The conventional wisdom is that men don’t like to talk about things, and that they are suffering and even dying because they don’t talk about this part of their body.” The second quote in this section bemoans that that guy didn’t know how to make it different. In my opinion, he’s halfway there. Recognizing that a disparity exists is the first step, and it must be followed by concrete action steps to fix this. Be that guy to take the first step and ask about personal things with your buddies. Eventually, it will feel less awkward. Transitioning from “traditional manhood” to “transformational manhood” Laura Dodsworth's latest project 'Manhood' involved photographing the penises of 100 men. But it wasn't her her first time taking pictures of intimate body parts. We know “traditional manhood” is broken. “Transformational manhood” is in a step in the right direction, but we should continue moving closer to just “humanhood.” In closing, I feel this final quote really drove home the overall message of where we need to go from here:

Men really opened up and discussed anxieties, OCD and full-blown depression and suicidal thoughts. There are a lot of mental health stories in the book. They all really opened up emotionally and it felt like a very rare glimpse into men's inner world. There are men in the book who say they have never talked about this to anybody." I found it very illuminating in hearing each man's story about his relationship with his penis, his views on life in regards to it and how porn, abuse, size and cancer's have shaped each persons outlook on their views towards their penises and life in general. It was also interesting to see how older men had matured over the years in their views towards women, men, sex and/or being gay or transgendered. There is sadness as well that many men have experienced in their lives and sexuality and how they are working through that. A lot more men feel a sense of shame or anxiety about their size, or an aspect of their performance, than I would have thought. What really moved me is how much that shame and inadequacy had bled into different parts of their life.” Before Manhood came Bare Reality - where Laura interviewed 100 anonymous women and took pictures of their chests. She wanted to explore the dichotomy between how we feel about breasts privately and how they are presented for public consumption. It opened up a lot of interesting conversations about femininity, motherhood and sexuality.These days we are all less bound by gender and traditional roles, but is there more discussion about what being a man means. From veteran to vicar, from porn addict to prostate cancer survivor, men from all walks of life share honest reflections about their bodies, sexuality, relationships, fatherhood, work and health in this pioneering book. These selected quotes (in italics and used with permission of publisher) were moments that made me think about my own experiences growing up as a boy, adolescent, and man and how we can shape the future of our sex. The concept of “traditional manhood” Solid state physics Quantum theory Chemical bonds SCIENCE Physics Condensed Matter Física do estado sólido Mecânica quântica

Since the US election of 2016, which literally coincided with the day I was told my cancer had spread, there has been an inspiring movement of female empowerment between the #MeToo movement and more. This isn’t to say we need a ‘manism’ movement, which is even echoed in this quote: I’d heard so many women speak so deeply about what being a woman means, I realised that there was this vacuum – I wanted to know what men’s stories were, to understand manhood more.”I feel that when men come together and talk we can integrate our emotions and then be true in our actions.” What do a veteran and a vicar, a porn addict and a prostate cancer survivor, a would-be father and an ex-con have in common? They have all bared their soul – and the contents of their trousers – to photographer Laura Dodsworth, the author of a new book Manhood: The Bare Reality. It consists of 100 photographs of naked men, from the navel down, accompanied by interviews of each, typically starting off by describing how they feel about their penis. What do they look like? My men friends and I don’t have the sort of friendships where we talk about personal things. I never really knew how to make it different”

And what came first, the photo shoots or the interviews? The interviews were done clothed, right? “Yes! I always did the photograph first. For some people it’s quite important to get it out the way, so it wasn’t hanging over them. I think it makes it more successful – somebody feels that they’ve already bared their body, it helps them to open up and tell their story.” Everyone’s different All one hundred of these interviews are intimate and exploratory and give us candid, honest and sometimes difficult insights in what it means to be a man in the 21st Century. Manhood shows us the spectrum of ‘normal’, revealing men’s penises and bodies in all their diversity and glory, helping in dispelling body image anxiety and myths. Dodsworth says the photos took only about 10 seconds to shoot, but that she would interview the men for a much longer period of time to document it in the book. She says that "once somebody bares their body, they are much more likely to bare their soul." Thus opens Manhood: The Bare Realityby Laura Dodsworth. This book is a sequel of sorts to The Bare Reality, the original book in the series where 100 women had their breasts photographed and shared what it meant to them to be a woman. In this edition, penises took the stage as men shared their stories of what manhood meant to them (including Band of Ballers alumni Matt Wakefield). If women are going to stand there and expose themselves in that open way, then to be one of the men who is willing to do that is a really positive thing.”WARNING: This review does contain pictures of penises. It may not be work safe. Be warned. There are no knob puns though. Feminism has helped women to re-interpret womanhood and break down feminine stereotypes. I don’t feel this has happened enough for men.” — Laura Dodsworth in Manhood: The Bare Reality