during a recent google search on the subject of crafts for men, i was a bit discouraged. there was a somewhat worrying link to the NRA, and some links about the ‘fear’ of ‘making boys gay’ via craft as if a glue stick or paintbrush is going to instantly change one’s sexuality.
is there a fear of public crafting for men?
bear in mind, when i say ‘craft,’ i don’t mean the kind of stuff you see at the county fair (although it counts, too). my version of craft includes more of a punk rock d.i.y. vent (and generally lots of loud colours… lots of hot pink…) and creating all those accessories you wish you had. embroidering a skirt with a pattern you want rather than what a designer tells you you want, making your own damn lip balm, canning your own jam, publishing your own zine, etc etc.
there are no limits to the word ‘craft.’
is there a quiet underworld of crafty men that i don’t know about? are you meeting at each other’s houses under the guise of ‘watching football’ and then whipping out the knitting needles and deftly (or not-so-deftly) starting your own mancraft revolution?
i hope so.
because craft shouldn’t be just something for the so-called ‘fairer sex.’ it’s 2004, people, haven’t we learned anything?
hey betsy! at the ywca in new york, there’s actually a “league of elder craftsmen”. this is also the name of one of my imaginary bands…..
check out “boys who sew” (who mostly don’t sew, but embroider, collage, etc.): http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/boyswhosew/index.html
the ‘context’ page deals with some really interesting stuff…i like how they recognize the feminist history of what they are doing.
they’re london-based, i think. and they’re exibiting there until april 4th, so you should go check them out!
(which i could! tell them to come to montreal, will ya?)
xjenx
My example is not as official as the previous two-but I am currently working on a large mosaic that is being hosted and organized by a male friend. And out of the 6 people working on it, half are male.
R.
Oh yeah, and my bf made the curtains in our kitchen.
However, neither him nor my mosaicing buddies search out online groups, etc. about crafts.
i agree. crafts should not be something to segregate the genders. crafts are a simpler form of artistic expression… but that doesn’t mean it will stifle one’s ability to produce more large-scale art…I mean, boys get to put together model airplanes and such. Why do girls have to stick to the stereotype of knitting clothes for dollies? THey don’t but guys have the fear of the media in them…i dont think guys want someone to look at them and say “oh, thats very effeminate.” But if a guy gives up that easily, he has no b@lls anyway….lol!
Screw stereotypes.