Alexander, S. (2003). Stylish Hard Bodies: Branded Masculinity in Men's Health Magazine. Sociological Perspectives, pp.535-554.
The Masculine Gender Ideal
Cohen (2001)
‘gender display is ‘the variety of ways in which we reveal, through out verbal and nonverbal demeanour, that we fit in with masculine and feminine ideas’.
‘ample evidence exists that a gender ideal is socially constructed in a specific historical and cultural context and that it changes over time and according to environment’
Constructs of Masculinity: Real Men, Marketplace Masculinities, and Supermales
Brannon (1976) referenced
discusses four themes: No sissy stuff, the Big Wheel, the Sturdy Oak, and Give ‘Em Hell!
No Sissy Stuff:
‘emotionally, real men present themselves as invulnerable, and they repress expressions of affection toward other men’
‘a ‘real man’ must never, never resemble women, or display strongly stereotypes feminine characteristics’ - p14
‘physically, real men have deep voices, avoid the use of cosmetics, and give minimal attention to their clothes and hygiene’
Big Wheel
‘centres around the ability if real men to obtain wealth, fame, success, and status’
‘determined by mans occupation’ also could be through achievements e.g. champion
The Sturdy Oak:
‘conveys manliness, confidence, and self-reliance’
Given ‘Em Hell - ‘emit an aura of aggression and violence and use it to obtain sex from women’ - ‘a real man is physically a man’s man’
Kimmel (2001)
‘Genteel Patriarch’ - manhood whose standing derived from landownership and who was refined, elegant and sexual but also a doting father.
‘Heroic Artisan’ - physical strength and republican virtue is exemplified in the yeoman farmer and the craftsman
‘early forms of manhood reflected ideals of an economy based on a premodern mode of production, agriculture’ - ideas of masculinity change over times
Marketplace Manhood
Kimmel claims easier ideas of manhood where chatted in 1930s by marketplace manhood
‘Marketplace man derived his identity entirely from his success in the capitalist marketplace, as he accumulated wealth, power, status. He was the urban entrepreneur, the businessman’
ideas of masculinity can change in a persons lifetime
Harris (1995)
‘sampled 560 men in the US to determine the influence of gender role messages on men’
‘He identified nine messages that illustrate modern expectation for men: ‘be like your farther; be a faithful husband, good samaritan, law, nature lover, rebel, scholar, and technician’
‘attitudes about masculinity varied by geographic location, class, race, sexual orientation, and family background’
‘Harris found that generational differences were the strongest variable in differing visions of masculinity’
‘subsequent research on popular culture aimed at younger audience has found traditional masculine gender ideals intact’
‘Strate (2001) found that the gender message produced by corporations in the form of advertisements for beer promotes similar types of traditional masculine gender roles’
‘the construct of an ideal masculinity is influenced by a number of intervening factors, such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, age, and religion’
‘Majors and Billson (1992) found that african american male street culture uses ‘style’ for the express purpose of display or defiance in contrast to Brannon’s (1976) ‘real man’ who folds fashion as feminine’
‘White and White (1998) note that flashy American African male dress had its roots in African aesthetics and the cultural resistance of slaves’
Connell (2001)
‘transnational business masculinity’
‘this hegemonic form of masculinity, associated with business executives in the global marketplace, is exemplified by the tendency to commodify relationships with women’
‘Masculinity stems from the fear of being seen as sissy, feminine, or anything less than a man’
Media Education Foundation (1999)
men today - Tough Guise
‘ The tough guise is a performance in which violent masculinity is the norm. It reposers a backlash to feminism, gay rights, racial and ethnic equality’
Pope, Phillips and Olivardia (2002:6)
‘coined the term “the Adonis Complex’ to describe ‘an array of usually secret, but surprisingly common, body image concerns of boys and men’.
‘significant number of boys and men suffering form body dysmorphia, particularly as manifest in muscle dysmorphia, is due in large part to the media-generated images of the ‘supermale’ combines with the male body industries that seek profit built on male insecurities’
Summary:
Within this section Alexander (2003) discusses Brannon (1976) themes of masculinity which discusses the stereotypical ideals surround masculinity. These themes are based on the idea that men shouldn't display emotion and gain status and dominance through status/occupation, the aura of aggression associated with masculinity is also discussed in line with the idea that men ‘should’ present themselves as invulnerable. Alexander also discuss Kimmel (2001) who goes through the development of masculinity over time and how our ideas as a society have changed as previously the ‘Genteel Patriarch’ deprived their status from landownership but was also refine, elegant and a doting father, wheres the ‘Heroic Artisan’ gained status through physical strength. However in ration to the modern day masculinity ‘marketplace manhood’ is more relevant as he gains his identity through success in the capitalist market as he gains power, wealth and status. There are now multiple expectations for men such as ‘faithful husband, good samaritan, law, nature lover, rebel, scholar and technician’ Harris (1995). The cultural and generational relevance of masculinity is also discussed as the strongest variable in differing visions of masculinity in generational, however research on pop culture has reveal that traditional ideals around masculinity are still prevalent today.
Popular Culture and Emerging Constructs of Ideal Masculinity
Goffman
‘Goffman understood gender display not as biologically predetermined but as a performance of gender ideal that one can more or less adhere to’
‘One might just as well say there is no gender identity. There is only schedule for the portrayal of gender’ Goffmann 1997 :8
‘for Goffman, women and men ‘read’ images of femininity and masculinity and then attempt to mimic them when giving a gender performance’
‘Goffman’s analysis of advertisements shows the importance of popular culture in the construction of gender’
‘(girls) struggling to remake the body seen in the mirror into a tall, ultra-slim, large-breasted Barbie doll’
‘boys now experience a similar gap between reality seen in the mirror and the hyper muscular G.I. Joe action figure image found in popular culture’
‘Pope, Phillips and Olivardia (2000) find super males not only in male action figures but also in video games, sports, movies, advertisements and the growing number of magazines such as Men’s Health that cater to men’s body concerns’
Bordo (2000:186)
‘identifies two messages in the men’s bodies of magazine advertisements, ‘face-off masculinity’ and ‘the lean’.
‘face-off masculinity occurs when the male models ‘stare coldly at the viewer, defying the observer to view them in any way other than how thy present themselves as powerful armoured, emotionally impenetrable’
‘The lean describes a body that is reclining, leaning against or propped up against something – a pose that is more typical in women’s imagery. The lean is not passive; it actively invites the viewer to linger over the body’.
‘visual representation serve as agents of masculine gender socialisation’
Summary:
Throughout this section Alexander (2003) discuses how men and women often have the same concerns surrounding body image based on the models used in mass media as they are told an ideal via imagery and then sold on how to become that person supporting text/articles in a similar way to women. This showcases how profit can be obtained by creating insecurities within both men and women based on the ideals associated with masculinity and femininity.
Conclusion:
‘branded masculinity indicates a transformation of men’s understanding of masculinity from that presented in Brannon’s ‘No Sissy Stuff’, if not a complete departure from the form of hegemonic masculinity associated with the past’.
‘men subscribing to publications such as Men’s Health are being socialised to ‘read’ masculinity as a consumer product’
‘rests on one’s outward appearance rather than on the traditional male role of production’
‘Branded masculinity is rooted in consumer capitalism wherein profit can be produced by generating insecurity about one’s body and one’s consumer choices and then providing consumers with the correct answer or product in articles and advertisements’
‘masculinity is no longer defined by what a man produces, as in Kimmel’s discussion of Marketplace Manhood, but instead by what a man consumes’
C - similar to women, masculinity and femininity shows through consumers goods
‘the ability to consumer a number of styles allows for the construction os multiple masculinities’
‘even Brannon’s ‘real men’ must today demonstrate their manliness through consumption of the right products’
‘what appears to be a popular culture filled with multiple constructs of masculinity obscures the structural conditions in which all versions of masculinity are built on a corporate brand’
‘In postmodern capitalist economy, both femininity and masculinity are shaped by the images incorporated in popular culture’
‘In a society based on consumer capitalism, women and men increasingly share the belief that constructing one’s gender indignity is merely a matter of purchasing acceptable brand-name products’
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