![In his editorial 'Boys' Richard Akuson hopes to challenge the concept of Nigerian masculinity.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/170613055819-x2a0250-copy.jpg?q=w_2700,h_1800,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
In his editorial 'Boys' Richard Akuson hopes to challenge the concept of Nigerian masculinity.
![Taken by Photographer Zamani Istifanus, they put together three muscular male models who are completely naked.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/170613054659-x2a0085-copy.jpg?q=w_2700,h_1800,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Taken by Photographer Zamani Istifanus, they put together three muscular male models who are completely naked.
![With the photos, Akuson challenges the perceived notion of strangeness that comes with men being naked around one another.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/170613055255-x2a0189-copy.jpg?q=w_1800,h_2700,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
With the photos, Akuson challenges the perceived notion of strangeness that comes with men being naked around one another.
![After publishing the photos on his<a target="_blank" target="_blank"> website</a>, he decided to post on his personal Instagram page and observed a certain hesitation to like his photos despite analytics revealing a wide reach.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/170613054744-x2a0097-copy.jpg?q=w_1800,h_2700,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
After publishing the photos on his website, he decided to post on his personal Instagram page and observed a certain hesitation to like his photos despite analytics revealing a wide reach.
!["I could see a fear to associate with an editorial like that." Akuson says. "If a friend sees someone looking at a post like that, there would be questions. They might have liked it but didn't have the confidence to show that openly."](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/170613055648-x2a0236-copy.jpg?q=w_2307,h_1800,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
"I could see a fear to associate with an editorial like that." Akuson says. "If a friend sees someone looking at a post like that, there would be questions. They might have liked it but didn't have the confidence to show that openly."