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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 Male: Exploring
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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)
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.
Beloved by Toni Morrison and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry tackle issues of masculinity. On pages 125 to 138 and 147 to 149, Morrison illustrations in Beloved how white power structures and the sexual fetishism of the black man’s body, which were established by American slavery, emasculates the black man. On pages 143 to 144 in A Raisin in the Sun, which takes place between World War II and the present, portrays a peculiar mindset of a black man, and his fight to define his masculinity within a matriarchal family structure, a product of American slavery. The language in Beloved and A Raisin in the Sun, underlines the products of the societal structures of slavery effect on black masculinity.
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
Society in general has a way of assigning men and women with individual roles that need to be complied with. To clarify, in the 1950s and 1960s, American women were required to maintain their homes while raising their children and making sure the husbands were happy. On the other hand, American men had to provide for the family and protect them. Displaying characteristics not parallel to one’s gender is rarely unobserved and almost always has negative consequences because society seeks to maintain order. In reality, the people cannot conform to society’s “norms” because people have the right to be independent of society, yet be a part of it without sacrifice. An example would be how American society views masculinity as a man who is strong,
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
In the article ‘Masculinity In Movies’ the author Kenneth Mackinnon elucidates about masculinity, feminism and the technological advances that occur in masculinity in movies. He also talks about hard bodies and soft bodies and masculinity in tradition and culture. Apart from this the article also tells about the variety of movie genres, movies, film stars and mainly the tension between hyper-masculinity and feminism.
Mosse, L George. The Image of Man: The Creation of Modern Masculinity. New York: Macmillan publishers, 1996.
The genre of analyzation in this paper is masculinity. More in depth, the societal perpetuation of the concept of masculinity and its effects on individuals. Masculinity is a concept defined as a category of attributes, social behaviors and roles generally associated only with individuals of the male sex. It is rarely associated with females unless they are butch lesbian, and even if they are not, society will portray them as so. The concept of masculinity is a social construct – most often seen in patriarchal cultures and societies and identified mainly with gender roles. Gender roles are the acceptable or appropriate societal norms dictating
Germaine Greer, The author of the article, is a very is inflammatory writer who is known very well around the world for her feminism. She is most famous for her book The Female Eunuch, noted as a key text of the feminist movement in the '70s. Germaine Greer is a feminist, she wrote this article in order to create an alternative female out look on a male tendency, but also to show society what was wrong with their thought about masculinity and that it is determined by biology. In the book The Female Eunuch, the last chapter was called Masculinity. There were several but the three main essential attributes of masculinity, according to the minutes off their career are that they need to be extremely strong, they also need to be in control come and they have to always feel better than women.
In the modern age, American culture has enforced social norms for what constitutes a man, specifically regarding alcohol consumption and drinking games in college. The society’s enforced standard for masculinity play a major role in influencing the choices of many male college students. Researchers examine the connection between the participation of Asian-American and white males towards drinking games in order to explore the extent of masculine norms’ impact and how ethnic background plays a role. The population sample, the male college students, were taken from registrar's office in a U.S. public university, and data was taken by using three different surveys to measure different contributing factors: DG participation, conformity, and alcohol
We live in a world where society has defined masculine and famine characteristics and features that have influenced our culture. Men are seen as:
Sex and gender are attributes to our identity. Sex describes the physical and biological factors we are born with, for example male or female genitalia, as quoted from blackadder “A boy without a winkle is a girl” (Elton and Curtis 1998). Whether we have oestrogen or testosterone hormones also tells us if we are man or woman. Gender however is in relation to stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, and expectations of what characteristics men or women should portray. Anyone given the opportunity to describe men, they would say words like dominant, non emotional, macho, aggressive, and to be the provider and protector of his family. This essay sets out to examine if masculinity is socially constructed and to do this the theories of gender, media, historical societies and even sexuality will be analysed throughout.
Masculinity and femininity are two terms, which have been interpreted differently throughout history. Both the males and the females have responsibilities and duties but these duties differ based on one’s gender. Gender has played a prodigious role in the economy, politics, and the society. Everyone starts making interpretations of the strengths and weaknesses based on one’s gender. These interpretations are not always based on his or her ability but is usually based on his or her gender. Males tend to be judged as extremely strong and unfashionable in terms of appearance. Whereas, females are judged as expensive and very fashionable. Males and females both differ in their abilities and their enjoyments. Fashion, entertainment, and strength are three topics, which are used to define masculinity and femininity in the 21st century.
Some “admirable” portrayals of males in the media can also be a bit destructive. Most movies and television shows have the big shot business man who is the "epitome of success, embodying the characteristics and acquiring the possessions that society deems valuable” (Children Now, 1999). This portrayal of me...