Proposal

Scholars in the academic fields of sociology, gender identity, and sexuality studies have long studied the concept of masculinity, and particularly representations of hegemonic masculinity, in the media. In the articles that I have reviewed, hegemonic masculinity seems to include self-reliance, strength, aggression, and avoidance of traits that are deemed feminine, such as empathy. They have largely studied the portrayal of masculinity in television, radio, magazines, advertisements, movies, and other traditional media formats. Some authors have studied masculinity in comedic television shows and I think that masculinity should be studied further through the lens of comedy, and in particular stand-up comedy. Eddie Izzard adds to the important, but quite sensitive, scholarly conversation on gender identity and masculinity through his self-referential pantomime and his decision to wear women’s clothing. Gender identity scholars use media as one way to facilitate a deconstruction of the signs, symbols and imagery of masculinity. However, Izzard uses his identity as a cross dresser and the medium of stand-up comedy to facilitate a conversation with his audience on masculinity and gender identity.

In the following scholarly articles on masculinity in the media, academic scholars study the portrayal of masculinity within the media and the reaction to forms of masculinity that may not conform to the tenets of hegemonic masculinity. Scholars have found that media representations can play a powerful role in shaping society’s ideas on masculinity. However, they have also found that the range of masculinity that is portrayed in popular media is quite narrow and is not greatly challenging of hegemonic masculinity.

In the article “We Don’t We...

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...ulates that humor is derived from a violation of our expectations--in this example that someone wearing women’s clothing will act a certain way, which Izzard violates.

As Donald Francis Tovey said, "comedy uses the language of real life; and people in real life often find the language of comedy the only dignified expression for their deepest feelings." ( ) Humor causes innate visceral responses that do not occur when consuming non-comedic media and because of this, it can facilitate the discussion of difficult and personal topics such as masculinity and gender identity. Because of this, it stands to reason that the theories on masculinity in non-comedic media and the way this shapes viewers’ ideas may not be generalizable to comedy. Therefore, comedy, and stand-up comedy in particular, should be a larger part of the academic discussion of masculinity in the media.