“Growing up in a household with an Afro-American military dad comes with certain values and expectations”, –says creative director, artist and stylist Patrick Mason–. “For example: besides the obvious ‘men don’t cry, boys don’t play with dolls or wear dresses’, I was also raised very strictly and with a specific ideal of a black man. Unfortunately, in my little home town in Bavaria, there were hardly any other black male role models next to my dad I could reference. Which is why I always perceived my dad as the status quo. As I was getting older and grew into my own mind, I did a lot of soul searching and reflecting to actually figure out what it means to be a queer, black man in a predominantly white environment such as Germany. I learned that I can do and be whatever I desire. Black masculinity is, unfortunately in many cases, still quite toxic and widely spread. Black men somehow feel the need to always appear strong, unbreakable and very impulsive – which, given our brutal history – is very much understandable, but not so much in our time and age. There is great power in acknowledging emotionality and femininity. A lesson many yet still have to learn.”
Patrick plays Circoloco at DC10 on 15 August, HE.SHE.THEY at Amnesia on 26 August and Afterlife at Hï Ibiza on 8 September
