' How Do Media Images Of Men Affect Our Lives

Crying is something that everyone here does; it is a normal part of everybody’s life. However, many cultures believed that when a male cries, his tears were a sign of manliness. In the article “How boys become a men” Jon Katz gives some examples to explain why many man pressured to be tough, to act strong, and they would not allow to show their emotions, pain and fear. This article focuses on the lesson that boys learn from their young ages which effects their lives.

Agliata, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S., (2004). The Impact of Media Exposure on Males’ Body Image.

Ingrained thoroughly into society is the notion of a binary gender system. In this system, men are supposed to inhabit the ideals of masculinity such as strength, sexual prowess, and monetary security, while women do the same for femininity, which includes being gentle, submissive, and emotional. Such a system maintains a status quo that every individual is pressured into following. As deep-rooted in all societal structures and institutions as this is, there are means of undoing gender. One such way is through embracing that gender, rather than being static, can be subject to change throughout a person’s life. Gender fluidity can be expressed in sexual, physical, and/or emotional ways, and it works to undo normative notions of gender in the binary system by allowing people the chance to truly be themselves.

“I not only noticed that it was not a boy's face but a man's; I also felt or saw that it was not entirely the face of a man either, but had something feminine about it, too. Yet the face struck me at the moment as neither masculine nor childlike, neither old nor young. But somehow a thousand years old.” (Hesse 52). The road to discovering one's self is often fraught with hardships and tears, especially if one's self does not fit the norm of the world they are living in. It has taken a long time and will continue to do so, but slowly people are starting to understand that the world is not all black and white and neither is gender. Stereotypes associated with gender have plagued people for centuries and adhering

Women are insecure. They constantly diet and scrutinize their bodies. They fall victims to the anorexically thin models appearing in the media. Why do men have it so easy? For years these questions are what women asked themselves. In a world where appearance is everything, women have been the main source of all the hype concerning the image and body. Advertisements have been criticized for years about putting the pressures of the “perfect” body into the heads of millions of women. Up until a few years ago, it was believed that only women had the eyes of society on them. Now the scales are balancing. More men are beginning to feel pressured, by the same society, to

Has the Media’s Portrayal of Women Negatively Affected the Body Image of The Wykeham Collegiate Senior School Girls?

Over time, the perfect body image has changed in many ways. This is very evident in the female sex, especially through media. “Americans spend about 68 hours per week exposed to various forms of media” (US Census Bureau 2009). This media exposure through outlets such as t.v., radio, music videos, movies, and the internet, all influence the way people think about gender. The media influence is very evident in the way people view women and think about women in different cultures. Media influence on women creates negative viewpoints with how women view themselves and even how men view themselves, in turn making it hard to break certain beliefs and stereotypes instilled on society.

Masculinity has changed and evolved since the beginning of human creation. Males have had to adhere to the social norms of their time to survive without undue persecution. In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a shift in the way men could attain manhood. It was no longer easy for a man to enter into manhood with straightforward expectations and rituals. The state of manhood became difficult to obtain because of its precarious nature. During the same period, the industrial revolution was in full bloom giving birth to mass information outlets like newspapers, magazines, and advertisement: media. This set a prevailing state where boys and men alike could gain material on how to become or be men

As a boy grows into a man he faces the ever-raising mountain of masculinity. In regards to the occurrence, he finally reaches maturity he has no choice but in order to fight to retain his measly sense of manhood. He is not allowed to act feminine or else he’s not man enough, he can’t show his emotions, he has to hide that he can do anything a woman can do sans give birth. Boys grow up being told they are not allowed to cry and that they are supposed to be tough, that they are not able to be like girls and in the event that they are then they are not real boys. This concept is known as toxic masculinity, some people are not aware that men are being forced to suppress their emotions or even that toxic masculinity should be a topic that is

Eating disorders are not the only thing males also suffer from. Expectations from the media are also a strong push into worries about body image. Despite popular belief, guys struggle with images broadcasted by the media as much as girls do. Andrew Shrout, a junior at U.C. Berkeley feels the weight that is put on him to “be a man” and pretend like nothing is wrong. “Men are pressured to have as little fat as possible--but you’ve got to pretend like you don’t watch what you eat” (Alpert 1). Also, men are expected to “up their game” as women get more power financially as well as keep their bodies well maintained. Clinical instructor at the Harvard Medical school psychiatry department Roberto Olivardia states that men and young boys deal with the same images broadcasted out as women and young girls do. “Boys are growing up now with the billboard of the guy with perfect pecs and biceps” (Alpert 2). Media pushes the perfect way to look at men in commercials, magazines, male models, and even movies. Girls often complain about the unfair portrayal of women in comic books and video games with enormous boobs and tiny waists, but guys deal

Men in out society are referred to as tough, emotionless, strong and dependable. Often a man that cries is perceived as soft and weak; therefore we may be led to believe that men do not have a problem. However, this statement is incorrect. Men who are “tough” and do not cry as a response to grief are actually the men we should be most worried about because they tend to bottle up their emotions. Masculine patterns of coping with grief are different but not less effective than the more conventional or feminine ways of dealing with a loss (Doka, K. J., & Martin, T. L., 2010). The use of the word masculine response to grief is not always the most proper term. Some women respond in the same way as men when responding to grief and men sometimes responds

When boys are young they are told to toughen up or to stop acting like a girl when they are sad or want to cry. Michael Kimmel, author of “Bros Before Hos”: The Guy Code, discusses how there is a code guys are supposed to follow and how being taught natural behaviors, such as crying or talking about emotions, are wrong at a young age negatively impacts boys for their whole life. Emily Smith, the author of Life on the Island, talks about how a decrease in places that have a feeling of community increases the suicide rate among men. Everyone tells boys to act a certain way their father, coach, even people they don’t know, but this is not the only place they hear these negative statements. Television and magazine advertisements often depict men in an unrealistic way that feels unachievable and because of this young boys who view these ads feel negatively about themselves and because of the guy code they can’t share their feelings and emotions which can lead to depression or even suicide.

Men have a resistance to crying. Many men do not cry because of their gender role as being masculine. Although science insist that crying is natural, culture sends a message that men who are strong and masculine do not cry (Santiago-Menendez and Campbell, 2013). Growing up many of my guy friends always told me that crying was for sissies, because that is what they were told by their parents or family. Sissies is known to be a name that someone gives to a boy who showed his emotions by crying or having a female emotional trait. This is one reason why many men resists the urge to cry. But it is viewed as being more justified if a man who cries, cries uncontrollable or severe. According to Mahal Santiago-Menendez and Anne Campbell (2013), most

While young men in the media are portrayed as having the characteristics described above, they are discouraged to portray other physical characteristics. However, Lyness states that, “Guys put enough pressure on themselves, but what about the pressure society puts on them to be perfect? It used to be that only girls felt the pressure of picture-perfect images, but these days the media emphasis on men's looks creates a sense of pressure for guys, too. And sometimes that "as-advertised" body is just not attainable" (par 5). Furthermore, it could give a younger male viewer a false sense on what is considering being a normal self-mental image. Another example how the media creates this false image in younger males minds is by the programs that air over the networks helping create this false image in younger male generation. Comparably, in Michael Abernethy article about Male Bashing on TV, he describes how this bashing is affecting men of all ages, "The jokes have become standard fare," he says. Abernethy is describing how younger men are the butt of all jokes and that how by, "Looking at a handful of sitcoms makes the situation seem relatively insignificant, but when those sitcoms are combined with dozens of negative ads, which repeat frequently, then a poor image of men is created in the minds of viewers" (Abernethy, 14). With this, Abernethy is pointing out how the media is influencing

Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. Not only do we strive for human approval and companionship, we also thrive on social media. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience muscle dissatisfaction, weight disparities, and anger and/or anxiety toward showing their body in public. This paper will address these facets of the media’s effect on male body image as well as presenting what has been done to address this quietly debilitating issue.