My mind is corrupted.
My mind thinks a protagonist and thinks a man.
My mind thinks a hero and thinks a man.
My mind thinks a doctor and thinks a man.
My mind thinks an artist and thinks a man.
My mind thinks a person and thinks a man
In a world dominated by the masculine, the feminine is often forgotten or lacks respect. Our mind has learned to live in the man’s world. It has practiced it and stretched it’s understanding until it hardly recognizes the female body it lives in. Is it possible to just be human in a world still dominated by the patriarchy, where the masculine receives more respect than the feminine and gender norms are preventing us from progressing?
These thoughts in mind, we started working on “THEM” five years ago. We were so focused on training to act and think like men that we had forgotten our own gender, yet we had not explored masculinity as a trait. We were taught to think it was the norm, and it took us time and effort to start seeing the world through a feminine lense.
“THEM” is a feminist stage performance where we as a group of women dive into the concept of “masculinity”. We look at it from a feminine angle and feel how it manifests itself, both around and within them. Because masculinity, whether toxic or not, lives within all of us, regardless of gender.
The piece is based on dozens of interviews with men in the Nordic countries, about their experiences of masculinity and life in general, as well as intertwining our own stories and experiences of living in a world that is not designed for us.
We want to discuss masculinity and cultural concepts around manhood. We want to question our own attitudes and shine light to our own prejudices. We want to question why our society shapes our boys the way it does. We want to take a look at the positive and toxic sides of masculinity as well as make space for the feminine at the cost of the masculine.
”THEM” will re-premier as an R&D performance in Tjarnarbío and online on Saturday 11th July 2020 as part of Reykjavik Fringe.
“... but I just remembered when I saw my dad cry for the first time…and it was a very strange sound. He…he sounded strange, he didn’t sound like dad.”
“When I think about manhood I think about power. Men have power. This is true everywhere. I mean, of course there are powerful women, but power has a masculine quality. And often women can gain power by adopting those masculine qualities.”
– Anna, Tinna and Bergdis Julia