening, and we fail to prevent it; we dehumanize the man for their failures with no remorse, saying he deserves what's coming.

Quote 3

"Psychological patriarchy is the dynamic between those qualities deemed “masculine” and “feminine” in which half of our human traits are exalted while the other half is devalued. Both men and women participate in this tortured value system." Revisiting Understanding Patriarchy, Bell Hooks.

Response 3

This is a human war now. Both factions are fighting against each other, challenging the old rules in which we created ourselves millions of years ago. However, the critical ingredient of all is looking into what men go through to spread light just as women have spread light and end this gendered war so we don't regress to what we worked so hard to build in a snap with feminism. Once that is achieved, we realize that behaviors are a spectrum and aren't restricted to gender. We can also understand that anybody can do wrong no matter who does it. Fourth-wave feminism is starting to take on a hateful approach towards men, and what I can say is that instead of digging deeper and focusing on men's problems as well, we accidentally become what we don't want feminism to represent the most. We take both sides, think critically about the situation, and develop a solution that helps people instead of hurting more people in the process for men and women.