With high crime rates still being partly attributed to fatherless homes, and the highly publicized delayed referendum on gender, it seems as good a time as any to have a chat about masculinity and gender identity. The Seventh National Exhibition (NE7), Antillean: an Ecology, at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, has already gotten the ball rolling. Addressing issues like race, gender, class and economy, the NE7 has been spurring constructive conversations about the hard topics through visual art and a series of discussions and talks. One such talk will be happening this month at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, where COB Vice President of Advancement Dr. Ian Strachan will be screening his documentary, "I's Man".
The film offers a humorous exploration and sober analysis of issues of masculinity and identity. In it, Strachan examines a range of current issues, including the role of media in gender identity formation, paternal absenteeism and the marital rape debate. Inspired by Strachan's childhood and experiences growing up in a single-parent household, "I's Man" addresses issues - particularly those of identity - that fatherless boys often face.
"I grew up in a single parent home with my mother, and I lived a life as a young male that was in some ways typical and in some ways atypical. I didn't practice or express masculinity in the ways that the culture around me glorified or valued... The street life, as well as the school construct of masculinity, wasn't one that I fitted in entirely. So I suppose all my life I've been interested in and curious about our constructions of masculinity," he explained.
In academia, the professor is known for specializing in gender and politics, specifically in the context of The Bahamas. Linking his studies with his observations of trends involved with violent crime, Strachan noted the serious complications regarding family dynamics and gender relations that remain unaddressed in the country.
"Obviously as violence and criminality in our society has increased, which is mostly perpetrated by males, this issue of what is a man and the issue of absenteeism have become more and more prominent," he said.
Filmed in 2013, the issues raised in "I's Man" are indisputably, and regrettably, still relevant. Hoping that the film evokes critical thinking among its audience, Strachan is keen to spur a closer examination of the contributing factors behind the attitudes to gender equality, homosexuality and 'sweethearting'.
"What should emerge is a sense that we are not really being intentional enough or thoughtful enough about how we prepare boys and girls for adulthood and for participation in our society," he explained. "What we've done is left huge territories of the human experience that are not addressed adequately by our socializing institutions. And we need to pay attention to these things because they have serious implications for our public health, for our national security, for our competitiveness as a nation, for our economy... I hope people leave with a sense of urgency and a conviction that we need to be more intentional and more serious about these issues."
"I's Man" will be screened at The National Art Gallery at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 26. For more information, contact the NAGB
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