WR for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021

WR for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021

10.05.21

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, with a focus on nature. At WR we have embraced nudity in nature as a way of helping men to reconnect with the world around them, so what better time to remind everyone of how central male mental health is to the entire WR project?

Our most recent art photography book, Manifesto, sets out five principles based on everything we have learned as a project – with dazzling images and our customary sense of fun, we hope!

This book and our entire project considers what healthy masculinity looks like, and how better male mental health might make the world a better place for all of us.

By asking an apparently simple question about how we can look at men, WR aims to show how much the heterosexual male gaze continues to dominate our culture  – at everyone’s expense. 

We want to draw attention to the countless ways that men, particularly heterosexual men, still benefit from unspoken and unconscious privilege in many aspects of life – in the workplace, in politics, in the media, in relationships and, of course, in sport.   

We also want to raise awareness that these benefits come at a price.  Many men feel unable or unwilling to live up to the ideals of masculinity, resulting in mental health distress that often leads to wider social problems. 

By taking a fresh look at men, and supporting men to see themselves differently, too, we hope to raise awareness of how the hidden rules of masculinity impact on every one of us, including the men who appear to benefit the most. 

We also want to prove that you can have a truly great time while making a serious point! 

WR20 Book: Manifesto
WR20 ‘Manifesto’ : Open Edition Coffee Table Book

For more information on better mental health: 

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week

https://theskillcollective.com/blog/5-mens-health-resources

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/mens-mental-health