April 18, 2018 - Winner On The Dance Floor
Billy Elliot danced towards his dream, despite poverty, oppression, bullying and male stereotyping.
Stories
November 20, 2017 - BOy Pretending
And what if a BOy stops pretending he’s fine? What if a BOy cries? Lets out the worry? Says he’s scared? Puts his hand up for help? Why should he be called a sook, a pussy, pansy, poofter, sissy or EMO? Why do they tell him to pull himself together, keep his chin up, soldier on, tough it out – not to worry because … you’ll be right mate? Finding words can be hard for a BOy, so is finding his feelings – showing them even harder. But if it’s really so hard for a BOy to talk and feel and cry – doesn’t that make the BOy who does – tougher than all the other BOys?
So let’s champion for a new age BOy who has learnt that more is lost in war than won and fighting his own battle; conquering his own fears and demons; freeing himself from the silence and pretending will be this greatest victory – and contribution to the world.
(BOy Series, Clunk & Jam book 2019)
November 6, 2017 - Super What?
The life of a Super hero. Artist Andreas Englund says;
“I wanted to let people get to know the man behind the mask and tell his story uncensored. My superhero is far from perfect but that doesn’t mean he is isn’t good. He’s just human. Perfect people is just boring and predictable and who wants that?”
November 5, 2017 - BOy oh BOy
Boy Oh BOy .
Oh BOy. The bound up BOy. Crushed beneath the pressure, the grind to be tough and strong. Big. The overwhelming wave of responsibility to save everything from time, to the environment – the world itself. But I’ve seen the BOy dance and cry. Read poetry out loud. Wear makeup. Pick flowers. Speak his truth. Challenge his world. Name his feelings. Play piano and sing. Hug another BOy.
BOy oh BOy I cried…and a dream saw hands on the wheel of change. Ploughing a culture in where the feelings, vulnerabilities and experiences of men and BOys cannot be freely expressed and accepted. Burying the angst that has the potential of bringing BOy to his own end.
BOy oh BOy said the dream … may ideals and expectations of the BOy be reset, redrawn. May BOy be moved and freed from his grueling vigil by the roar for change. The momentum of the march towards it. And the wonder at a way and time when BOy is no longer required to be just one of the boys anymore.
(Clunk & Jam book, 2019).
November 5, 2017 - BOy Can’t Fly
And anyway, fixing is rarely quick and some things are better left alone – like the notion of the Super Hero and this whole saving the world business.
November 4, 2017 - BOy No Idea
Was it at all possible to know where he’d end up next? Skipping tomorrow and the next day and the next was no great way to travel but it seemed the only way of leaving well behind where he’d come from. But maybe his place wasn’t up ahead somewhere, beyond the days (and the daze). Maybe there wasn’t such a thing as a ‘right place’ after all – which left him free to travel with absolutely no idea where he was going…
(BOy Series, Clunk & Jam book, 2019)