How The Media Define Masculinity

Media Awareness Network www.media-awareness.ca

How the Media Define Masculinity

Families, friends, teachers, and community leaders all play a role in helping boys define what it means to be a man. Mainstream media representations also play a role in reinforcing ideas about what it means to be a "real" man in our society. In most media portrayals, male characters are rewarded for self-control and the control of others, aggression and violence, financial independence, and physical desirability.

In 1999, Children Now, a California-based organization that examines the impact of media on children and youth, released a report entitled Boys to Men: Media Messages About Masculinity. The report argues that the media’s portrayal of men tends to reinforce men’s social dominance.

The report observes that:
the majority of male characters in media are heterosexual
male characters are more often associated with the public sphere of work, rather than the private sphere of the home, and issues and problems related to work are more significant than personal issues; non-white male characters are more likely to experience personal problems and are more likely to use physical aggression or violence to solve those problems
Children Now conclude that these dominant trends in the media’s portrayal of men reinforce and support social attitudes that link masculinity to power, dominance and control.

In Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity, Jackson Katz and Jeremy Earp argue that the media provide an important perspective on social attitudes—and that while the media are not the cause of violent behaviour in men and boys, they do portray male violence as a normal expression of masculinity.

In a roundtable discussion that appeared in Châtelaine Magazine, TV journalist Denise Bombardier underlined the difference in the way the media treats violence, depending on the sex of the aggressor. "In Quebec, when a man kills his son, the headlines read ‘Another Case of Domestic Violence,’ she notes. If it’s a woman who kills her son, it is reported 'A Woman Depressed.'"

The portrayal and acceptance of men by the media as socially powerful and physically violent serve to reinforce assumptions about how men and boys should act in society, how they should treat each other, as well as how they should treat women and children.

Common Stereotypes of Men in Media

Various media analysts and researchers argue that media portrayals of male characters fall within a range of stereotypes. The report Boys to Men: Media Messages About Masculinity, identifies the most popular stereotypes of male characters as the Joker, the Jock, the Strong Silent Type, the Big Shot and the Action Hero.

The Joker is a very popular character with boys, perhaps because laughter is part of their own "mask of masculinity." A potential negative consequence of this stereotype is the assumption that boys and men should not be serious or emotional. However, researchers have also argued that humorous roles can be used to expand definitions of masculinity.

The Jock is always willing to "compromise his own long-term health; he must fight other men when necessary; he must avoid being soft; and he must be aggressive." By demonstrating his power and strength, the jock wins the approval of other men and the adoration of women.

The Strong Silent Type focuses on "being in charge, acting decisively, containing emotion, and succeeding with women." This stereotype reinforces the assumption that men and boys should always be in control, and that talking about one’s feelings is a sign of weakness.

The Big Shot is defined by his professional status. He is the "epitome of success, embodying the characteristics and acquiring the possessions that society deems valuable." This stereotype suggests that a real man must be economically powerful and socially successful.

The Action Hero is "strong, but not necessarily silent. He is often angry. Above all, he is aggressive in the extreme and, increasingly over the past several decades, he engages in violent behavior."

Another common stereotype...
The Buffoon commonly appears as a bungling father figure in TV ads and sitcoms. Usually well-intentioned and light-hearted, these characters range from slightly inept to completely hopeless when it comes to parenting their children or dealing with domestic (or workplace) issues.

Children's Perceptions of Male Stereotypes

In 1999, the research group Children Now asked boys between the ages of 10 and 17 about how their perceptions of the male characters they saw on television, in music videos and in movies. From the study, the group concluded that the media do not reflect the changing work and family experiences of most men today—and that this fact is not lost on the boys, who noticed the discrepancies between the media portrayals and the reality they knew.

Some of the study’s main observations:
on television, most men and boys usually keep their attention focused mostly just on women and girls
many males on TV are violent and angry
men are generally leaders and problem-solvers
males are funny, confident, successful and athletic
it’s rare to see men or boys crying or otherwise showing vulnerability
male characters on TV could not be described as "sensitive"
male characters are mostly shown in the workplace, and only rarely at home
more than a third of the boys had never seen a man on TV doing domestic chores

The study also revealed that the boys were quite aware that these male characters on television differed from their own friends and fathers, and from themselves. They had also noticed that media portrayals of success do not necessarily reflect their own ideas of real-life success.
The work of French sociologist Pascal Duret sheds a different light on the subject. In his 1999 study Les jeunes et l’identité masculine, Duret attempted to analyze young peoples’ perceptions of male "virility." Though responses varied according to sex and social class, most kids saw virility in terms of physical strength and a muscular body. Courage, and the ability to protect, were also considered to be virile traits.

When young people were asked to name models of virility from the movies, actors like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger were common choices. But it wasn’t just the actors’ physical appearances that made them virile in the eyes of the young people; it was also the context in which they appeared. What these actors had in common was violent scenes in their films, and Duret concluded that even though the young people may have been unaware of their bias, for them violence was an essential aspect of virility.

As well, social class had a major impact on perceptions of virility: young people from disadvantaged backgrounds viewed virile characteristics much more positively than youths from more advantageous backgrounds. Duret attributed this difference to the value poor people can give to the idea of the "self-made man," who can become what he (or she) wants by dint of hard work.

This research, and the Children Now study, both suggest that the media should take the opportunity to reach beyond these stereotypes—and to present a fuller and more realistic picture of the lives, experiences and identities of men and boys today.

Men's Magazines and the Construction of Masculinity

Although most contemporary research on the portrayal of masculinity in the media has focused on violence, research has also begun to examine the portrayal of masculinity in men’s magazines such as Playboy, Maxim, GQ, and Esquire. These magazines, which focus on matters such as health, fashion, sex, relationships, and lifestyle, play a part in defining what it means to be a modern man.

Some critics argue that these magazines represent an improvement in media portrayals of gender since they focus on topics previously thought to be solely the concern of women. But others argue that such magazines still rely on stereotypical portrayals of men and masculinity, featuring handsome, white, well-built and well-dressed men, interested only in acquiring the finer things in life.

Media commentators argue that these magazines continue to relegate women to the background and, in doing so, are examples of social backlash directed against specific gains made by women in the paid labour force, mass media industries and other professions. They say that it is no coincidence that as women are achieving greater social, political and professional equality, these magazines symbolically relegate them to subordinate positions as sex objects.

While magazines such as Playboy and Maxim are criticized for objectifying women’s bodies, recent discussions about men’s magazines are focusing on what these magazines say about men and masculinity. Academics argue that the recent popularity of these magazines is a reflection of men’s uncertainty over the roles they are expected to assume in society, at work, and in their relationships.

In her 1983 discussion of Playboy, Barbara Ehrenreich notes when the magazine emerged in 1953, American men were beginning to feel constrained by the demands of marriage, work and fatherhood—and Playboy unapologetically celebrated the bachelor’s lifestyle.
She argues that Playboy painted an idealistic picture of the well-educated, confirmed bachelor who appreciates the finer things in life: wine, jazz, scotch, art, and women. Playboy’s success was built on its celebration of male independence from the domestic responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood.

Masculinity and Sports Media

Sports media also contribute to the construction of masculinity in contemporary society. A study conducted by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles reports that 98 per cent of American boys between the ages of 8 and 17 consume sports media. Since professional sports are virtually dominated by men—from the athletes and coaches to the commentators and reporters—sports media have the potential to transmit powerful ideas about manliness and masculinity.

Recent studies on gender and sports media find that sports commentary reinforces perceptions of "violent masculinity." By praising athletes who continue to play while injured, and by using language of conflict and war to describe action, sports commentary reinforces violence and aggression as exciting and rewarding behaviour.
Sports broadcasts focus heavily on violence in professional sports, often replaying and over-analyzing footage of graphic injuries, accidents and fights. A 1999 Children Now study points out that conflict between players of opposing teams is often created or inflated to promote upcoming games.

The studies conclude that this focus on personal rivalry, conflict, and fierce competition reinforces the social attitude that violence and aggression are normal and natural expressions of masculine identity.

Masculinity and Advertising

In its study of masculinity and sports media, the research group Children Now found that most commercials directed to male viewers tend to air during sports programming. Women rarely appear in these commercials, and when they do, they’re generally portrayed in stereotypical ways.

In fact, in his analysis of gender in advertising, author and University of North Texas professor Steve Craig argues that women tend to be presented as "rewards" for men who choose the right product. He describes such commercials as "narratives of playful escapades away from home and family." They operate, he says, at the level of fantasy—presenting idealized portrayals of men and women. When he focused specifically on beer commercials, Craig found that the men were invariably "virile, slim and white"—and the women always "eager for male companionship."

Author and academic Susan Bordo (University of Kentucky) has also analyzed gender in advertising, and agrees that men are usually portrayed as virile, muscular and powerful. Their powerful bodies dominate space in the ads. For women, the focus is on slenderness, dieting, and attaining a feminine ideal; women are always presented as not just thin, but also weak and vulnerable.

hese critics and others suggest that just as traditional advertising has for decades sexually objectified women and their bodies, today’s marketing campaigns are objectifying men in the same way. A 2002 study by the University of Wisconsin suggests that this new focus on fit and muscled male bodies is causing men the same anxiety and personal insecurity that women have felt for decades.

Male Authority in the Media

"Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth."
Simone de Beauvoir

The media’s voice of authority is most often that of a middle-aged, professional, white male.
These men dominate the opinion-shaping forums of talk radio, newspaper journalism, and television news and commentary, and male voices are those most commonly heard in television and radio commercials.

In 1996, NewsWatch Canada, an independent organization that assesses the portrayal of diversity in Canadian news, conducted a study of the CBC’s flagship program The National. The study found that:

84 per cent of news sources were male (only 8 per cent of which were visible minorities)

89 per cent of commentators were men in "elite" occupations

The U.S. media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reported similar trends in the American media in the early 90s:

89 per cent of the guests on ABC's Nightline were male, 92 per cent were white and 80 per cent were professionals

87 per cent of the guests on PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour were male, 90 per cent were white, and 67 per cent were current or former government officials

These voices are presented as the voices of experts, and studies have indicated that experts often represent conservative points of view, favouring the interests of powerful individuals, social groups and institutions. Little attention is paid to the opinions and experiences of women, gays and lesbians, members of visible minorities, or the working classes.

Non-white or working class men are also marginalized. Men who are members of minority groups are typically called upon as experts only in response to minority community matters, drugs and crime. And, as Barbara Ehrenreich notes, news and current affairs programming portrays working class men as dumb, inarticulate and old-fashioned.

Although information media are often presented as informed and "objective," many commentators argue that white male dominance of these media helps perpetuate sexism, racism, and class privilege in society. It is also argued that such coverage presents white masculinity as the social and cultural norm.

Entertainment media reinforce the stereotypes of the rich white male and the working class buffoon. Richard Butsch argues that television programmes tend to exaggerate affluence, and portray working class men as immature, irresponsible, and requiring the supervision of their “betters.”