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Masculinity, Manliness, and Magazines: How is Men’s Masculinity Caught Between
Conflicting Ideas of Masculinity?
Maura Imel
CMC 200
Ted Gournelos
October 18, 2012
“On my honor, I have read the assigned material in its entirety, and I have not given,
received, or witnessed any unauthorized collaboration on this work.”
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Abstract
This essay extends the research on conflicting ideas of manliness through the ideals and
depiction of masculinity and femininity in the mainstream media. This essay argues that the
general public is presented with conflicting images of gender roles, which we unknowingly but
willingly accept. These new consumers –males- are manipulated into creating this new definition
of masculinity while believing they are still portraying and partaking in a dominant and powerful
gender role. Through a content analysis, a variety of media examples will be examined to
explore how men’s masculinity is caught between these conflicting ideas of masculinity.
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Introduction to Confliction Ideas of Masculinity in Modern Day Media
Americans values have strongly influenced the mainstream media and the type of images that are
used to present products to consumers (Rohlinger 61). The media not only delivers a product, but
also dictates males and females standards of attractiveness and shapes stereotypical views on
gender roles in the general public (Crane 541; R. Elliott & C. Elliott). As society has shifted in
their views of sexuality, both the female and male body are objectified in advertisements. Before,
it was only the female body that was being objectified, but with a new market of consumers,
advertisers are seeking out their new audience of men using men. These erotic images of men are
being used in order to appeal to women and the new male consumer. In general, we are an
appearance-based culture. Products that will enhance physical improvements dominate
advertisements and are linked to social benefits for both males and females. Predominately in
magazines for example, the ideal man is portrayed as a muscular, wealthy, and educated man
who is successful when he is romantically involved with a thin, attractive women (Aubrey &
Taylor 29; Rohlinger 61).
If we look at mainstream media today, television shows are heavily based on “selfimprovement”, hyper-stylized femininity and new constructions of what it means to be
masculine. The reality makeover show The Swan created a television series based off a cultural
obsession of plastic surgery and self-improvement. The mixture of ideals about femininity,
beauty pageants, and makeovers encouraged the idea of surgical work in order to fit an ideal
appearance, which has been created by pop culture and accepted by the general public (Marwick
251). Another reality show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, involves five overtly homosexual
men who team up and choose heterosexual men to make over. The ‘Fab Five’, which the five
gay men are referred to as on the show, make over men who have “masculine” jobs (police
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officer, Navy Seal, personal trainer/boxer) and have them perform and partake in rituals typically
associated with gay men, in order to enhance their heterosexual relationships with women
(Ramsey & Santiago 354). Both of these modern media examples, point out the gender role
stereotypes present within our media and general public today.
Accompanied with these stereotypical views for males and females are also conflicting gender
roles, associated with masculinity. Femininity is understood and has not significantly changed
over time, however, the idea of masculinity and power contradicts this new idea of metrosexuality and feminine rituals for males. Through a content analysis of various advertisements in
different media forms, I will explore how men’s masculinity is caught between these conflicting
ideas of manliness.
Fashion: A discussion about Fashion and how it has shaped definitions of Femininity
Embedded within each culture, there are different beliefs and views, which constitute
femininity and beauty (Cheng, Frith, and Shaw 56). Fashion has been a main culprit in creating
unrealistic expectations and beauty ideals across cultures that most men and women are unable to
achieve. The idea has been created that there is a crucial relationship between body weight and
beauty (Bonafini & Pozzilli 62). There are many studies, which examine the concept that
negative feelings about one’s body, weight and shape are related to the idealized images which
women are exposed to (Cheng, Frith, and Shaw 56; Crane 541; Huon & Monro 85). Huon and
Monro found that when women were exposed to idealized images, their body shame and
appearance significantly increased contrary to advertisement types (body-related and non-bodyrelated advertisements) (Huon & Monro 89). Although Bonafini and Pozzilli point out that there
has never been one specific image marked as the ultimate “desirable body” throughout history,
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culture has repeatedly focused on a body appealing to men’s sexual demands and desires through
fashion and our obsession of appearance (Bonafini & Pozzilli 62).
Fashion photographs have steered away from focusing on the clothing and instead
focused on entertaining the media culture with representations of gender, which they have
constructed. According to Crane’s study, sixty-nine percent of the women she surveyed
suggested that their fashion choices were motivated by a desire to be accepted by their peers,
including friends, relatives, and people on the street. She suggests that fashion today has the
authority. Sixty-five percent of the women respondents checked that they follow “specific
styles”, when asked if they attempt to keep up with current fashion (Crane 547). As fashion
dictates specific styles, body ideals, weight, and shape are all aspects interpreted and followed by
the general public. There is more emphasis on the physical appearance and sex appeal than the
actual clothing.
Fashion advertisements are also highly critiqued for their exploitation and stereotypical
depiction of women. Sex is a main tool utilized in fashion advertisements. In a previous study
conducted by Grant and Millard, women in advertisements and fashion spreads within the same
magazine were examined. The results showed that in over 3 decades the sexual portrayal of
women has not decreased or changed. The study also implied that no matter the genre of media,
the portrayal of women as sex objects is utilized (Grant & Millard 669). In a study examining
images of women in general interest and fashion magazines from 1955 to 2002 there was only a
slight decrease in the stereotypical depiction of women over the years, despite influences of the
Women’s Movement (Lindner 409; Grant &Millard 669). It is argued that these stereotypes are
present within visual images that the general public is exposed to on a daily basis, which
influence society’s attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors (Lindner 409).
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In a study examining responses to representations of gender in fashion photographs and
advertisements, women were seen to be extremely critical towards images representing
hegemonic femininity and feminine empowerment. This suggested that women internalized
traditional views of gender behaviors, specifically feminine norms, as well as disapproving
attitudes towards exaggerated portrayals of sexuality and images that implied gender ambiguity
(Crane 560). Fashion has shaped societies perceptions of gender roles in terms of appropriate
behavior and appearance for both men and women (Lindner 409). Lindner (419) pointed out that
the imbalance between males and females, in regards to social power and control is repeatedly
portrayed within fashion images. She talks about feminist’s argument that media’s images of
women are directed towards men. They believe that the way men look at women is how women
are encouraged to look at themselves and other women.
In terms of hegemonic femininity, they believe that masculine standards are incorporated
into female appearance, which helps to accentuate physical appearance and sexuality (Crane
541-2; Cheng, Frith, and Shaw 66). Fashion magazines rarely depict the diverse roles that
women in society hold. Men are advertised as much more work oriented, while women are
staged having much less prestigious and strenuous jobs (Grant & Millard 670). Fashion allows
one to accept or reject certain associations with a specific group, such as their occupation.
Females who wear clothes that suggest ambiguous or unconventional interpretations of identities
are less favored, compared to clothes, which are easily associated with a certain group (age, race,
sexual orientation) (Crane 544). Fashion and fashion advertisements has specified stereotypical
ideas of how women are to behave and the role they are to have in society (Lindner 418). In high
fashion campaigns, women are displayed in extremely leisurely settings, traveling and lounging
in exotic and extravagant destinations. Their dominance is exposed through the exploitation of
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their body rather than their occupational status. Their sexuality allows them to manipulate their
audience into creating a desire for a certain product. With such a strong construction of
femininity and the exploitation of women in the media, are sexualized images of men used in
mainstream media to appeal to the male consumer?
Masculinity: Social Constructions, Modern Day Examples, and the Shift of Meaning
Masculinity has been developed by a social construction, which is present in many
different forms in our culture today (Prusank 161). In recent studies including men and their
comprehension of the construction of masculinity within media advertisements, males in the
general public believe that they have a firm understanding of the contemporary definition of
masculinity (Gough & Hall 67). An emphasis on power, rather than beauty, is a common
understanding when talking about how masculinity is represented and constructed in the media
(Gough & Hall 68; Rohlinger 61). R. Elliott and C. Elliott talk about Pope’s study on “male body
obsession and found that advertisements for everything from cars to underwear were using bodybuilder images with ‘washboard abdominal muscles, massive chests, and inflated shoulders […],
a combination of muscularity and leanness probably achievable only by drugs’ (pg.34)” (C.
Elliott & R. Elliot 4). This obsession with muscularity is so important to men because it is one
cultural symbol that is still strong perceived as masculine. Using the male body, fashion and the
media, have created conflicting ideas of masculinity within the general public. The stronger and
more muscular man is perceived to be extremely masculine, while the thin and lightly muscled
man is considered to represent a more “metro-sexual” man (R. Elliott & C. Elliot 4).
Also associated with masculinity are aspirational cultural standards (Rafferty 239). A
male does not possess masculinities, an individual rather engages in masculine practices. It is a
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social gender role, which dominates men over women. It can be concluded then that femininity is
simply of lower rank in relation to masculinity (Schippers 86-7). Fashion and media are able to
manipulate male consumers by convincing their targeted audience how their product will help
connect them to others and ultimately please their desires as men (Rafferty 257). It is not
necessarily about the product but more the suggestion that the association of power,
performance, and precision with a product will reflect their level of power and dominance
(Rohlinger 61). Ultimately displaying their masculinity. This idea of consumerism for men is
considered to be very feminine, which explains the over hyper-masculine signifiers present
within media today. There are many modern examples where products are juxtapositioned with a
feminine mode of indulgence and a masculine mode of dominance (Rohlinger 61-2). Old Spice
body wash commercials are a perfect example of these conflicting ideas of manliness.
The Old Spice body wash commercial begins with a very attractive, athletic looking,
African American male who has a towel around his waist as if he is about to get in the shower.
Once again, just as erotic images of women are used, this image of a male appeals to liberate
women as well as the male consumer (Rohlinger 61). This Old Spice commercial targets not only
the male consumer but females as well. The male begins by demanding, “Hello ladies… look at
your man, now back at me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me. But if he
stopped using lady scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me”.
This is all said in the first eleven seconds of the commercial. The body wash advertisement has
manipulated the female audience into eroticizing the male, while the male audience has been
introduced to a product, which strongly implies could satisfy their sexual desires with women.
Just as R. Elliott and C. Elliott point out in their study of idealized images of the male body in
advertising, brands are challenged to present a male who is complex enough to incorporate this
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femininity of consumerism, while simultaneously avoiding threat to male power and masculinity
(R. Elliott & C. Elliott 17). This popular commercial incorporates the eroticized male with
masculinity and class-based consumerism in order to deliver a message about male gender roles.
After the male actors initial line to the audience, he invites the viewer to “look down and
back up again”. The scenery shifts from a fairly average looking bathroom, to a yacht, on the
water. This is the first major indicator of class and wealth. The man’s clothes then change from a
towel, to white linen pants and a nautical themed sweater draped around his shoulders. This is a
very “metro-sexualized” outfit, but he still however is shirtless, reminding the audience of his
masculinity through his strong, muscled appearance. From the boat he begins to walk but you are
not able to see what is beneath him. As he is walking he is holding a bottle of the Old Spice body
wash, but with his progression of steps, reaches down and now in his hand is an oyster with “two
tickets to that thing you love”, another signifier of wealth. The message of consumerism is being
conveyed, along with the idea that men hold the power to buy a women’s attention with material
objects. Following the tickets, he orders the audience to then look down again and then back up
and suddenly “the tickets are now diamonds”, not only a signifier of wealth but also of classbased emotions. He proceeds to tell the viewers “anything is possible when your man smells like
Old Spice and not a lady”. The commercial ends with one last remark, “I’m on a horse”, and he
is then sitting on a white horse, once again an obvious signifier of wealth. The Old Spice logo
then dissolves onto the screen, accompanied by the tag line, “Smell like a man, man”. (Old Spice
Commercial)
In thirty-three seconds, branded masculinity is displayed, but more importantly there is a
consistent use of an eroticized male. The male body is an object that is disciplined, manipulated
and viewed by an audience, just as women, but a very different social message is being conveyed
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(Alexander 551; Rohlinger 70). These conflicting ideas of masculinity and metro-sexuality have
somehow emerged in order to best please consumers.
Conclusion
The exploitation of women in the modern day media has created the idea that their dominance
over men lays in their appearance. Other than appearance however, there is a natural hierarchy
between the male gender role and the female gender role. The use of men in the media has
created conflicting ideas of manliness when examining men’s masculinity. Contemporary
American media and popular culture dominates our society and therefore shapes gender roles
and different associations with specific groups. Fashion has been one of the first and central
forms of media, which has shaped these ideals and recently created conflicting thoughts of
masculinity. These mixed messages of manliness however are heavily present throughout the
mainstream media. Through a content and textual analysis of specific magazine advertisements
and commercials, a much more feminine masculinity will be revealed than what our general
public naturally perceives to be masculine.
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