Art as a Voice for Social Justice
Snapshots from Contributors
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Snapshots from Contributors *
Six of our treasured authors and artists reflect on what inspired their work—and how masculinity speaks through it, bringing us behind the scenes in their creative process. They all contributed to The Evolving Gaze: Society’s Voice for Masculinity (2025, First Quarter Literary Magazine).
Thank you for all you do.
Edward Ficklin, artist of “Angel” and “Change”
I take as my guiding light the wisdom gathered and imparted in the amazing book Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown. Sensuality and eroticism are central to my work, both visual and narrative, in the same way that they’re central to our entire spiritual being.
The patriarchy teaches us to compartmentalize those things it finds dangerous, shutting them down in an attempt to subdue or control for profit. The problem is, we’re whole beings. You shut down a part, you end up shutting down the whole.
Art can be an inspiration and a useful guide to reintegration.
Christian Emecheta, author of “Expectations”
In "Expectations," I approach social justice through personal testimony, believing that sharing authentic experiences can challenge harmful social constructs. My poem confronts toxic masculinity by documenting how these expectations damage individual well-being and limit human expression. I use intimate, accessible language to make these systemic issues tangible and relatable rather than abstract concepts. The poem's journey from conformity to self-acceptance models the liberation possible when we reject restrictive gender norms.
I believe poetry has the unique power to foster empathy by inviting readers into another's lived experience, creating emotional connections that can inspire reflection and social change.
My creative activism focuses on revealing the human cost of oppressive systems while simultaneously imagining more inclusive alternatives.
Joshua Kepfer, author of “Boys to Men”
I have views on social justice that are growing unpopular in mainstream American culture today. That makes it hard to get published sometimes. I promote Christianity because it changed my life. I critique Islam, giving a voice to the millions in the Middle East who are somehow not heard in America.
I critique this modern view that we should do and be whatever suits us in any given moment.
I believe that's a sure-fire way to be miserable and make others miserable with you.
Kael Luzon, author of “Perhaps a Ballad of Every Girly Boy”
I use words and my prose. I’ve known I wanted to be a writer since I was 8 years old. Back then, it was just about telling stories. But over time, it became about telling truths and exploring human connections. Social justice is never separate from my narratives because I live within its intersections. As someone who has experienced marginalization,
I believe words can be our rawest yet powerful tool to uproot injustices that have long been seeded into our cultural soil.
I guess my writing simply exists as a form of resistance that disrupts, connects, and heals.
Harilaos Stefanakis, author of “Unshackled: A Reclamation”
As a creative activist, I write to make visible the fractures of life; the quiet wounds left by systems of injustice, silence, and exclusion. My work is grounded in the belief that these fractures, whether caused by toxic masculinity, incarceration, homelessness, or racial and social inequity, must be named before they can be healed. Poetry allows me to hold those broken places up to the light, to reveal what is often hidden or ignored.
I use words not only to expose but to mend, to offer connection, dignity, and understanding in spaces where they’ve been stripped away.
In that sense, my creative work becomes a form of resistance, but also of restoration through language that listens, remembers, and rebuilds.
Ifesinachi Nwadike, author of “The Exile on Becoming a Father”
I simply express my personal experiences of those around me. I do not write poetry unless the experience I'm sharing happened to me or a close ally.
I do poetry to document events, as a witness in the movements of life. I hardly sit down to perspire or imagine.
Events, occurrences, history, and personal experiences are my inspirations, and I write as they come, as they nudge me to express them. Given my inclination towards a people-oriented art, I am bound to produce an art that is socially relevant and committed.
Richard Jeffrey Newman, author of “In That Moment of Change”
Because the initial steps of my own healing are rooted firmly in feminist politics, one of the commitments I made to myself was to
never stand on the same side of any issue as the men who violated me
and never to endorse, in any way, the values that what they did to me embodied.
Support Artistic Activists
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Support Artistic Activists *
Read and enjoy our contributor’s work in THE EVOLVING GAZE
Our First Quarter Literary Magazine for 2025.
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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.Rea
