Handmade artist zine, No Crying In Baseball, is a collection of images sourced from the internet, that display male athletes appearing to exclaim, cry, and weep. The title is borrowed from a quote in the movie A League of Their Own (1992) The quote occurs in the film when outfielder Evelyn Gardner (Bitty Schram) can’t hit the cutoff man. Her coach/manager Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) scolds her for it, and we all learn a valuable lesson: Rogers Hornsby may yell at you, but there’s no crying in baseball. Jimmy's unhealed emotional trauma manifested in his verbal assault of Evelyn. In the film this is scene intends to be comedic, at the obvious expense of Evelyn's character.
This zine stems from my reluctance to participate in sport, particularly little league (baseball), and is a cynical reflection on the dissociation of patriarchal expectations. The resulting collection of images aim to both underscore and celebrate the heightened emotions of performance-based competitive activity. It is an attempt to disentangle personal worth from ones abilities - be they physical, athletic, or otherwise. It is simultaneously an outcry for the continued need for all people to feel safe and encouraged to express a rich-array of emotions.
The 30-page zine is printed in full-color, stapled, and measures 8''x5'' All images used without permission.
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*Your copy can be signed after purchase by requesting so at softdaddyleather@gmail.com
