Fraternity sought

The work in this ongoing series challenges the notion that male nudity can only be reserved for and confined to sexual settings; that when gay men occupy such intimate spaces with straight men, it is done so as an act of exploitation. These photographs exemplify fraternity evolving, quelling once dormant anxieties of unworthiness and disavowing fears of inequality. I find whimsy—fantasy—in documenting these men, many of whom are friends I grew up with. Through the work I depict the private battles between Affection and Admiration that I have waged, inherently, at times when it was difficult to discern where lust diverged from the warmth of fraternal bonds. "Fraternity sought" captures the murkiness of taboo, magnifying the unconditional, if at times inscrutable connections between gay and straight men.