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How media can influence an individual identity
Social constructs of masculiniy
Social constructs of masculiniy
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“Often” encapsulates the masculine side of male R&B singers through various use of lyrics and imagery. The song opens with The Weeknd staring emotionless into the camera, a blank stare almost as if he is in his own world. Showing very little to no emotion is widely accepted as an extremely masculine trait. In one of Devors ' essays he says “men/who conscientiously avoid anything associated with femininity are seen as exuding masculinity”(Devor 139). This can be interpreted as expressing emotion is associated with being feminine, so by not showing emotion The Weeknd exudes masculinity. Further demonstrating his masculinity The Weeknds ' demeanor throughout the music video gives off an air of confidence almost arrogance. He is seen standing …show more content…
The video seems to take place in an apartment of some sort, overlooking a city skyline. The floor in the apartment is made of hardwood, and the furniture all looks brand new and well taken care of. The bright colors of the furniture also allude to wealth, one account suggests that “bright colored furniture specifically white gives off an air of cleanliness/Cleanliness is also a trait associated to wealth” (Micheal 's 15). All of the furniture in “Often” were specifically chosen to portray this sense of cleanliness, everything is in order, nothing is out of place. Moreover the clothing the women are seen wearing also advocate wealth. One woman is seen in a tight black dress with high heels, Her hair looks like it was done professionally with the desire to impress, she is also seen wearing make-up and a tight black dress. These items can be attributed to the wealth of the man, in this case The Weeknd, relaying back to my original point of how wealth can be used as a ploy for …show more content…
In this music video the use of his soft tone voice, and the choice of clothing. are used to the subtly fool women into believing they “love” the them. Where as their only true intention is to have sexual intercourse with them. In reality it 's just another woman used for satisfaction, in plain English a player. It 's awkward to think that a genre with singers who have some of the most soft tone voices can be so derogatory. It 's a contradiction for sure, but I think this contradiction isn 't even a contradiction to begin with, they uses feminine strategies to attract woman, which only further proves their masculinity. Why? The soft voice easily attracts the women into falling for them, and once they have them in the palm of their hands that 's when the player mentality comes out. An article done by Kristie A. Ford speaks on how “fake masculinity can be used to achieve real masculine behavior” (Ford 13). In other words the fake masculinity which is the soft voice and the choice of clothing, are used to achieve real masculine desires which is sex. So even though Devor says that men are viewed as masculine by looking aggressive, intimidating who carry a heavy voice, R&B singers use tactics which contradict that masculinity Devor speaks of in order to achieve something regarded as much more masculine, Sexual intercourse with multiple women. Adding to this One article
In 1996, the Wachowskis wrote and directed the noir crime thriller, Bound. In this film, the directors turned some of the archetypes of film noir on its head. Most notably, the role of women in film. Film theorist, Laura Mulvey, claims that the main role of women in film is to function as a source of pleasure, to be objectified, to be passive and at the command of male fantasy. This relationship of looking and being looked at causes each gender to have a particular presence within film; the male is active and the female is passive (Mulvey, 1975). However, in Bound, the character Violet, who is obviously objectified by the gaze of the male characters, does not hold a passive role within the film itself. Violet is a force that acts upon the narrative, manipulating events and scenes to her favor, along with actively controlling male gaze and using it to her advantage. Film theorist, Tania Modleski argues that there are passive and active roles within films that have connotations with “femininity” and “masculinity”, but these roles do not have to apply to the gender or outward appearance of characters that they align with. Modleski focuses more on the actions, not the outward appearances, of the film
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
“If I was gay / I would think hip-hop hates me / Have you read the YouTube comments lately? / ‘Man that's gay’ / Gets dropped on the daily / We've become so numb to what we're sayin.'” In these few lines, Macklemore brings up the fact that the genre of hip-hop has become one that is “anti-gay.” Hip-hop is a very common genre of music and it reaches a large population of people, mostly young people who will have an effect in the future of America. This is Macklemore’s target audience: the general public who can make a difference. Macklemore has surprised many by coming out with this popular, pro-gay, hip-hop song. It is rational to see that he took a stand against the issue as well as a risk in his career by supporting this idea. The listeners understand that those lines are very truthful; the hip-hop genre and most of society has become anti-gay. Almost all of his audience is familiar with YouTube and can understand where Macklemore is coming from in these lines. Most of his audience has seen comments on YouTube similar to “Man that’s gay.” Macklemore is bringing attention to the fact that his audience has become numb to harsh words like so and the general public has lost a sentimental feeling. Macklemore goes on to give an example of the desensitizing of society by giving the reference to “faggots”, “a word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores
He goes on to claim that as a man that is happily married he is the perfect person to degrade women in jest of popular culture. He believes that his song is a “feminist movement within itself” because it urges women to free themselves from their square, monogamous sex lives and have some fun (read: having wild sex).... ... middle of paper ... ...
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1955) is a play written in the post-war period by Tennessee Williams. It opened at the Morosco Theatre in New York on March 24, 1955, and it was directed by Elia Kazan, a friend of Williams. The play belongs to Minimalism – a movement based on taking a picture at a moment in time – which Tennessee Williams understood as the best way to represent realism. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” focuses on the members of an Southern American family, specially on the younger son of the family and his wife, Brick and Maggie. The relationship between these characters is not as close as Maggie would like it to be, and that is mainly caused by Brick's behaviour after the death of his friend, Skipper.
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
The video begins with 50 Cent driving into the gates of a mansion in his sports car. When he enters the doors he is greeted by numerous women scandalously dressed. He then climbs the stairs in the foyer as he makes eye contact with the women. He sees Olivia and makes eye contact with her, then begins to follow her.
At a young age, gender is taught to have associations with different visual cues. Femininity is fragile, wispy, small, weak, grey, negative, and needs to be taken care of like a child. Masculinity is strong, constant, large, with standing, bright, positive, and has the need to be worshiped. Wonder Woman is the strongest example of diverging from the feminine norm yet Superman still swoops in and “rescues” her because that is how females need to be dealt with. Like damsels in distress. In My Life with the Wave, publication in 1949 when gender roles were most prominent in society, the gender associations are clearly marked out. The wave is a female thus she is negative and the man is male thus he is positive. In The Missing Piece, produced in
Will sexism ever come to an end in today’s society? Are women going to let men step all over them? Jennifer Mclune discusses in her article, Hip-Hops Betrayal on Black Women, how black male singers objectify and degrade black females in the music industry. The purpose of this article is to show how black women are being deceived in the hip hop industry and being used as sex symbols instead of showing them for their true colors. Mclune (2015) voices her strong argument in attracting her audience by using ethos, tones, and the use of word choices.
Myers mentioned in his article that this generation of young discouraged, angry men feels abandoned with the today’s norms. Male movie stars and athletes have further influenced the masculine norms. In males perspective, liking a feminine color, doing feminine actions, listening to specified girl music is considered to be less manly. These have greatly affected the likes and dislikes of many men. The entertainment industry has created a big gap between what is masculine or feminine. This has caused a big separation and it's getting worse. Male are taught to be man of the house, strong, and powerful, but sometimes they’re belittled by society that they can’t do certain things and all the power is
Arthur Miller uses the three main male characters to show masculinity, whether it's through actions, or through words. Eddie, Marco and Rodolpho have different views on masculinity, and these change throughout the course of the play, as does their masculinity, which is questioned because of the views portrayed by the other characters in the play. There are other factors in the play that link to masculinity in different ways, such as; actions, speech, honour, betrayal, relationships, jealousy, aggression, loyalty, and many other factors. The play was set in Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York, where all the people living there knew about the illegal immigrants from Italy. However, to keep the honour that they have established they will not tell the authorities that they are there.
Among the 10 songs that were analyzed in 2016, some of the most common terms that were used to refer to women were “baby”, “broads”, “bitches”, “side bitch”, “lil mama”, “baby mama”, “wifey”, “hoe”, “girl”, “lady”, “woman” and “PYT” (Pretty Young Thing). Each individual song used either two or three of the listed terms when referring women. Furthermore, each song analyzed during this period contains lyrics that were directed towards women in positive ways (labeling them as “Queens”) and negative ways (viewing them as sexual objects). In addition, there were also song lyrics that referred to the way the male character perceives himself. One contradictory example is when artists make character comparisons with men who are stronger or more successful than them, while other artists dictate that their character is original and cannot be mirrored. Specifically, in his song “Panda”, Desiigner makes a hypermasculine reference towards himself in the line: “Man I’m the macho like Randy”. Randy Mario Poffo, also known as “Macho Man”, is an American professional wrestler who has been labeled as one of the greatest pro wrestlers in history. In the song “Broccoli” by D.R.A.M., the male artist’s lexicon perpetuates hegemonic masculinity through his demonstration of competitiveness, dominance, assertion of power
Gender, sex, gender roles, masculine, and feminine; these are all things that can be shaped by society. Your gender roles can change, but not your sex; that is given at birth. If gender is shaped a certain way, then that changes us to fit those societal norms of gender roles, masculinity and femininity, patriarchy, and how to maintain this gender order.
The lyrics of music play an important part of interpreting the meaning of the song. The roles which women have been allowed by the society to embody have changed drastically. Women may question their roles because of what they see portrayed by popular culture or media. Change in female’s identity can be seen in how women are viewed or how they portray themselves in popular culture specifically through music. In general, music continues to...
behaviors, and social conditions that we call masculinities are “hard-wired” into males through biology (see Thorhill & Palmer, 2000) and/or the heritability of human psyche (see Jung, 1959/1989; Bly, 1990). They view masculinity as static, transhistorical, cross-cultural, and cross-situational. From this perspective, gender change is either impossible, or it involves the use of powerful force to constrain what is seen as “naturally” male. (Masculine Self pg. 19)