Okay, so this week we have been focusing mostly on men & how they are shaped in our society. Let me get right to the point...
1. Disney movies... Alright, yes Disney always has the super hero who is extremely strong & all that, but come on.. are people really going to try to look like Hercules? Sure men want to be strong and able to stand up for themselves and the "girl worth fighting for" (this is a line in Disney's Mulan) but still. I have a feeling they aren't going to the gym trying to look like a buffed up Disney hero.
That being said, I do think that Disney can push the look of buffed men & very manly men to children at a young age. What kids need to understand is that not everyone will be the same. Not all of them will be the big tough, muscular man & that is okay. Guys as well as girls need to work on accepting who they are & being happy with themselves.
2. Men in the media. Yes, this is my same argument from when we were talking about girls in the media. Sex sells. That's the bottom line. It may not seem right to some, but it is what it is. I know that if someone who was not tight muscled like David Beckham was modeling men's briefs, no one would buy them.
Who is to blame for the mens look? The media... or the people who for so long have bought into the ideas of strong, violent, sexy men? Look at it this way... the shopping industry looks for ways to sell their products... if sexy men weren't doing the job why would they continue to use this tactic when selling their products? Don't blame movies, media, and the shopping industry for the "manly look" because we as consumers have bought into it & have made that look grow.
I agree with you Christina, but in my opinion not all the disney characters are buff. What about Aladdin? He isn't. But yes, most disney males are buff.
ReplyDeleteThe "manly look" I believe has been around awhile and has just carried on to media and other things along those lines.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI don't think you should feel like you have to defend your ideas. Sociology just wants to see how individuals are influenced - so, regarding your #2 sex sells, just accept it; it is not about acceptance or not, instead the reason why we discussed it is regarding the influence that sex sells has on our society. Can you see that?
For number 1, I realize that all males are not looking like these buff guys and are not even trying to look like the buff guys, but can this buffness have other messages? Can it be influencing us in other ways? For example, male risk taking and male violence; i.e. if I can't look like those guys, I can act like them to prove I am masculine...