Tucker Burtch

EN 102

Summary/Response Essay

16 February 2021

Masculine Meat

“I'm lovin it,” “Arbys: We have the meats,” and “Have it your way” are all slogans that

many people have heard of due to fast-food commercials. Many people believe different things

about what fast food commercials promote and how they advertise to different groups of people.

In the article “Having it His Way: The Construction of Masculinity in Fast-Food TV

Advertising,” Carrie Packwood Freeman and Debra Merskin explain how meat in fast-food

commercials has linked masculinity to meat (454-473). As Freeman and Merskin argue that

fast-food advertising makes meat masculine and appeals to males, they wrongly interpret the

meaning of fast food commercials, the purpose of fast food commercials, and the facts about

meat in the commercials.

Freeman and Merksin discuss in the article “Having it His Way: The Construction of

Masculinity in Fast-Food Advertising” the way meat and manliness are shown in many different

fast-food commercials. They state, “Clearly, advertisers trust we believe that a traditional

American male does not eat organic, plant-based proteins - he primarily eats meat, which would

also explain the prominence of masculine themes in advertisements for meat products, like

burgers and subs” (454-455). Freeman and Merskin go on to say, “The ads suggest that men

should seek immediate gratification of their hunger by eating meat, often in large quantities,

without being hindered by notions of social responsibility, sustainability or health, as may be

dictated by women” (473). They are stating that men are allowed to eat large portions of meat

without women or the public judging them or reprimanding them. This supports their claim that

commercials use visual appeals and audio to convince men to eat the unhealthy meat that is

shown in the ad.

Commercials, as many people know, are used to sell a product or push an image of

someone for a campaign or company; however, Freeman and Merskin wrongly interpret the

meaning of commercials. “Advertising doesn’t just sell things, it articulates values and builds

meaning, sometimes through constructing stereotypes that simplify a complex trait such as

gender” (Freeman and Merskin 455). Advertisements are not always just selling a product to

consumers they also have messages or meanings that can target a stereotype or gender. One such

stereotype is that manly men like to eat meat. This shows Freeman and Merskin believe a select

few commercials have a hidden gender appeal, which is simply not true. Most of the fast-food

companies Freeman and Merskin analyzed for their article have other forms of advertising that

target other audiences and allow them to target another trait. For example, McDonald’s has

different commercials for adults and children. For children, Mcdonald’s promotes their Happy

Meal and the toy that comes inside; the adults are targeted with commercials about how

affordable the meal is and how much the consumer can get for that special price. This shows that

most fast food companies use different tactics of advertising to appeal to many different groups

of people.

Freeman and Merskin are mistaken when they say that fast-food commercials promote

masculinity; their mistake causes them to overlook the true purpose of fast-food commercials,

which is to promote products at special prices. . “When fast-food companies insist on telling
men to ‘have it your way’ in the first century, they might as well be telling them to turn back the

clock on social progress” (Freeman and Merskin 473). According to Freeman and Merskin, when

fast-food chains tell men to “have it your way,” they are telling them that it is okay to undo what

the feminist movement has changed. This shows that they are incorrectly diagnosing these

commercials because the commercials have nothing to do with feminism; instead, the company

that produces the commercial is just trying to target a crowd and get them to buy or consume a

product. Additionally, “have it your way” means that the customer can have the sandwich or

meal the way they want it. They are not implying one gets everything his way.

Freeman and Merskin claim that the chief financial supporter of the meat industry is

fast-food; they go on to say that the meat industry is a contributor to global warming . “Also,

fast-food companies are the chief financial supporter of the meat industry which is associated

with labor exploitation, mass animal cruelty and death, and environmental destruction, including

being a leading cause of global warming” (Freeman and Merskin 459). However, anyone

familiar with animal agriculture knows the benefits to the environment from agriculture. Yes,

fast-food may be one of the lead consumers of animal agriculture, but it is not a leading cause of

global warming. Most people do not know that the corn belt (Midwest) produces 40 percent

more oxygen than the Amazon Rainforest during the growing season. This means that all the

gases given off are sucked back into the products that are feeding the animal and producing

oxygen at an extreme rate. So, fast-food is actually helping the environment by using meat

products, which is, in return,making the environment better.

In the end, commercials have one purpose: to sell products. Yes, they target many groups

of people, but they are trying to sell what they have. The meaning is simply making people give
in and buy a product because of the benefits it offers. This shows that the authors overlook the

meaning, purpose, and the facts about the meat that is used.

Work Cited

Freeman, Carrie Packwood, and Debra Merskin. "Having it His Way: The Construction

of Masculinity in Fast-Food TV Advertising." They Say I Say with Readings, by

Gerald Graff et al., 2nd ed., New York, W.W. Norton and Company, 2012, pp.

454-473.