At just 16, Rory Phillips is challenging the centuries-old view that the strong, silent bloke is the epitome of Australian manhood.
His Americana and blues-infused song, Because Boys, which he co-wrote with two friends, explores the challenges young men have talking about their feelings.
"I've seen it — people's feelings being suppressed because you're a man and you're not supposed to talk about these things, that's not what men do. That kind of toxic mindset," he said.
"It's what people say at school — 'Oh that's weak, don't talk about your feelings.'"
This week, Rory has travelled from his home in Tumut, in regional NSW, to Sydney to record Because Boys with about 100 other students from across the state.
He says it has been one of the best weeks of his life.
The students are participating in the Boys' Vocal Program, a wellbeing initiative that uses music to foster social connections.
"Firstly, [it's] to engage boys in something when maybe they were at risk of being disengaged from school but also to offer them an opportunity to find a similar tribe of boys whose focus might not be football," said the program's artistic director, Stuart Davis.
Every year, he looks forward to watching the joy and validation the boys experience as they create new friendships.
"It's sometimes quite emotional to see what happens over those three days. I've seen kids turn up on their own and you'll see them out there having lunch, looking around, and by the third day they're part of some group that's surrounding the guitar and they're rocking out," Mr Davis said.
A musical challenge to social taboos
Usually, the boys work on a popular tune such as a Crowded House song but this year Rory's original composition was selected.
The Boys' Vocal Program is not designed to address suicide, but that was the catalyst for Rory's song.
It's dedicated to a friend who took his own life.
The film clip features his mates standing in front of a farm shed holding signs with messages like "it's not weak to speak". And the lyrics deal with the struggles boys and young men can have with speaking openly about how they feel, with lines like:
I can feel it rising to the surface
Don't be a burden, I push it back down
A painted picture for the world to see
But is that who I really want to be?
Because boys
We hardly ever say it all
Wait till we crash and we fall
Working on breaking my walls
"I've lost mates, as we all have," Rory said.
"It's something that should be talked about, and I think society agrees that it should be talked about, but somehow still nobody does. It's still a bit taboo."
Rory's observations are backed by data.
Research from Beyond Blue shows boys are less likely to seek professional help for mental health issues, with only 13 per cent of boys reaching out compared to 31 per cent of girls.
The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data confirms a long-term trend that men and boys remain three times more likely to take their own lives, with 2,358 males dying by suicide in 2021 compared to 786 females.
"If [the song] does even as much as just make one person feel better or even, God forbid, save one life, it shouldn't have to, but if it does, it's mission accomplished," Rory said.
'A good foundation to develop into fine young men'
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is one of many tests to show boys are falling behind girls academically too.
At Sydney's Epping Boys High School, which is performing well above national averages, senior staff attribute their strong performance to an investment in wellbeing.
"Learning and wellbeing are intrinsically linked," principal Jessica Schadel said.
"You can't have effective learning practices in your classroom until you've got really strong wellbeing programs.
"When they feel that they are valued, when they feel that they are safe, when they feel they are happy, they will do well educationally."
The school runs a program called Boys to Men, which ensures that every student in years 7 to 10 has at least one class a fortnight in which they communicate their feelings and build connections.
Deputy principal and former head wellbeing teacher Saddique Martin, who has taught at the school for 30 years and seen both his sons graduate there, said boys "just need a sense of belonging".
"If they can feel some sort of connection in the community with their school or family, they can have a good foundation to develop into fine young men," Mr Martin said.
