This exhibition aims to raise awareness of male victims of domestic violence by challenging stereotypes of masculinity. It includes an installation piece recreating a domestic space, photographs of victims and advocates, and a display of poems by male victims. Alongside the exhibition, talks and poetry workshops will be held at the Geffrye Museum in London to further discuss these issues and support victims through creative expression.

1. “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit
it”: Hegemonic Masculinity and the ignored
male domestic violence victims
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This exhibition examines the stigma around male victims, the trauma
of domestic violence towards males, and the means to recovery
afterwards. Domestic violence towards men is not often discussed and
in our culture today there is a barrier that prevents men seeking help.
Traditional ideas of masculinity that are socially constructed very
rarely allow for men to be exposed as victims. Feminism seeks for the
political, economical, cultural, personal and social equality of the
sexes, but there seems to be very little work around the social and
cultural equality of men (Feminism, 2016). This exhibition is
promoting for these rights for men to be able to seek. The project, to
be held in the Geffrye Museum, includes an installation piece within
the exhibition hall, a set of photographs and a display of poetry just
outside the hall. This project is collaboration with Men's Advice line,
Mankind Initiative and CALM. Poetry therapy workshops will be
held with male victims who are associated with the agencies
mentioned and the poems created in these workshops will be used in

2. the exhibition. Besides the poetry therapy with the victims and the
exhibition, there will be talks and poetry workshops held in the
Geffyre Museum while the exhibition is running.
AUDIENCE
Because the exhibition aims to alter society's preconceived ideas on
masculinity and the stigma around male domestic violence victims,
the exhibition is intended for both men and women over the age of
fifteen. Despite the absence of any graphic material in the artwork, it
is not appropriate for children under the age of fifteen to enter the
installation art piece of the exhibition. However, as the poetry display
is located outside of the exhibition hall is suitable for children. A
group in particular that I would anticipate attending the exhibition is
the male domestic violence victims who contributed to poetry
exhibited. Attending the exhibition and seeing their work being
displayed can help with the therapy process, and also allows the
victims to have a place to be surrounded by people who are
sympathetic to their situation. As there is no funding stream from the
government available for male victims, appropriate government
officials would be sent invitations to this exhibition in an attempt to
highlight how important these agencies are.
Events and educational activities

3. Running alongside the exhibition, there would be scheduled talks and
poetry workshops. The talks seek to start a dialogue about issues
raised in the exhibition and to get people to think about what they
have learned from the exhibition. These lectures are aimed at people
who have already attended the exhibition however not exclusive to.
The poetry workshops are to be led by the individuals who have
contributed to the poetry in the exhibition and are intended to benefit
the victims who are leading the workshops as well as the people
attending the workshops.
As the exhibition is in collaboration with many agencies for male
domestic violence victims, it would be fitting to have talks from the
people who work at these organisations to discuss about what they do.
As the talks would not only be led by academics or artists, this could
attract a more diverse group of people to the talks.
If there were recovering victims who felt confident and comfortable
enough to participate in one of these talks I believe that it would be
very powerful. For the audience to hear firsthand the victims accounts
would allow for a more direct emotional response. But considering
the sensitive nature of the situation, this would be at the individual’s
decision, but perhaps it could be an empowering experience for them
in the recovery process.

4. If at all possible, one of these talks may include a therapist discussing
the value of poetry and art in therapy after trauma. The collaboration
between art and medicine is very interesting and fruitful; studies have
shown that the creation of poetry is an intensely healing process.
Besides the talks and discussions, poetry therapy workshops for adults
would run also at the Geffrye Museum. The workshops would be
open to not only adults who have suffered domestic violence but
endured trauma and perhaps this form of therapy would appeal to
them. The idea is that the workshops allow adults to address their
emotions and feelings and not feel ashamed to do so, and doing it in a
creative way is exciting and enjoyable. No previous experience of
writing poetry would be needed. Led by couples or small groups of
the contributors to the exhibition these workshops are to run for the
six weeks. A writing club currently runs at the Geffrye Museum and if
the poetry therapy workshop is successful it could run in association
with these writing workshops. The poetry created in these workshops
would be collected and added to an online archive, with the
hardcopies being kept by the individuals.
LOCATION
The location of the proposed exhibition is the Geffyre Museum in
Shoreditch, London. The museum explores the home and reflects the

5. changes of society and culture through its room displays. In addition
to its period rooms, modern rooms and gardens, it also has an
exhibition hall and set of rooms for seminars and workshops.
The Geffyre Museum is an ideal choice for this particular exhibition
for two reasons. Firstly, the content of the exhibition is domestic
violence which has a home setting. Also, this project is challenging
the idea of hegemonic masculinity present in contemporary society.
This exhibition is reflecting the need for change in our society and
culture, and this is what the museum exhibits. Secondly, the museum
has rooms for workshops in addition to the exhibition space so the
talks and workshops would not have to be held in another space.
The Geffyre Museum has been described as "an oasis in the heart of
the city" and through the exhibition, male domestic violence victims
have been given the chance to recover, respite and grow from their
experience and therapy, so it is poetically apt for the exhibition to be
held in this museum.
EXHIBITION CONTENT
The exhibition content consists of:
1) an installation piece
2) a collection of poems
3) a set of portrait photographs

6. The installation piece is a constructed room and located in the
exhibition hall. The room installation piece is made up of many
everyday objects and added special effects to create the ambiances of
the piece. Objects that will be included are: a sofa, an armchair,
cushions, a television set, a coffee table, a side table, a rug, books,
pictures in picture frames, paintings hanging on the wall, curtains
against a false windows. These objects are to be bought second hand
(used objects not brand new).
Such effects include heaters, dimmer lights, speakers for voice
recordings to be played, and a projector for the poetry. The voice
recording is of victims reading their poems aloud, played from
speakers placed around the room. The voice over has been recorded in
one of the workshops with the victims. The poetry is projected on the
floor.
As it is a room, walls need to be erected and doors fitted for the
audience to enter and exit. The room will look as authentic as possible
to make the audience aware that these events happen in real life, not
in a constructed, separate space.
The poetry will be displayed on different sizes of paper, in different
frames. The text will be all in black, with a white background. Ideally,
fifteen to twenty poems will be displayed. The frames will be placed
on boards just outside of the exhibition space. The poetry display will

7. be designed with by a graphic designer.
The photographs will be printed at A3 size and framed with a plain
black edge. The 12 photos are in black and white to remind the
audience of the grey areas of domestic violence. The photographs
include portraits of victims, social workers, advocators within the
agencies collaborated with. This is used to convey the idea that any
man can be a victim. The artist Chantal Barlow has recently
completed a project on domestic violence victims in the US, as she
has worked with victims before, with beautiful results, it would be
ideal if she were to take the portraits for this exhibition.
Leaflets and booklets with information about the agencies
collaborated with and the work that they do will be available to the
audience. Also, posters and leaflets with about the poetry therapy
workshops will be available. All literature designed by the graphic
designer.
EXHIBITION LAYOUT
There is no specific order to the exhibition, it does not where the
audience starts, each medium is a standalone piece of art, but all carry
the same theme. As the poetry is located where the audience will
enter, this is naturally where the first thing they will see, but also the
final thing when leaving. The tone of the poetry is positive and

8. depicts recovery so it is an optimistic note to start and leave on.
The poetry display is located outside the exhibition space on boards,
at shoulder height. The display is visible as soon as you come down
the stairs, as is the banner with the title of the exhibition printed on it.
The prints are all different sizes and have different frames, but with
the same font and colour scheme (black and white). The authors of the
poems come from different backgrounds, age groups, ethnicities and
there will no specific order to the display, just what is aesthetically
pleasing. Underneath each framed print of the poetry will be panel
revealing a little information on the author (it is as the authors' choice
if they want to be identified or not).
When entering the exhibition hall, the first piece of art the audience
will encounter is the room installation. Outside the room there is a
text panel describing the piece and also a warning that explains that
the room will dim into darkness. When entering the room, it is
decorated as a typical modern living room would be. The walls are
painted with a warm red, the sofa has cushions, coffee table has
magazines upon it and the fireplace is adorned with pictures of
families. The curtains are pulled shut. The heater is on to make the
room warm and the speakers are playing noises of a fire
crackling. After a minute of being in the room, the heater is turned
off, the lit fire sounds begin to fade and the lights begin to dim. When
the room is dimmed almost completely, three poems are projected on

9. to the floor describing events of domestic violence. Now the speakers
are playing recordings of men reading the poetry aloud. A speaker is
placed beside each poem, and the audience is free to move around to
all three to read and listen to each poem. After 5 minutes, the
projections begin to fade, the voice recordings end and the room is
left in darkness. The audience now exit the room as an attendant
opens the exit door.
After exiting the room, on the walls of the exhibition halls there are
photographic portraits of victims, social workers, advocators within
the agencies collaborated with. Again, the photographs will be
displayed at shoulder height, and in no particular order (victims will
not be grouped together, social workers not grouped together). The
twelve portraits will be placed six on one wall of the hall and six on
the other free wall of the hall (the other two walls are taken by the
room).
At the exit/entrance on a table there will be leaflets and pamphlets on
the agencies collaborated with (Men's Advice line, Mankind Initiative
and CALM) and also about the poetry therapy workshops and talks.
OPENING PANEL
Home is thought of as a safe, comforting space and the man the head
of the household. But this is not always the case. The number of
women convicted of domestic violence towards a male partner in the

10. UK has quadrupled in the past ten years. This is revealing that homes
are not always a space of refuge or as male dominated as society
depicts. There is a cultural barrier today that prevents men from
seeking help. The media reports stories of domestic violence but they
are almost always female victims, male victims are not as widely
reported. As of now there is only one charity that receives funding
from the British Government for male victims. This institutional
sexism is hindering many men to seek help.
This exhibition is collaboration between with the Men's Advice line,
Mankind Initiative and CALM, all agencies that strive to listen to men
who are suffering and offer help. Studies have shown that men's abuse
narratives are shaped by their gender. Males tend to avoid the word
"victim", minimize their injuries and are less likely to express fear in
their testimonials. Through poetry workshops, this project has given
male victims the space and time to narrate their experiences of
violence and recovery.
The exhibition is comprimised of poems of recovery, an installation
art piece of a room to situate the violence that occurs in homes and
finally a display of portraits of the victims and people who have
helped them. Art activities are an empowering experience that helps
with self esteem, self empowerment and communication. The process
of writing poetry is a powerful means of therapy after trauma.

11. Along with the exhibition, we will be hosting a series of talks from
people who work at our collaborating agencies, victims and therapists
discussing the value of poetry as therapy. There will also be poetry
therapy workshops running in the learning rooms in the museum that
invites the public to come and try poetry therapy for themselves.
SUPPLEMENTARY PANELS
1) Installation Piece titled - Behind Closed Doors
Warning: at the end of the piece the room fades to complete darkness,
but an attendant will guide you to the exit.
Our ideas of home may be warm and comforting but it is not as such
for everyone. This piece contrasts the difference between a cosy,
secure home and one of a domestic violence victim. As the room
fades to black, in the darkness you see these victims reality at home,
what happens behind closed doors. Through the poetry projected you
feel how they feel.
2) Poetry Display titled - Poetry Therapy
The poems displayed here have been written by male domestic abuse
victims in therapy. In more recent years therapists have begun to use

12. poetry as a MEANS of therapy because of its intense healing powers.
This creative expression is a form of catharsis.
3) Portraits
Artist: Chantal Barlow
The twelve photographs displayed here are a mixture of portraits of
victims, social workers and charity workers.
VISION STATEMENT
The overall concept of this exhibition is to challenge society's
perception of masculinity within the home and to break down the
cultural barriers that prevent men from seeking help. Home is
constructed as a safe haven, an ideal and is associated with notions of
identity (Blunt, 2005). According to theorists this ideal of the home is
dangerous, as it does not apply to everyone (Varley, 2008). Within the
private sphere of the home, males tend to be positioned in the role of
the dominant male and the woman the submissive. The dominant
male role is a normative model of masculinity has been dubbed as
"hegemonic masculinity". Hegemonic masculinity is a pattern of
practices that has allowed male dominance over women to continue
(Connell, 2005). Despite most men not adhering or fulfilling this idea
of hegemonic masculinity, due to the media it is this model that is
what is of expected of men. The concept of hegemonic masculinity

13. has had an impact in criminology also. Information from studies show
that it is males that perpetrate more conventional crimes than females
(Connell, 2005). The heavy influence of the media in our society and
the institutional sexism within government agencies (justice system,
court system) creates a cultural block that prohibits men from
reaching out for help or receiving equal rights.
There has been very little research focusing on male domestic
violence victims and their accounts of victimization only (Durfee,
2011). Due to the institutional sexism preventing men from receiving
the help they need and the social constructs of masculinity, only small
numbers of men are willing to report domestic violence as a crime.
According to Alesha Durfee it is one of America's most unreported
crimes (Durfee, 2011). She further argues that the hegemonic
masculinity perpetuates the practices that stigmatize women as
victims and men in the position of power. This affects men's abuse
narratives. Her studies have shown that men tended to minimize the
description of injuries and were less likely to admit to fear in their
testimonials. The victims claimed that they suffered but did not use
the word "victim"(Durfee, 2011).
Institutional sexism has affected funding for charities set up to help
men in intimate relationship abuse. Out of the three main agencies
that provide help and support for male victims of domestic abuse only
one, Men's Advice line, receives funding from the government. The

14. other two rely on public donations, grants and commissioning.
Considering the single biggest cause of death for males under the age
of 45 in the UK is suicide and the government is only funding one of
the charities that are trying to combat this is one of the major reasons
for embarking on this art exhibition (CALM 2016). This exhibition
aims to emphasize to the public the need for more funding and more
attention paid to these charities.
In addition to very little research being conducted on male domestic
violence victims but there is an even smaller body of art projects on
this topic. In the last few months of 2015, there were three major art
exhibitions about female domestic violence victims: "I am Woman, I
am Senka" held in Highcross, Leicester , "If these walls could talk"
held in Victoria University, Australia and an exhibition held in
Hounslow Library by Shanti Women's Aid. In addition to these I am
sure there were many other small exhibitions and projects focusing
around violence towards women. But in my research I came across no
major ones, and the only projects involving males were mainly
children or also included females. Not only is the violence towards
men in a domestic setting treated equally in the media or by the
police, it is not researched upon for academic purposes or engaged
with as topic for artistic projects. Artists and researchers need to
address this issue more and this project aspires to show a means of
addressing and interrogating this issue.

15. As aforementioned, gender influences the narrative of abuse stories.
Male victims tend to underplay the extent of their injuries. In recent
years, collaboration between the arts and geography has increased.
Geographers have begun using artistic means to interrogate social
issues. According to Hester Parr, arts activities are able to make
empowering experiences of self understanding, self esteem and
communication possible (Parr, 2007). Because previous studies have
shown that narratives by males have been compromised because of
their gender, poetry writing allows them to articulate the trauma they
have experienced through a new form of expression. The poetry
therapy workshops to be conducted with the victims for this
exhibition allow them to write their experiences. Studies have shown
that poetry writing can be a deeply healing process in cases of trauma
and abuse (Bolton, 1999). This creative process can be exciting and
pleasant, it increases self esteem and self respect (Bolton, 1999). This
form of artistic expression allows the male domestic violence victims
to explain through poetic language their emotions about the abuse.
The collaboration with the victims and the charities that have helped
them allows for new insights into avoided social issues and produces
new means in how to address them. The charities in turn receive
publicity and reach a wider audience that may potentially lead to more
attention and funding. The process of the work and research is as
important as the finished project (the exhibition).

16. STATEMENT OF AIMS
1. To challenge the ideals of hegemonic masculinity in society
and educate the audience on the diversity of masculinity.
2. To advocate the power of poetry therapy as a means of
recovery for domestic abuse victims, especially in its power
to change abuse narratives.
3. To highlight to the government the need for more funding for
charities that work with male victims and sufferers.
4. To help more male domestic abuse victims by putting the
charities (Men's Advice line, Mankind Initiative and CALM)
into the public eye.
Images

17. Image 1: possible layout for the room
Image 2: an example of the style of frames for the poetry

18. Image 3: an example of word projection
Diagram 1: basic floor plan

19. Bibliography
Blunt, A. (2005). Cultural geography: cultural geographies of home.
prog hum geogr, 29(4), pp.505-515.
Bolton, G. (1999). ‘Every poem breaks a silence that had to be
overcome’*: The Therapeutic Power of Poetry Writing. Fem Rev,
62(1), pp.118-133.
Campaign Against Living Miserably, (2016). Home. [online]
Available at: https://www.thecalmzone.net/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].
Connell, R. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the
Concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), pp.829-859.
Durfee, A. (2011). "I'm Not a Victim, She's an Abuser": Masculinity,
Victimization, and Protection Orders. Gender & Society, 25(3),
pp.316-334.
Mensadviceline.org.uk, (2016). Men's Advice Line - support for male
victims of domestic violence · Respect. [online] Available at:
http://www.mensadviceline.org.uk/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].
New.mankind.org.uk, (2016). Mankind Initiative | 01823 334244.
[online] Available at: http://new.mankind.org.uk/ [Accessed 14 Jan.
2016].

20. Parr, H. (2007). Collaborative film-making as process, method and
text in mental health research. Cultural Geographies, 14(1), pp.114-
138.
Varley, A. (2008). A place like this? Stories of dementia, home, and
the self. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 26(1),
pp.47-67.
Images
Image 1:Homepage.eircom.net, (2016). Coiscéim Student Village.
[online] Available at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~pjolearyqs/house.htm [Accessed 14 Jan.
2016].
Image 2: enlightenedinburgh, (2012). enlightenedinburgh. [online]
Available at: https://enlightenedinburgh.wordpress.com/page/2/
[Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].
Image 3: Aliexpress.com, (2016). Buy Products Online from China
Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com. [online] Available at:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fashion-Combination-Multi-Photo-
Frames-Hot-Sale-Different-Size-Personalized-Photo-Frame-Wall-
Decorations-Suit-Picture/32281058043.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016]