Masculinity and Advertising

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Masculinity and Advertising

Picture this: There are three beach chairs on a beach and occupying each seat is a male college student. One guy has no shirt on and is wearing a hat. With a smile on his face, he looks to his right. The two guys sitting to his left are each reading a magazine. All three men seem to be enjoying the hot weather and the one looking to his right is enjoying a beer. Coming up on his right are three beautiful girls in bikinis. One girl is blonde, very well developed, and as she walks by you can see her breasts move back and forth with every step she takes. She smiles as she walks by, and by the expression on the guy's face he seems to be enjoying what he is seeing. Her two friends, who are brunettes, also have hourglass figures and smile at him as they walk by. The guy with the hat stares at them with a big smile. This guy then turns to his left and tells his friend, "It's your turn." His friend takes the beer that is offered to him, bangs it on the arm stand of the beach chair, and with this the girls rewind back to their starting positions. The music in the background plays again and the guy in the middle gets to enjoy the upcoming view. If you have not recognized this scene, it is a Miller Lite commercial that is typical of the ones shown during televised sporting events.

In this paper I will analyze this commercial as well as others to reveal what the world of advertising on the Internet and on the tube set is all about. In a way, the advertising companies are prescribing certain roles of masculinity to men. These advertisers are suggesting that the men that are portrayed in their commercials or advertisement are the way men are or ought to be. I will explain why men should be aware of the issue...

... middle of paper ...

...e use of half naked women walking around or the use of any alcohol. You can make it for T.V. or for a picture on a Web site. If you insist on making it a beer commercial you can have a dolphin swim up to the shore balancing a can of beer on its nose.

I am not trying to persuade men to not watch the commercials or not go to the porn section, or go to the sports section of the web, but instead to view them in a different perspective. Men are portrayed as: having an identity crisis, unable to communicate with the opposite sex, and lastly a low level of language apprehension. Maybe even almost as cave man, we slam our beer down and the women go back to where they started. I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy looking at all types of women, whether they are clothed or half naked, but when I do my mouth is closed and when I open it, it's to carry on a conversation.

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