[http://bloggerdigest.blogspot.com/2007/02/casino-royale-legend-of-james-bond.html]
[http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files2008a/Monkman-TheTrappersBride.jpg]
[http://www.zimbio.com/Calvin+Klein+Fashion/articles/19/The+Calvin+Klein+Steel+launch]
[http://stuffgayguyslike.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/5-designer-underpants/]
[http://www.voices-unabridged.org/index.php?numero=7]
These images pretty much show how masculinity is sexualized in the media. The first two is an example of masculinity shown in the form of a hero. The male character is portrayed as tough, attractive and heroic. James Bond is a good example, I mean what kind of women would not fall for a sexy man with a gun? He is the definition of masculine. He fights the bad guys, saving the day while being constantly surrounded by beautiful women. The reading "Centerfold Syndrome" talks about how young boys are encouraged to not show their feelings or weakness and are expected to become a man by developing muscles and ignoring their emotions. Like James Bond or any other heroes, young boys are pressured to be brave, strong, aggressive and learn to distant themselves from love or affection. Heroes are shown with women just by their side or just as a trophies. "Centerfold Syndrome" explains this by masculinity is shown through who has "obtained" the most valuable prize which is women. The second picture ties into this idea also. The male in the picture is the hero with his winning "prize" which is the female.
The third and the fourth images shows what it means to be a man/masculine. Who has the most muscles and the biggest penis how a boy and a man is broken down. Both images show males in their underwear, with their bear muscular chest and their noticeable penis is all sign of being masculine. The fourth picture, the male has a cap on backwards, a face of a rebel and holding his crotch all portraying that he is a man and here are things to prove it. In the reading "Consuming Eroticism" she talks about the different reactions of males when they were either by themselves or with a mixed gendered group. Males who went into a porn shop solo, were either in and out type or were little uncomfortable with the surroundings. The males who went with mixed gender group, established their masculinity by distancing themselves from the "lesser valued statuses of women and gay men by verbally stating their sexual abilities with women and making homophobic jokes." I think that even though males are "expected" to be sexually driven, when they show it too much it becomes perverse. Also the guy who were in the mixed gender group, going through all that just to show that he is masculine sort of connects with the fourth image where the guy is proving his masculinity.
The last image, I thought was interesting because it reads "Our strength is not for hurting so when guys disrespect women we say that's not right." Males are known for their strength and when a man looks strong, woman feels protected. In media males strength are shown as aggressive. Males with nice toned muscles, attract women just for the sexual pleasure. In media, guys that are chubby can not get women because they do not have the masculine image that they need to attract women. Another thing is that males masculinity is tied with violence. Being violent is part of being masculine. The saying "boys with be boys" it is normalized in our culture.
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