Conclusions

Over the years, many researchers have attempted to explain men's behavior, thinking and lifestyle choices. By uncovering stereotypes and influences, it may be possible to understand, and thus change, the American definition of masculinity and what makes a "real man."  By identifying and changing these masculine factors that men rely on to define themselves, it will undoubtedly reduce violence against women, violence against other men and hate crimes against men of color.

Men and Violence

Not only are men stereotyped as competitive, aggressive and violent (usually sexually) against women, men are stereotyped as violent against EVERYONE. They are often portrayed as gun-loving, bomb-dropping, fist-throwing, killing machines. As media promotes this stereotype, men may believe that their masculinity is defined by how well they fight or how violent they are. Below are some examples I found in the Ann Arbor area of violence that is directed at men. These images are not only sexist and racist but they send the message that violent men are tough men.

 This is a boxing game at a local arcade - the goal is to fight your way up so you go from the weakest man ("Anemic") to the strongest fighting machine ("Boxer" - even stronger than "Superman"). With "Killer" as a desirable level for players to reach says a great deal about violence defining a strong man.

  These are magazines from a local bookstore - even video games promote male violence.

This is another arcade game - not only are the men depicted as muscular and violent but they look downright vicious. 

Directions for how to play the games - and how to shoot a gun. Men, not women, are depicted in the illustrated directions. 

Not an unusual sight to see in an arcade - life-size guns. 

The image above is very "Rambo" - one of the most violent films ever produced. 

And of course, there are minority stereotypes. The Asian man is depicted as a violent karate master and the black man is shown as an elite, violent boxer.

Jean Kilbourne - Women in Advertising

Jean Kilbourne is an author, a feminist and a filmmaker. My girlfriend passed along this video (there are actually 5 parts to the speech) where Jean discusses women in advertising. While much of the video is disturbing and frustrating, Jean is quite humorous and has a very unique way of approaching the subject of exploitation of women as a product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjt77lBNjwM&feature=related
(The other 4 segments can also be found on YouTube when visiting the link above.)

Using Women as Objects

It is no surprise that many times, women are used as objects (often sexual) in commercials, advertisements, songs, and other forms of media that are directed at men. Women are represented in a variety of ways to gain male attention - overly sexual, animalistic, dazed/confused, unintelligent and vulnerable, just to name a few. Advertisements often trivialize sex, dehumanize women (although it is sometimes done to males), devalue women as people and use violence to sell products.

 

These books, while sold in a sex store, trivialize women for the intention of gaining male attention. These women are shown as WANTING sex, as vulnerable, not to mention, fitting the female beauty standards. These books also imply a few things about men: 1) That men need guide books because they do not know how to make (good) love to their partners 2) Men (particularly the 'Modern Man') have heterosexual partners 3) What women want in a sex partner can be summed up in a book - all men have to do is read and they're know the secrets and 4) That men are sex machines and that women, in turn, will make men happy just via sex... not intimacy, not relationships. These books say that men have a short order that can easily be filled in a matter of minutes. No pun intended. 

These pictures I wanted to include to show that men can be sexually trivialized as well. Although, these men are shown as strong, delightful, "man of the year" or "tall, dark & handsome." While men can be trivialized in advertisements too, it is never to the same dehumanizing extent as women are. 

The pictures below were taken from internet searches of popular clothing companies (known for their sexual trivialization of women and depictions of violence - particularly against women - in the form of rough sex.)

 The woman is pinned to the ground with the man on top of her, keeping her from escaping.

 The man has the woman thrown to his side, like a rag doll - lifeless.

 This image implies women are promiscuous and/or easily taken advantage of. 

 This ad seems to be for an orgy instead of underwear, where the women are outnumbered the men. Coincidence? Doubt it.

 This woman is dehumanized to be a mere object. The focus is on her breast that is covered by the man's grasp. With her eyes closed and her left arm covering her far breast, there is a sense that she is being touched against her will. 

 I found this picture particularly interesting as it supports the stereotype that black men like to be sexual with white women. This photo insinuates that the man is not only a player but that he is domineering the white woman. 

And there's more:

 Sex sells perfume. 

 The picture above insinuates that women will do anything (sexual)  for fun - including make out, while topless, with two topless, muscular men. What annoys me most about this photo is the look on the guy's face on the right. He seems all too amused with the situation and taking advantage of the girl.

This photo is, in one word, DISTURBING. Not only does it use a woman's body to sell a product (which I have yet to figure out), it does not even show the woman's head or face. The woman is completely dehumanized to a mere sex object used by the man for sexual purposes.  

 This picture, pictured above, attempts to use women and skin to sell ...jeans? As a photographer, I admire this picture's artistic qualities greatly. As a woman, I find it disheartening. The man has the woman pushed against the wall - a way of visually demonstrating power and dominance.

The picture on the right is one that is of great annoyance to me as well. In three words it can be summarized as such: Every man's dream. As a woman in a same-sex relationship, I have lost count of how many times straight men have joked or flat out asked me to have a three-way with them and my girlfriend. The look on this man's face is all too familiar as it is the same look I have received from some straight men when they realize/find out that I am gay.  It's especially obnoxious and I find it degrading that this clothing company would use these models to pretend to fulfill every (straight) man's fantasy of sleeping with two women at once. Not only does it objectify women sexually, it exploits masculinity.

As a member of a campus organization that promotes sexual assault awareness and advocates for prevention and education, this picture is extremely harmful and hurtful. The woman is sandwiched between two strong men as they take advantage of her. The interaction between the woman and the man on the right is one of sexual nature while the man on the left is depicted as violent and almost brutal, as he pulls the woman's hair and head backwards. This picture trivializes the epidemic of violence against women in order to sell..... what? 

And below are some examples of how men are sexually objectified in the media and in advertisements. As I stated before, objectification is not something that only happens to females, unfortunately. Men experience it as well. While the messages are very different when using men as sexual objects compared to women to sell a product, the messages of sex through the use of naked bodies is still dehumanizing. 

 A&F using the naked torso's of men to sell cologne. (Above)


A group of half-naked men are shown as masculine, dominant, strong, fearless, aggressive, and adventurous. Not only does this send messages to men about having a toned physique, it tells men that they need to possess all of these character attributes to be attractive or have friends. This picture looks more like something from a college fraternity hazing (often violent) instead of a clothing magazine.
Lastly, below is a picture of a half-naked man's ....crotch. Above all else, this picture is solely about depicting sex to sell jeans. This is an advertisement that covers the side of a building, with the door being right under the man's penis. Insinuations could be: The bigger the picture, the bigger the man's penis looks - buy these jeans and you too can have a huge dick! OR perhaps the photographers and the advertisers liked how the jeans fit over a half-erect penis. The bulge is noticeably the eye-catcher of the picture and is yet another example of how mens' bodies are used, dehumanized (we don't even see this man's head), and exploited for sexual purposes in order to sell a product.

Masculinity and Racial Minority Stereotypes

As with any culture, there are men who make up various minority groups. These groups often have negative stereotypes - particularly involving masculinity. Common stereotypes of minority men include the following:

Asian Men
-Hypersexual or asexual
-Unattractive
-Good at martial arts
-Fighters
-Skinny
-Businessmen or work in women's professions (nail salons, dry cleaners, etc.)
-Incapable of parenting
-Delicate

Hispanic
-Physically weak
-Greasy and dirty
-Hypersexual ('Latin lover', large families, etc.)
-Gangsters (tattoos, low riders, etc.)
-Live in the ghetto
-Only perform manual labor
-Illegal

Black
-Lazy
-Like being with white women
-Large sex organs
-Good athletes
-Good dancers
-Hypersexual
-Had jail time
-5 D's (dumb, deviant, deprived, dangers and disturbed)

Throughout this project I read numerous articles about male stereotypes among the minorities. Everything from Japanese men who were captured in America during the World War being made to perform housework and sex acts as women did, to hip hop stereotypes of men in India. Because culture is constantly evolving, stereotypes and standards for men are evolving as well. America has its current standard for men to uphold if they wish to be viewed as masculine. What is prevalent in the United States my differ dramatically from the standard in China, Australia or Chile. Understanding masculine stereotypes helps to reconstruct a healthy masculine norm for men of today.

The pictures shown above were taken from a blog that explores racism and social justice: 

http://dante-andthelobster.blogspot.com/2010/11/racism-bad-gender-essentialism-good.html

Machismo in Everyday Life

American media is FULL of machismo images directed toward men. Magazine covers explode with pictures of greasy, spray-tanned men flexing their biceps and ripped abs for the camera. Television commercials try to sell razors by showing a toned man running barefoot through a jungle, performing a few pushups and successfully defeating the (unseen) chasing enemy with a clean shaven face. News stories constantly report of athletes using anabolic steroids. Even advertisements on the internet show a macho man mowing the law or barbecuing. Men see these images every day, multiple times a day. What was once the definition of a superhero now looks like the definition of a skinny class nerd. Below are images I collected around the Ann Arbor area. I view them as the media's attempt to promote machismo in everyday life. The pictures demonstrate the physical definition of masculinity and what it means to be a "real man."

These pictures seem to be the epitomy of masculinity - pinning the "macho" on the MAN. I suppose penis size determines whether or not a man is "macho". Also notice the muscules.

Real men don't get the flu. 

Men's interest.... do they even have a choice?

Boost your testosterone - implying that a lack of testosterone will make you less of a man. Physiologically, this has merit. Women do not have testosterone which makes them women, instead of men. But boosting testosterone does not have the machismo effects this ad implies it does. Increasing testosterone does not also increase masculinity. But this ad implies masculinity can be achieved through high levels of testosterone. In addition, I am sure it is no coincidence that the ad for boosting testosterone (and thus boosting "masculinity") is placed over the man's crotch area.

Male Bonding Through Sexist Jokes

Peter Lyman performed a study where he interviewed members of a college fraternity in attempts to understand how the brothers used jokes as a form of bonding with each other. Lyman describes joking as a special kind of social relationship that allows for social deviance and excuses what would otherwise be inappropriate social behavior between two people. The men in his study used (mostly) sexist jokes to connect with one another in a non-homosexual emotional way. Many "your mamma" jokes or slandering another brother's girlfriend were used as mechanisms of defending masculinity and negotiating aggressive tensions between the two brothers. Most, if not all of the jokes Lyman observed during his study, were ones of crude sexual content and almost always of sexist nature. Men used sexist jokes at women's expense in order to establish masculinity to themselves and their brothers, to establish a non-homosexual yet emotional connection with their brothers and as a way to bond with each other over an undisputed topic. Lyman says, "The jokes were also targeted at homosexuality, to draw an emotional line between the homosocial male bond and the homosexual relationship" (1987).

Sexist jokes, besides being hurtful and degrading, are often men's ways of objectifying women. (Note: Women make sexist jokes, too. But for the purposes of this blog, I am treating sexist jokes as demeaning jokes said by men at the expense of women.) Sexist jokes not only make women out to be sexual vessels that are used to satisfy a man's lust for passion, but they devalue sex itself. These jokes remove a woman's right to enjoy intimacy and instead, replace it with aggressive and often violent sexual crudeness. While I am unsure of how males in foreign countries bond with one another (in a non-homo way), males in America bond by devaluing women in an effort to promote their own masculinity.


Reference: Lyman, P. (1987). The fraternal bond as a joking relationship: a case study of the role of sexist jokes in male group bonding. 

"You're a Fag" - Using Anti-Gay Language to Promote Masculinity

Many men, particularly those who are emotionally insecure, fear being seen as or with someone who is homosexual. Homosexuality in general, in America, is a topic that is apprehended. Men use homosexual epithets to control each other's actions, behaviors and even thoughts. If a man (i.e.: college frat boy) is perceived as being too emotional, too needy or too feminine, he is often called a 'fag' - even if he is a known heterosexual. The fear alone of being perceived as a fag is something that is enough of a reminder to change one's behavior and act more masculine. 

The fag epithet is exceptionally popular with middle and high school boys. (You can hear college-aged males use it too, although not as often in my experience.) A boy calling his friend a fag when his friend starts to act too much like a girl not only reminds him to be masculine but it serves as a tool of heterosexual empowerment in both the name-caller and the 'fag'. Being called a 'girl' is bad enough as a school boy (or so I've read) - but it's easily shrugged off as a stupid remark. But being called a fag is as terrifying (as rumors may spread) as it is humiliating - and it seems to be a difficult reputation to prove otherwise. Once associated as someone who acts like a fag, the school boy will need to prove his masculinity to himself and his peers in order to regain control over the social situation. 

This leads my masculinity discussion to one about male bonding and male joking.....

What Defines a "Man" and Advertisers' Obsessions With Penis

For a long time, researchers and social psychologists interested in gender have studied characteristics that define masculinity. Common themes (perhaps stereotypes) tend to be the following:

Men are....

-Strong

-Protective

-Aggressive 

-Competitive

-Interested in (sexy) women

-Good at sports that require physical strength

-Emotionally detached 

-Incapable of raising children without a wife

-Obsessed with sex

-Decisive 

-Professionally successful 

-Angry

-In charge

Men have....

-Big muscles (especially arms)

-Little body hair

-Big sex organs

-Tight butts

-The ability to schmooze anyone into anything

-The inability to think independently of their sex organs

-No idea how to clean up after themselves

-Good times all the time

-Control over everything (women, sex, work, life...)

Using these stereotypes, I explored Ann Arbor for photographic examples of "masculinity." My conclusion: Having a phallic organ apparently defines masculinity. Without the male sex organ, a man would not exist. Without exploring how women are used as sexual objects (that will come later), these pictures demonstrate advertiser's obsession with penises. 

No Christmas tree is complete without the pecker ornament. 

Either men are too stupid to know which hole constitutes anal sex and therefore need a "guide" or it's another book with a pretty boy on the cover. (Note: For the women's book, I guess the woman's buttocks were more attractive than her face. I found it interesting that the men's book sported a cover with a hunky man on it while the women's book sports a couple of butt cheeks. Women as objects coming in future posts.)

Penis-shaped candy is something that will continue to confuse me. I'm unsure as to whether or not it's supposed to be funny or gross.... or maybe the grossness of it makes it funny...? Using humor (especially sexual humor) is a way men demonstrate their masculinity and keep other men "in line."

And for the adults who want to feel like a kid again (while still retaining their masculinity), it's Willybandz! If a dude is going to wear a bracelet, it better be manly. And if a woman is going to wear a bracelet, it better be ..... a penis...?

This obsession is one I sincerely do not understand: Rainbow colored shooters in the form of male sex organs. I am confused as to who this product is marketed to. The color scheme has underlying suggestions of homosexuality - something NOT masculine, by theoretical standards - yet, the fact that the shooters are penises, suggests yet another use for a penis-shaped apparatus. 

--

Jackson Katz, an anti-sexist activist, did a really great film entitled "Touch Guise." The film explores what it means to be a man and how masculinity is portrayed to young men. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI

Gender Schema Theory and Gender Role Stress

Sandra Bem was well known for her research of sex roles. Her theory is that a boy interprets information from his surrounding/external world, encodes and organizes this information based on the his culture's definition of "masculinity." His behavior, in turn, is a reaction to this processing of cultural information - act as a man does and do not act like a woman does. In addition to learning this gender schema early in life, Bem states that some children and adults are more committed to their gender performance than others. For example, a football player is thus seen as more "committed" to his masculinity than a male dance instructor or a male elementary school teacher.

Joseph Pleck, another researcher known for his work of gender roles, developed the Gender Role Strain theory. He believes that gender roles in a society are a way guiding children through development so they become adults that socially match their biological sex. This theory explains that gender roles are social expectations for men, that men who do not conform to a masculine identity will be socially condemned, and that the consequences for violating gender norms are worse for men (as compared to women).

Using these theories aided my understanding of gender roles. Pictured above is Mikhail Baryshnikov - considered the best male ballet dancer of all time. To the right, is professional football player (and Michigan alumnus), Lamarr Woodley. Both men are very good at what they do. Both men are physically strong and, here's the kicker, both men are heterosexual. Yet, if the average person were to look at these pictures, one may assume the dancer is weak, feminine and clearly deviating from social norms as "real men" do not wear unitards or dance. The average person may also assume the football player loves all sports, loves drinking beer and loves women - because "real men" love sports, beer and women. While I have never met either athlete (yes, dancing is a sport) so I cannot vouch for their liking of beer or spandex, according to Bem's and Pleck's theories, the football player was probably rewarded throughout life for his masculine choices in sports and tattoos while the dancer may have been socially condemned for participating in what is normally viewed as something feminine (read: dancing). Baryshnikov may have grown up where his schoolmates told him to play sports instead of dance, trying to keep his masculinity in check. Woodley may have grown up being adored by his classmates for being so good at football. Who knows?

The point is that Baryshnikov appears less committed to his masculinity because he's a dancer (something that's regarded as feminine) while Woodley appears fully committed to his masculinity because he's a sports start. Baryshnikov violates social norms while Woodley embraces them.












Reference: Eisler, R.M. The relationship between masculine gender role stress and men's health risk: the validation of a construct. 

Deconstructing Gender: Essentialism vs. Social Constructionism

  

An important starting point in my studies of masculinity began with the deconstruction of gender - differentiating between essentialism and social constructionism as they relate to masculinity. In so many words, I have come up with a comparison between the two schools of thought. See below. 

Theory

Essentialism

-Life is full of underlying true essences, or realities

-Phenomena are natural, inevitable, and biologically determined

-Usually associated with Darwin and evolutionary theory

-Gender is a trait of the individual

Social Constructionism 

-Reality is socially constructed and experiences are socially influenced

-Language is emphasized as the major means by which we interpret our experiences

-Habitualization makes behaviors of others predictable 

-Gender is a performance of a social role

--

How it Applies

A. Essentialism (which is rooted in heterosexuality):

I. Sexual selection = Usually involves two processes. 1) members of one gender compete (males) with others (males) for mating access to members of opposite gender (females) and 2) members of one gender (females) have preferential choice by members of the opposite gender (males)

II. Attraction = Process of strategy and elimination designed to maximize reproductive success

Men prefer fertile (young) mates as youth signifies reproductive value

Men prefer mates who are physically attractive

Physical attractiveness is assessed via eyes, hair and skin

Unattractive mates are most likely assumed to be infertile

B. Social Constructionism

I. Sexual selection = created by culture and varies by culture; people learn definitions of sexual behavior by other members of their society and sex is therefore, socially constructed but serves reproductive needs

II. Attraction = The result of cultural influences telling people what is attractive and what is unattractive; there is no universal standard for "attractive" and what is attractive to mates will vary based on culture

What it Means

There are a variety of reasons why men (and women) behave the way they do. There are a plethora of ways to influence what men (and women) believe about attraction both of themselves and of their potential mates. I will try to apply these theories when I explore masculinity in advertising and the use of women as objects in advertising to to influence men. 

Reference: DeLamater J.D. and Hyde, J.S. (1998) Essentialism vs. social constructionism in the study of human sexuality. The Journal of Sex Research (35):1. 10-18.