Castro 1

Selina Castro
Professor Ditch
English 113A
8 December 2014
Media and Men
In a daily life men are often shown as muscular, strong and overpowered everywhere that
we turn our head to, whether it is on television or billboards and even in magazines. The cologne from
the brand Gucci which shows how a woman would not be able to resist the smell and would end up
wanting the man. Which leadscommercials or adds show men how if they put on this cologne they
would have the power of getting a woman, but not just any woman but a beautiful woman. This
cologne advertisement is portraying the incorrect image of how a man should be to other American
men by having them think that the Gucci cologne will make you irresistible to woman and make men
feel powerful.
In the United States gender roles of men are so predictable to American people because people
see it too much they read it and even experience how a masculine man acts. If an American person
were to describe what are man's gender roles in society now they would already know how to describe
them which would be something like tall, strong and fearless. As people watch television such as
commercials, they often show ways of how men can become more attractive or even tell them how a
cologne will make them more of a man an more women would want them. This can lead for men to
follow what other people are telling them rather than just be how they are comfortable and not what
others follow or what they are being told men should be like.Influencing American men through social
media can be problematic because these socially constructed standards of masculinity can lower their
self esteem. When not fitting into these socially constructed ways it can cause them to live an unhealthy

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lifestyle such as affecting their behavior to others and themselves.
Throughout daily American television advertisements, there are hundreds of commercials that are
shown that show men what they can do better or to themselves in order to feel or be masculine.
Commercials demonstrate this hyper masculinity in their product by showing a masculine man or even
showing him perform in a masculine way such as putting a very strong looking man in their
advertisements. In Media And Men by Teeluckseigh, Jerome says Likewise, men behave and reach
in a manner due to socialization by and omnipresent media(Teelucksingh). Men end up doing what the
media says or shows because it is something they see on a daily basis and will eventually catch up on
men and would want to do what these television advertisements are portraying in order to feel this
satisfaction with themselves. Gucci and Calvin Klein both have a cologne that advertise through
commercials as well as in magazines which show a really strong muscular men standing a very
dominant way and intend to convince their viewer which are men to buy their product so that they can
be like them or have this overpowering feeling above others. In the book Composing Genderin
Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender by Aaron Devor says Body
postures ... which demonstrate and support the assumption of dominance and authority convey an
impression of masculinity(Devor 42). In these hese commercials say things that will provoke men into
buying it in order to feel satisfied with themselves and feel more manly as well as others seeing them in
this masculine way. When they are advertising these products they would get a good looking man
according to the advertisers and put him in it to have a sexual appeal. Men would end up wanting to
look like the men they see and be like them in every perspective such as good looking, strong and
highly self confidence. In some of the magazines they tend to to put a female and say that if they wear
this cologne you will have every girl at your feet or will be able to get attention from your partner.
When the media encouraged these certain types of behavior men then think they are less than other

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men and then think they have to fit up to society standards in order to be seen as masculine just because
other men are doing it as well. If a man that is bulky and sees these advertisements whether it is on
television or in magazines it can lower their self esteem down and start doubting about themselves such
as maybe thinking they are not enough or capable of doing what society thinks beingmasculine
should be.
Today in commercials often show how men have this overpower on women and how they are on
top of everything and show more strength. Through this the advertisers are showing men how by
having many women or really good looking girls with great bodies and everything is what a man really
is. Thus leading to putting in their minds that it is right to show the women that they are less and men
are the ones who are in charge of everything. This can lead to men changing their mentality and
affecting the way they think and see things. They would start to do all these certain things that
commercials advertise just to get something out of it or what advertisements say that it make them real
men or just showing them what a real man should be. By this they are changing just to fit in to what
society says they should be instead of being how they feel comfortable with and what they want to do.
The media's tentacles have stretched beyond the limits of control and its 'credibility' is further
strengthened by hypnotized and gullible public viewers who readily internalize images and false
models of 'real men'( Teelucksingh ). Men are so used to seeing this on a daily basis that they do not
even realize how it is showing images that affect on how they see themselves and just assume is the
right thing to do in being on what they are seeing other men in commercials do , yet not even realize it
is wrong and affecting their confidence.
When men are exposed to these commercials that tend to show this hyper masculinity instead of
actually focusing on their product, they make men think that what is being shown is right and therefore
change who they are which may affect their behavior. The images that they are being shown affect the
way they think because they start to see themselves less because what they see on a daily basis is

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showing men being tough, serious, and muscular therefore start to over think of how a man should
really be. In the article Body Image in Men says Exposure to muscular male images in the media
may explain increasing body dissatisfaction in men and predispose men to body image-related
disorders. (Fawkner, McMurray 27). In order for men to feel good about themselves they would start to
find ways to change their body and have this self satisfying body image that they see in a daily basis on
the television commercials.
Although some people might say that not all television commercials affect man's confidence and
behavior or that it is a man's choice whether to follow what they see in the media . However this is not
true, it is in fact true that 43% of men that are not conformed with their body image. Generally, men
believe they need to be both lean and muscular to meet perceived societal expectations says on
Statistics on Males and eating Disorders. Men need to follow these certain medial roles that play in
our daily life to feel accepted and fit into their category which they do not realize it affects them
without even realizing it.
Media is affecting American men by lowering their self worth as well as having them change the
way they are just to feel this hyper masculinity within themselves. They see media in a daily basis and
they will always see a man in commercials that is performing in a very masculine way, and using their
product to catch their viewers essentially men into buying these products that say will make them into a
real man or having them believe that. The media on a daily basis is showing men how they should be
and what every woman want them to be thus making them change just to fit in these socially
constructed norms. The percentage of how many American men that are being affected by the media
are just growing , at this rate there will be many more doubting themselves and doing anything they can
to change and be considered a real man not just to themselves but to everyone else as well. There for
men are being nonconformist which makes it problematic to themselves but to also the people around
them.

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Works Cited
Teelucksingh, Jerome. MEDIA AND MEN. Everyman 61 (2003):32 ProQuest, Nov. 4 2014.
Fawkner, Helen J, and Nancy E. McMurray. Body Image in Men: Self-Reported Thoughts,
Feelings, and Behaviors in Response to Media Images. International Journal of Men's Health
(2002)
ProQuest Nov. 4 2014 Aaron H. Devor, Becoming Members of Societ: Learning the Social
Meanings of Gender from
Gender Blending Confronting the Limits of Duality by Holly Devor (1989) 42 Nov 4 2014