Oh, but they do!
Crochet and knitting - already receive some undue flak for being "old-lady pastimes" and that in itself places these crafts under the bracket of a) being something for women and b) being something boring.
The previous articles tackled b) but a) can't be ignored, so here we are!
Right off the bat, in this day and age, isolating a hobby or an art, assuming its correlation with a particular gender, simply does not make sense. Especially something as universal as handicraft. It's really not a foreign concept at all. Here's why -
Now that we've established that even these articles from five years ago tried to combat the stigma around male crafters - it becomes incredibly important to now separate ourselves from classifying different activities just so they can fit a gendered box. Creativity spawns in a conducive environment and that's what we aspire to create. Anyone can crochet. Anyone can knit. Anyone can pick up any craft they wish. As said earlier, these aren't foreign concepts and to many of you these might even seem unnecessary to re-establish.
That, is progress.
A June 2010 YouTube video called 'Real Men Crochet' was an interview with Kevin Roberts, who developed an interest in crocheting and quickly turned it into a business - not much a six pack of beer and a crochet needle can't fix.
An April 2015 video called 'I crochet in the subway and I don't care what people think' saw Alvin Irby take his craft with him on his daily commute - an avid crocheter, at the time of the video had been crocheting for 23 years. Crocheting on the subway always got him some interesting responses and quite a few double takes but more importantly, helped him introduce others to the craft.
The recent 'The Try Guys Try Crocheting', from 3 months ago - where Ned and Keith from The Try Guys, with their wives, each pick one item to crochet. It gets pretty competitive, too. Not to mention several other videos that have actively taken on the stigma surrounding male crafters and tackled it head-on. They provide some solid video proof that men do, indeed, crochet. Pretty damning evidence. It isn't fiction, who would've thought!
But on a serious note- we're an open community. Inclusive, creative and trying to colour in the days with some yarn. Charity isn't gendered and neither is art. Share A Square is for everyone. If our mission interests you and if you'd enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon spent knitting or crocheting - we urge you to contribute.
A stitch in time saves lives.
Share A Square.
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