masculinity to be more like white masculinity. Collins argues that it is clear that society believes people must "submit to White male authority in order to learn how to be a man," and this is what Esmaa Mohamoud is fighting against with and through her art. Mohamoud argues that, "[i]f we don't take up space, a white body will." Through this series, Mohamoud attempts to combat pervasive associations of black male bodies with hypermasculinity, violence, and ruggedness, by engaging the models in hyper-feminine clothes and poses. The artist recalls that many people in her hometown of London, Canada were fearful of blackness as Black people, particularly Black men, are perceived in violet light. Author and activist, bell hooks, has acknowledged in her book, We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, the long-standing belief that black men are the embodiment of violence and aggression, stating "read any article or book on black masculinity and it will convey the message that Black men are violent." This image of violence can be dangerous for black men as they navigate their way through the world. To counter this, Mohamoud attempts to offer black men the freedom of gender fluidity. By clothing black, male models in velvet gowns, Mohamoud shields them with the notion that black men can too possess the ability to be fragile and soft. Through her art, Mohamoud brings awareness to a current and problematic view of black masculinity in order to shift it and reclaim it as her own through subversion of gender norms, "power stances," and the use of bell hooks' the "oppositional gaze." Heavy, Heavy (Hoop Dreams) (2016) In 2016, Esmaa Mohamoud displayed Heavy, Heavy (Hoop Dreams) as part of her Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media, and Design Program. Heavy, Heavy (Hoop Dreams) consists of 60 deflated concrete basketballs in a grid on the floor. The original piece was supposed to have 30 basketballs, the amount of first-round picks in the NBA, but Mohamoud settled on 60 basketballs as it filled up more space and is the number of second-round picks for the NBA. Mohamoud uses concrete to show the heaviness and fragileness that comes from people relying on getting scouted by the NBA . The artist ensures that the concrete basketballs will crack and fall apart as it symbolizes the disappearance of a future career. The title is influenced by Hoop Dreams, a documentary following black boys who