MASCULAR 

 We men like our toys, our tools and our equipment. Sometimes our stuff is elevated from the mere stuff to something special. Something with special meaning or purpose. This is our “Gear”. Loosely defined, and sometimes used collectively, our Gear is essential and personal. We need our Gear to get stuff done to our particular standard or in our particular way. Be it on the field, in the workshop or in the bedroom. Alternatively, Gear can be part of a mechanism – physical or metaphorical. For some, Gear is to be consumed. Gear can pump you up or it can raise you up (or bring you down). Issue No. 44 of MASCULAR Magazine is dedicated to GEAR.

 

For a photographer, it’s what he has in his camera bag. For a chef, it’s his knife pouch. For a carpenter or plumber it’s the tools he relies on to get the job done. And for a sex worker it could be a harness, a dildo or a ball gag. In all cases, these are things that are made with a purpose in mind. They are designed, crafted, engineered, cast, refined, packaged and sold – all with intrinsic purpose. But not all Gear is used in the way it was intended. This is when Gear can take on a personality all its own. A pair of engineer’s boots can serve the purpose they were originally designed for, or they can help enhance a sexual moment. Photographers often say that their favourite camera is simply and extension of their own bodies – they know it so well. Seeing how intimately we engage with our Gear, is it any surprise that we are so picky about the Gear we choose, and so protective of the Gear in our possession? 

 

We all know how an object can evoke memories and feelings. Coming across your father’s pipe in a drawer will bring him to mind. And all those years you coveted your older brother’s pocket knife. It could have been any pocket knife, bur it wasn’t. People go on about consumerism and how we shouldn’t get too attached to objects. But this doesn’t hold true for Gear. 

 

There is, of course, another kind of Gear. Gear can be a pharmaceutical or other chemical substance. People take gear to bulk up. It’s interesting that there is so much opprobrium cast at steroid use. Yes of course it has its dangers – but so do other body/mind altering substances.  Society deems this to be “bad” Gear. Evern worse Gear, we are told, is anything to do with drugs. Curious how the word Gear can be used in this context as well. 

 

Gear sounds masculine. It sounds strong. It sounds solid and serious. MASCULAR Magazine is asking artists to consider Gear for Issue 44. Be it a harness or a hammer, deca or a camera, share with us your experience of Gear. Things that you use to enhance your work, your play or your pecs. We want to see these special objects either as they are or in use. We want to know the role your Gear plays in your life. 

 

If you are interested in contributing to Issue No. 44, please download and complete the Submissions Form below, or for more information, feel free to contact MASCULAR Magazine at: submissions@mascularmagazine.com.

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Deadline for submissions is January 12, 2026