Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Male masculinity and the media
Gender popular culture and stereotypes
Gender stereotypes in popular culture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Male masculinity and the media
Gender popular culture and stereotypes
Gender stereotypes in popular culture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Response The documentaries Tough Guys and Killing us Softly, really brought to light the way masculinity and femininity are represented in our society. The characteristics and associations that are made when these words are thought of are bizarre and not natural. I strongly believe that both masculinity and femininity are learned characteristics from the human environment. I often wonder if people would even have these ideas and characteristics that are associated with gender in the beginning of time, or if people have slowly began to define and differentiate the genders throughout the evolution of time.
In the video clip Tough Guise 2, masculinity is a pose to male identities because of how the media is portraying them as violent, tough, strong, independent, and aggressive. These characterization of masculinity can be harmful to male because of what they have to act like in order to be seen as masculine. For instance, violence is portrayed as a masculine factor for males in the media with guns, fighting, or crime related actions. So, when younger boys see violence in video games and social media, they are going to think that it is okay to imitate that behavior in order to be seen as masculine. This can impact young boys to start violent behaviors at a very young age and get involved with illegal crimes.
Representation within media is a powerful thing and the viewpoint often differs with context, such as the gender of the storytellers and the time period in which a piece was written and/or published. William Moulton Marston, the mind behind iconic female superhero Wonder Woman (DC Comics), has once described a need for a new type of woman in comics. He found there was a need for one that defied the weaknesses we usually prescribe to females in general, stating that the female archetype lacks the force, strength, and power needed to make girls want to identify with female characters (American Scholar, 1943). Even then, his heroine could be described as modest and peace-loving, two characteristics he himself described as belonging to the aforementioned weaknesses.
Jackson Katz’s film Tough Guise 2 seeks to expose how the media promotes a toxic ideology behind what makes a man masculine. For decades the print, television, videogames, and film have presented masculinity in a way that makes men think the only way to be manly is to be emotionally unavailable, sexually aggressive, and violent. This ideology has been a curse on culture in America and many other countries around the world. We're not living in the Wild West. We're not a Third World nation.
What constitutes “masculinity?” Sadly, the term has been defined so harshly that it is having detrimental effects on our society. The definitions of gender roles bombard us everywhere, from books, to advertisements, to movies, there is seemingly no place one can hide from these absurd standards. Canadian sociologist Aaron H. Devor points out in his article “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender,” that gender norms are learned early on in life, burdening children with these restrictions (388). This is what makes movies which clearly reject and mock gender roles, such as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, so refreshing.
Mainstream media representations play a role in portraying ideas about what it means to be a “real” man in our society. In most media portrayals, male characters are praised for self-control and the control of others, violence, financial independence, and physical desirability. The media is a very important part of society, because it is what people follow on their daily lives, and what people rely on these days. Therefore it is crucial to decide what to portray in the media, because people will follow it and do what the media does. If the media discourages men to show emotions other than aggression, then it is what society will follow and go through, which is what has happened that shaped masculinity in the form it is now.
Some of the stereotypes that I have seen are of men having visible muscle, short hair and usually not wearing glasses. For women, it is almost always a skinny woman in semi-revealing clothes with long hair, painted nails, an hourglass figure and other features that are not found on a normal woman. I would like to see more accurate representations of men and women in the media and not just ads saying, "Become like this person or you won 't be normal." Media in today 's society has a huge impact on most people 's behavior because they want to fit in with a certain group or other varying reasons. Not only does this affect a person 's behavior but it can also skew their view on what is considered normal in certain situations.
Over time, the thought patterns of many individuals mould to believe only one perception of what is morally acceptable— a perception that is completely faulty. The ideology of the male body and demeanor is only one of the many societal norms constructed by the media, and it alone can result in mental health fatalities, mass violence, or the mere elimination of self-identity whilst attempting to meet the ever-changing ideals of masculinity. The continuous and stereotypical depiction of masculinity in the media has idealized invulnerability, toughness and physical strength as the sole qualities of a ‘true man’. As a result, the complexity of masculinity is flattened, and immense pressures are placed on individuals to meet requirements that are entirely faulty. According to Katz, cultures, topics, and even genders are not one-dimensional; in order to fully comprehend the meaning the entirety of something, one must look at more than its representation in the media.
Furthermore the manly stereotype affects all aspects of one’s life; whether it 's our social or professional lives. Lastly, this is the most dangerous aspect of the single story our society tells about men; that you have to be “manly” in order to become
There is a lot of pressure on men in society to be manly; however, what exactly does it mean to be manly? Though many people have different opinions, a lot of them conclude that a man has to be strong and somewhat emotionless to be considered a man. This assumption can lead to Toxic Masculinity, which is “A false idea that men are expected to be as manly as possible” (The Hard, Adrenaline-Soaked Truth About 'Toxic Masculinity, 2017). Men are forced to face these assumptions not only from those around him, but also from people he might see in Media. Media reinforces Toxic Masculinity which in turn causes men to belittle women.
In conclusion, our society is equally balanced between women and men. Women play significant roles in all aspects of life including politics, arts, sports, media and much more. Henceforth, media being so influential in today’s society, it must make responsible decisions in regards to how women are portrayed, and focus more on the positive and inspiring aspects of womanhood. The portrayal of women in the media must be changed by eliminating the idea of having a Barbie doll figure, by eliminating the promotion of women as mere sexual toys for men’s entertainment, and by elevating women’s status in movies which in turn will help highlight the true essence and potential of women in today’s world. “I am not Pocahontas as portrayed in the Disney
The existing asymmetry in terms of social power between men and women was strengthened through these images, as the stereotyping of women in these categories was associated with lower degrees of social and control. In his book ‘Gender Advertisements’ Erving Goffman describes how feminity and masculinity displayed within western media. In his analysis, Goffman addresses several trends and patterns in how feminity (and masculinity) is portrayed as well as the messages this conveys to the viewer. According to him women are portrayed as soft, vulnerable, fragile, powerless, dreamy, childlike and submissive . Goffman described a number of symbolic ways in which indicative behavior displays the subordination of females to males, the ritualization of subordination is accomplished by using social connotation associated with elevation, location positioning, and body posture .
According to Julia T. Wood who works with communication there are three main themes that the media use when they represent gender. First, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways. Second, women are underrepresented. The third way is how the media portray the relationship between men and women with traditional gender roles and the normalization of violence against
Masculinity is a cultural standard and guise that boys and men often follow to fit into the social expectations and hide their vulnerability. Media is one of the most powerful influences on the way boys perceive and learn the social norms connected with manhood. Boys/men adopt the “tough guise” as a persona to portray themselves as powerful, tough, strong and in control because our society has linked masculinity with these characteristics. From a young age, boys learn about what it means to be a “real man” and the consequences that come with not qualifying as one. The media and pop culture often depict violence as a masculine cultural norm and has led to a growing increase in violence, especially across racial and class lines like African Americans
The representation of gender in mass communications has been a hugely debated topic for years and will continue to be one for many more years to come. The media plays a big role in how they want to portray a gender to the public. They create certain stereotypes through the role of a gender in order to attract a large audience and interest to sell a product, brand or image. Media is so important in today’s society, people spend hours and hours each day watching TV, browsing the Internet and reading magazines. There are so many images of men and women in the media today that it certainly has an impact on the viewer’s thoughts and sense of identity.