Boys are just as affected by the media as girls

Media in today’s society plays a significant role as a part of our day to day lives. It surrounds us from the magazine we read, the movies we watch, to the music we listen to. It is unbelievable how the media insinuate their message to us subconsciously at every turn of our daily activities. Its influence affects all of us equally no matter what gender, age, race or religion one might be. It is simply just a myth where girls are more affected by the media than boys, in fact the pressure on both ends are all the same. The weighted expectations of how the media display society’s standards impacts on boys are just as equivalent as it is to girls –what differentiate between the two sexes are the different stereotypes that face.

In contrast to what the general public presume girls to be, vulnerable and delicate; a porcelain dolls or better yet damsel in distress, the perception of boys are quite the opposite. The media and society often illustrate manhood to be masculine, tough in both action and emotional wise. It is outrageous to be overly expressive of one’s emotions as it is consider unmanly to expose ones vulnerabilities and weaknesses or “girly” to be somewhat concern about their appearance. In today’s society the expression of “real man don’t cry” are still use by many. This caveman like ideal primarily arises from media icons which promotes the tough guy attitudes as a must in winning a girl’s heart. Movies such as “Fast and Furious” with characters like Dominic Toretto are frequently portrays as the main heroine; muscular, low voice, aggressive, dominant with an overall bad boy vibe, encourages boys to imitate such behavior. Let’s face it, many teenage boys avoids discussions when topics such as their personal feelings or issues come up in fear of discrimination among their peers.

Mass media creates negative effects on teenagers to engage in risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking. In trying to find their own character and identity, teenagers often