Negative Masculinity in the Media

Richard Pollay, a professor of advertising at the Sauder School of Business, speaks in depth about the issues of sexism in advertisements. Even with the strides women have made, there is still much to do. The overload of media in our everyday lives is killing the minds of the next generation. The simplistic and sexist ways women are portrayed in advertisements are not only inaccurate but detrimental to the education of the youth (Pollay). It is as simple as monkey see monkey do. Youth learn from what they see. Young girls are receiving images about how they should look and young boys are getting the crucial ideas about how women should be treated. “Simplistic sexist stereotypes are felt to affect both adult and children’s perceptions, hence limiting aspirations, achievement, self-esteem, and equity in compensation (Pollay).” The girl that dreams about being a CEO may feel that being “pretty” is better than achieving her dreams. After all, what girl would care more about having leadership role than a spouse? What girl would want to drink a “manly” drink as opposed to a “girly” one?

In a recent Buzzfeed article, Krystie Lee Yandoli created a photo series to show how the media causes damage on how women see themselves. These women came together in their underwear and drew lines on themselves, “similar to what plastic surgeons would do”, as quoted from the article. They go on to say that due to the media we have internalized misogynistic thoughts and that it is a problem that needs to be stopped.

These women have marked up every inch of their body, and it is clear that the lines don’t come even close to matching their natural body type. However, there is one other thing that can be pointed out here. Even these ladies, who are doing a photo shoot to show how media can mess up the perception of a women’s body, are being air-brushed in these photos. The focus may have been on the plastic surgeon lines, but the stretch marks, the skin flaws, everything else has been airbrushed away. Even when women try and stand up for themselves and show how the media is doing wrong-they continue to feel the need to fix parts of themselves.

With: Hoover, Stewart M., and Curtis D. Coats. "The Media And Male Identities: Audience Research In Media, Religion, And Masculinities." Journal Of Communication 61.5 (2011): 877-895. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.

This youtube video has construction workers calling out compliments to women on the street. The Snickers line “You’re not you when you’re not hungry” shows how men treat women badly on the daily. The advertising is appealing to the idea of masculinity. “Broad literatures have addressed [masculinity’s] form, nature, and constitution. These tend to agree that in common discourse, masculinity is still understood in ‘‘traditional’’ terms, though in a range of forms, from ‘‘hypermasculine’’ to ‘‘softer’’ valences,” (880).

In this advertisement, I would argue the men are not being masculine by being nice to the women. The Snickers line is encouraging men to treat women badly, constituting the hypermasculinity the article argues.

“Noting Craig’s (1993) claim that ‘‘softer’’ and ‘‘reconstructed’’ male characters have begun to appear, Macnamara problematizes this change, arguing that such newer, more nontraditional male roles exist in relation to continuing traditionalism in role portrayals in such places as sports and situation comedies,” (881). 

By seeing this commercial, I can proposed that society doesn’t want masculinity to seem weak. Therefore, men must be dominating in the media. We expect to see construction workers harass women, but when they compliment them, that ruins our image of masculinity.

With: JR. "Gender Roles and the Media." Dototot. N.p., 02 Apr. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

The media uses what the author of the article likes to call the “Smurfette” effect: one female surrounded by many males. In the example of the Snickers commercial, one woman comes by at a time while a group of men yell compliments. The females in the media “are to take a back seat in comparison to the males.” With the commercial, we can see this isn't always the best course of action. It makes the men seem hypermasculine.

Sexism is rampant in advertising. Objectifying women in order to sell products is a long-standing tradition that America ( and arguably all industrialized nations) has never really grown out of.

All of the women here have had their agency removed. The woman in the Kenwood Chef ad is a simple stereotype. She is a homemaker, always smilling and clinging to her husband. “That’s what wives are for!” The women in the Tipalet and American Apparel ads are being used as sexual objects. They have no agency over their own sexuality. The woman in the American Apparel ad even appears to be uncomfortable and scared. The woman in the organ donor PSA (mean to bring awareness and not to sell a product) is even used as a sexual object, implying that a man’s goal is to have sex with a woman. In the ad with the woman as a rug, she is literally being stepped on and put in her place by a man.

Media does not exist in a vacuum. Everyone who sees these ads understands and accepts this as the norm. Women are not people. They are objects.