In college, I took a course called "Modern Masculinities". In this course, the primary takeaway is that men are taught that vulnerability isn't something that real men show, and that stoicism is what defines a man. This is shared among men but, when placed into marginalized groups, forms self-hate and a more solid correlation between vulnerability and weakness. This poem informed the series by inviting self-love and the presence of loving and healthy relationships between men that often exist only behind closed doors.
