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Perception of media representation of women
Perception of media representation of women
Male representation in the media
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Representation of Different Masculinities
It is contended that elements of Rutherford’s statements are invalid
when applied to contemporary media representations of masculinity.
Rutherford’s argument is threefold. Firstly, he contends that his
contemporary media portrayed two polarised images of men; they were
either sensitive “new” men or they were more stereotypical,
patriarchal “retributive” men, arguing that there is no grey area in
between or overlaps apparent. Secondly he proposes that this was an
aspiration and thus an unreal construct; that these states were
desired and that men strove to meet them, as they were somewhat out of
the reality that most men conceived. He also here appears to imply a
value judgement- that the media intended to influence the shaping of
men and through an idealised perception. Thirdly he argues that in the
late 1980’s the new man was repressed and that the retributive man was
the public face of masculinity. While the validity of Rutherford’s
arguments in his own time is certainly open to debate for its
inaccuracies and oversimplification over the portrayal of masculinity,
it is contended that much of it is also invalid when applied to the
contemporary media portrayal of men. It is proposed, here, that while
the modern media still utilises these polarised images of man, it
allows for a more well-developed and rounded conception to be
ordained- masculinity is not necessarily conceived as one or another.
It is also contended that these images are also not always used as an
ideal, as Rutherford naively argues- there portrayal in the modern
media is used for more than aspiration in purpose. It is also
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The movie, Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity produced by Jackson Katz and Jeremy Earp, deconstructs the concepts that create the social constructs of masculinity. Masculinity, a set of behaviors, roles, and attributes correlating to men, is earned, not given (Conley 190). Starting from television shows to children’s toys, the idea of masculinity has infiltrated their minds starting at a young age. Moreover, the concept of masculinity has physical attributes, such as muscles, a deep voice, and be able to protect themselves. Masculinity, for boys of any races, socioeconomic classes, or ethnicity, has grown up with the same stereotypical image of what a man should entail. Since many media outlets show that a form of masculinity
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In the classical Western and Noir films, narrative is driven by the action of a male protagonist towards a clearly defined, relatable goal. Any lack of motivation or action on the part of the protagonist problematizes the classical association between masculinity and action. Due to inherent genre expectations, this crisis of action is equivalent to a crisis of masculinity. Because these genres are structured around male action, the crises of action and masculinity impose a crisis of genre. In the absence of traditional narrative elements and character tropes, these films can only identify as members of their genres through saturation with otherwise empty genre symbols. The equivalency between the crises of genre and masculinity frames this symbol saturation as a sort of compensatory masculine posturing.
For centuries, the ideal masculinity has been seen as the provider, the macho man, the cowboy and the emotional rock, but new representations of manliness in the media have been challenging this idea (Watson 2015, p. 270). Within these new depictions, there lies a hierarchy where one form of masculinity is more accepted than the rest (Kluch 2015). Macho masculinity has been seen as being dominant in the hierarchy for generations, however, in recent years, there have been an influx of new representations of masculinity that disrupt traditional hierarchal ideas. The masculinity of the twenty first century includes emotions, sensitivity, discipline, and intelligence. These new aspects of the hierarchy have been introduced by movies such as Brokeback Mountain, 22 Jump Street, The
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Jackson Katz is an author, a lecturer, filmmaker and a well known anti-sexist male activist. He’s made a few documentaries and has written articles and short stories on ending violence against woman and sexual equality. One of Kat’s writings is a non-fiction article called “Men, Masculinities, and the Media”, in it he writes about the challenges of male identity, how the media defines masculinity and how it correlates with sexual equality. In the beginning of the article, Katz makes a comparison about masculinity and The Wizard of Oz. He compares Toto pulling back the curtain and revealing a scared, pathetic man pretending to be someone great, the Oz, to the way media portrays man and influences man. He mentions that the curtain symbolizes a shield to protect men’s vulnerability and humanity (Katz 1). Media image is an important influential source to woman and man; it follows throughout generations and can shape the ideas and behavior of both sexes. In “Men, Masculinities, and the Media”
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Masculinity, similarly to other aspects of one’s identity, is being intensively discussed in contemporary society. It has undergone significant development in the last few decades which has been reflected in and accelerated by the media. This essay explores the reasons for this - it refers to historical development where appropriate and discusses the consequences of the fragmentation of male identitities.
All around the world society has created an ideological perspective for the basis of gender roles. Gender and sex are often times misused and believed to be interchangeable. This is not the case. There are two broad generalization of sexes; female and male, yet there is a vast number of gender roles that each sex should more or less abide by. The routinely cycle of socially acceptable behaviors and practices is what forms the framework of femininity and masculinity. The assigned sex categories given at birth have little to do with the roles that a person takes on. Biological differences within females and males should not be used to construe stereotypes or discriminate within different groups. Social variables such as playing with dolls or
While the social construction of femininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity until recently, has remained largely invisible. To construct a reasonable for or against argument that will outline whether masculinity is in crisis or not, I will apply relevant media theories along with ideas from influencing figures to create a constructive argument. The questions that arise that either support or argue with the statements that key theorists propose will be answered formatively and critically. Furthermore, analysis of the representation of gender and masculinity within modern media forms, along with the rise and formation of the ‘laddish’ culture and what factors have influenced the creations of lad mags; while outlining
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