Joseph Carmilia-Smith
Mollis Virtus
Mollis (soft, sensitive, effeminate, tender, gentle, easy) Virtus (valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth) is a project I’ve created to give teen boys growing up an outlet they can resort to, that shows them a healthy form of masculinity and what it means to be a man.
Artist/Thesis Statement
The idea of masculinity is an elusive term that is constantly changing. One person’s definition may differ from another persons. For certain though, there are healthy aspects of masculinity boys are taught, and extremely unhealthy aspects that are also learned. Mollis Virtus is a project to help teen boys distinguish which is which.
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 4 children live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.” In correlation young people can be more likely to have behavioral problems, more likely to end up incarcerated, and more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.” Obviously this does not apply to every child without a father, but statistics don’t lie. With Mollis Virtus, I hope to help teens males defy these odds and become the best versions of themselves they can be.
Mollis Virtus allows teen boys to learn from both men and women, what it means to be a man, and the steps they can take in order to become the best man they can be.  Readings, literature, quotes, and biographies will help these teens grasp new and healthy ideas about the qualities that make up a true man. Concepts of kindness, courage, wisdom, bravery, servitude, and confidence in oneself will be discussed.
“A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.”
–Mahatma Gandhi.

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