The Hercules Transcripts

The Hercules Transcripts was started in fall of 2019 as a counterpart to The Cassandra Transcripts. It is a series of interviews about the intersections between masculinity and mental illness with people who have experienced some connection to masculinity — some of them currently identify as masc, some of them were socialized as such, and some considered masc-ness to be part of, though not all of their gender identity.

The project was called The Hercules Transcripts after the greek myth of Hercules. To punish Hercules for his father’s mistakes, Hera cursed him to turn against his loved ones in a fit of madness. After the fact, to repent for what he had done, Hercules served under King Eurystheus and was forced to perform ten labors of impossible strength.

I worked with each person I interviewed to create a transcript of their interview that they were comfortable with. From there, I designed a portrait, based on the content of our interview. Each person was remarkable in the amount of strength and vulnerability they showed in telling their story. This project is an ongoing process. While many of the interviews have been transcribed, there are many still remaining.

The interview transcripts are accessible below. If you have questions or want to be involved in this process, please reach out here.