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. 

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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