CALL ME(,) DADDY OR SAVE THE TENDERNESS

“Let me do 15 push-ups – that’s how I punish myself when I make mistakes,” says Jeremy Fragrance, flexing his muscles. “Feminism may ignore young men, but capitalist, patriarchal men do not,” writes bell hooks. And you think: “I think I hate myself.” But sometimes you also think: “I think I can be happy.” And you imagine how your father might sometimes dance secretly in the kitchen, whilst on the radio someone sings the lines: “Can’t stop now I’ve travelled so far to change this lonely life. I want to know what love is.” This piece is a performative exploration of the theme of masculinity, a search for clues. Using texts by us, our fathers, ABBA, Jeremy Fragrance and ChatGPT, we confront the spiral of violence and loneliness with the questions: What is patriarchal masculinity? Is there such a thing as feminist masculinity? What would happen if all men turned into bunnies for a few minutes? How do we save tenderness?