Gender in the Mass Media- Projecting Masculinity

This research looks at the association of masculinity with violence, racism, power and the objectification of women, which has been around since early civilization. This study also shows how these concepts are still evident today in the media. Masculinity in the media is portrayed as muscular, violent, angry, aggressive, dominant, and warrior like. The rhetoric in media, as it relates to masculinity, has influenced the amount of violence in the world.

Hatfield states, “Fictional television can be seen either as an influence on, or reflection of, culture—the shared norms, values, and beliefs held by a society. Yet many groups exist within a society and multiple value systems may be at play” (p.530). On television and in movies there are very few forms of masculinity shown. The majority of male masculinity usually ranges from gun toting hard asses, to a playboy, to the effeminate man that is often there for comic relief. Men in society do not always fit into these three categories. Masculinity is a much more complex and complicated identity to develop. There are shows like 24 where the main character, Jack Bauer, is a governmental agent going around the world in twenty-four hours to stop terrorism. He is unattached emotionally and highly dangerous. This does not represent a real form of masculinity that we have in today’s culture. There are men that probably do fit into the same category as the fictional character, but they are very unlike the average males in society today. A second common type of masculinity shown on television is the playboy style masculinity: men that have multiple sexual partners and seem to have the ultimate bachelor lifestyle with no worries or concerns. According to Ward, Merriwether, and Caruthers “ because men do not live in isolation, their beliefs about masculinity are likely to influence not only

The mass media has become a big part of our society and its counterparts. In a time span of 50 years this medium has influenced society to an extent where it has created wonders. This immaculate tool can control almost every action we perform, from speaking to the actions that every human being performs in society. The mass media has brought upon a new era of idea's and changes in the world we live in. As we analysis media in depth we will find many aspects of media which overlap and some of the smallest factors and aspects of media, which create the biggest impact on society.

Dave Barry, a humorous author writes “Guys vs Men” to try to enlighten the term “man”. He focuses on certain aspects that separate guys and men to separate stereotypical characteristics. Barry entertains readers as he uses funny comparisons, analogies, and entertaining punch lines to support his what he thinks the distinct differences between guys and men really are. Barry argues the idea that “man”, is a term that comes with responsibility and unwritten expectations for guys. The intent is to stress that there is another way to look at males, perhaps not characterize as characteristically masculine, but just as a “guy”.

Newsom clearly explains how the media portrays gender bias and stereotypes in TV, films, and advertisements through the use of interviews from influential people. Since many influential people are interviewed

Our society seems to have a lot of very stereotypical misconceptions about boys and girls and the role they are expected to play. Media has a pivotal role to play in this front concerning the idea of defining and framing gender. Media consumers transform the messages in that and make demeanors with

Media has the ability to reinforce any stereotypical image with most viewers unaware that they are being unconsciously exposed to this material (Kenschaft et al. 2015,

“Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.”

culture and ideals of “masculinity”. In this documentary, Katz argues, Masculinity is created; it doesn’t just exist– as opposed to one’s biological sex. He also argues that media is the primary feeder and that it also plays a crucial role in making and shaping the way manhood culture is and personal attitudes about manhood. After evaluating media images of manhood, it is clear to see that the media contributes to the widespread equation of masculinity with pathological control and violence toward our people. After examining the constructed ideals of manhood, exactly how, why and in whose interests they are constructed differently in, it denaturalizes and diminishes the potential of these imagined ideals of men to shape our perceptions of our world, each other and ourselves.

What images come up when you think a man? Many people would think short hair, beard, and sixpack. Because these images of men have been, many men maintain short hair, trim beard, and do workout for having sixpack. Many People say, “Men have to be strong themselves to endure hardships that you face,” or “don’t cry. You have to always protect girls, and ladies are first,” to young boys. Recently, only men who follow the established masculine concept are regarded as real men with respects from other people in this society. However, a lot of men are suffering from being looking down by these misrepresented images of masculinity. They try to hide their real mind and emotion for showing that they are strong. “The Representation Project”, a nonprofit organization, effectively persuades the audience of their film, “The Mask You Live In,” which asserts that the America’s narrow definition of masculinity should be changed for a healthier generation of boys and young men through the use of well described visual images, face-to-face interviews of real struggling men, and

Male gender roles in society is very clearly seen in magazine covers, because they are images which will attract us to buy their product. Upon opening a cologne magazine, I found a picture that displayed a man, wearing all blue, in front of a dark navy background. His facial expression was broody, with not a tint of joyfulness in his eyes nor in the picture. Additionally, the other cologne ad has a “gentlemen” (as said in ad itself) drenched from the rain, as he was holding an umbrella for a woman. However, his expression was sealed with a smirk, as he tugged on his tuxedo. These advertisements give the buyers an idea on what our ideal of a how man should be. They should be strong, in both their outer appearance and their emotions. They seen

Gender stereotypes are everywhere. ‘Both masculinities and femininities come into existence at specific times and places and are always subject to change.’ (Connell, 1995: 185 cited in Wharton, 2012: 6). The term gender is a ‘doing’ word. It is a constant, active process. A role, is the expected behaviour which is associated with a status. Roles are performed according to social norms, shared rules that guide people’s behaviour in specific situations.’ (The sociology of gender). The media play a huge role, it is argued, in acculturating men and women into separate gender roles based on their sex. Implying the idea that gender is learned and not ‘human nature’ (Jaggar, 1983) (Ross, Karen 2011).

Stereotypes have become a prevalent issue in our media. They, without our knowledge, prevent us from moving forward as human. In this essay, I will discuss the effects of stereotypes in media on gender roles, religion, and race.

As a Communication major, I spend a lot of time studying the human communication process, which is the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between a receiver and sender. This communication process does not only apply to face-to-face interactions but also includes mass media, rhetorical, and technological communication. Through these various forms of communication, the sender not only expresses his/her message but also expresses power hierarchies about race, gender, and sexuality that are present in society. Mass media has a significant impact on socializing gender roles and perpetuating gender stereotypes, and to prove that, I am analyzing mass media messages, such as television shows, movies, and advertisements.

Media influence is the force by which ideas are injected into people’s lives shaping the very culture of society. This influence is masqueraded through hidden media message, resulting in a change in its audience which can be positive or negative, abrupt or gradual, short term or long term. Although mass media’s influential effect can reach a wide ranged audience as an agent of socialization the responsibility to contain what it releases has not been of importance. “The media’s socially significant obligations are formally ignored.” (A.S. Zapesotskii, 2011, p 9). Media messages can be exerted through many different outlets such as TV shows, music, movies, commercials, news, magazines, games which are all gravitated to entertain audiences ultimately offering personal gratification that can sometimes blur the lines between reality and