Toxic, sensitive, critical, performative—or perhaps the “classic” man*? Provider, role model, or destroyer? It’s probably impossible for anyone to listen to Salt-N-Pepa’s title track without thinking about stereotypes of masculinity. The performance evening “What a Man*?”—part of the major special exhibition “Ornament & Symbol: What Adorns Men”—therefore places a question mark behind the famous song title and invites artists from various disciplines to performatively examine masculinities and male role models.
Spanning dance, music, and spoken word, the performances explore the diverse facets of masculinity—or rather, the societal expectations and attributions associated with male roles: fatherhood, patriarchal structures, violence against women, love between men, and male passions. Must masculinity inevitably be linked to violence? Where does the line lie between critical reflection and the performative staging of masculinity? And what alternative images of manhood are conceivable?
Spanning dance, music, and spoken word, the performances explore the diverse facets of masculinity—or rather, the societal expectations and attributions associated with male roles: fatherhood, patriarchal structures, violence against women, love between men, and male passions. Must masculinity inevitably be linked to violence? Where does the line lie between critical reflection and the performative staging of masculinity? And what alternative images of manhood are conceivable?
This text was translated by an AI.
