Masculinity

Masculinity is a term generally used to denote a set of characteristics, actions, attitudes, expectations, and ways of being that a particular society maintains for men. What is considered masculine changes over time and varies between and within social classes, racial and ethnic groups, subcultures, cultures, and societies. Societal-wide dominant stereotypical images and established practices, however, create an overall normative structure. This structure legitimates what it means to be an ideal man—physically, mentally, and emotionally. R. W. Connell and James Messerschmidt call this dominant form hegemonic masculinity. They conclude that the contemporary hegemonic American image of masculinity is that of an individual who is middle class, strong, confident, unemotional, physically fit, overtly heterosexual, and a provider and protector of women. Similarly, Nicholas Townsend lists four elements that constitute a contemporary “package deal” of successful manhood: heterosexual marriage, fatherhood, employment, and home ownership. Others have alternatively conceptualized masculinity as an entire way of communicating (a discourse), a hardened social structure or a fluid performance that changes both between and within persons.

Masculinity is strongly tied to the consumer culture because it is constructed and disseminated by [Page 900]mass media images, advertising, and information. It is also often juxtaposed against images or ideals of femininity to market a variety of products such as toys, video games, magazines, music, television shows and movies, alcohol, and cars. Studies suggest that at least some boys and men internalize these images and construct identities, enact behavior, purchase goods and services, and even shape bodies that conform to what is presented to them. Males who fail to obey the rules or live up to these visions of masculinity are sanctioned negatively—sometimes violently—by self and others.

The ideal male physical form in general and even specific male body parts have been a moving marketing target. For instance, while the current American ideal conflates muscularity and fitness with maleness and desirability, notes Kenneth Dutton, the bodybuilding associated with such a physique is a historical creation. In the United States, the first ever bodybuilding competition appeared in 1891. In later years, Strong Man competitions featuring men displaying physical prowess became popular. By the 1920s, barbells and weight lifting gear were widely available for individual purchase. During the 1930s, a muscle and beach culture appeared, showing boys and men what “real” men should look like and where they could buy the products to achieve the look. Popular magazines, such as Beefcake, portrayed the image of a real man as one with exaggerated muscular definition. Advertisements of the time, such as the Atlas Man campaign, poked fun at thin men and offered ways to bulk them up into real men. The Atlas campaign also linked violence with masculinity. In it, a scrawny man who has sand kicked in his face bulks up to beat up others who challenged his masculinity. These images of muscular masculinity remain even today in the form of men's health and fitness magazines, bodybuilding competitions, Gladiator programs, and national sport cultures, such as football.

Studies have shown that hegemonic masculinity featuring the hypermale, “V” shaped torso is marketed to men and boys in an assortment of consumer products. For instance, a study by Harrison G. Pope and colleagues in the 1990s compared thirty years' worth of male toy action figures by measuring the figures' waists, biceps, and chests scaled to the measurements of an average man. It revealed that contemporary action figures' body measurements were out of proportion even with the most muscular bodybuilder. A content analysis of Men's Health magazine showed that such ideals clearly guided the magazine's presentation of health issues: real men eat red meat, drink beer, eat prepared convenience food (stereotypically, men only cook if they are grilling), and are sexual champions. The overriding theme (exemplified by such articles as “Add 2 Inches to Your Chest,” “Build Abs That Show,” and “Look Like a Men's Health Cover Model”) was of the ideal man as bodybuilder, according to Arran Stibbe.

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