Hey, guys! How are you, today? :D

I wasn't even sure what title to put on this post. The one that I had in mind was toxic masculinity (I probably chose it), but first I wanted to read a bit about masculinity to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding terms (I'm still a bit confused, haha). Well, I don't want to seem like one of those "feminists" who take everything to the extreme and only want to attack men just for being men.

We must take into account that both sexes are different, there's no doubt about that. But instead of attacking each other, we should appreciate the differences as much as the similarities that exist between us.

To begin with, I had no idea about what to draw, but after seeing some things on Facebook, I wanted to give my opinion and this seemed like a good opportunity since there's no theme for this contest.

A few days ago, I was reading some comments on Facebook about "real masculinity" and you could clearly see two sides. Those who wanted to feel free to do things without being judged as weak and others who called stupid those who wanted to do "girlish things".

We always hear about violence againts women, but it must also be taken into account that this type of attitude affects all of us even the man himself, by actions or phrases as simple as "real men don't cry".

This is my entry for the Art explosion contest by @juliakponsford.

Theme: NO THEME

My first time in this contest and also my first watercolor face!

I literally read, that all this is the fault of women. That there's no such thing as toxic masculinity because it's only part of the manipulation of feminists. It's true that some feminist movements have taken things too far, to the point of making man look like something diabolic, but I do believe that it exists because definitely behaviors that harm you or limit yourself as a human being is not a good thing.

At the end of the day, what we call "masculinity" is a social construction that tells you "how to be a man". I think you shouldn't let anyone tell you what you have to do according to your gender. Don't let them tell you what it is to be a man, or what it is to be masculine. Man defines himself and doesn't allow otherness to define him (the same applies for women).

Here are some pictures of the process

I wrote more than I wanted, but this topic gives a lot to discuss. I better start talking about my painting, haha.

I only have three images of the process because as I'm a genius, I forgot to take photos during the whole process :( This happens to me often because I focus too much on what I'm doing.

Lately, I've wanted to practice with other things that aren't colored pencils so I used watercolors. I've made two other simple paintings. (Just follow the links of the previous posts if you want to see them :D)

For the eyes, I had to use colored pencils because I don't have small brushes for those details (I know, I must buy tools that help me with my work, but for now I can't). It was a little complicated to work with a brush of only one size for the entire painting. You probably noticed my lack of experience using watercolors, haha. So if you have some tips I would love to read them :D

Well, that’s all for today. Hope you liked it. Bye, guys! <3

Previous posts: (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

• Artstorm contest: Sandcastles
• Artstorm contest: Sleeping under the stars