Essay On Masculinity

“Masculinity has been taken to the extreme. And taken to the extreme it creates anxiety, homicide, rape, war and suicide”(Farrell 142) Warren Farrell, a founder of the men’s pro-feminist movement, goes into further explanation of how hyper-masculinity has a negative result on the people who admire its throne like appearance. The very popular Gangster-rap genre of present day media possesses an abundant amount of promotion to the display of extreme masculinity by encouraging criminal actions such as homicide, rape, theft, and dehumanizing women. Now that a thorough definition of hyper-masculinity has been explained, one can apply it to the advertisement at
The man depicted in the ad is taking a different approach to the common misconception of masculinity by not surrounding himself with half nude females, exemplifying rebellion by the sales of narcotics, or trying to show off his excess amounts of testosterone by promoting violence. These examples have been idolized by younger generations, and it seems that material objects are replacing respectable morals and ethical decisions. “men are being socialized to get female attention by standing out”(Farrell 143), this quote helps explain why men often resort to extreme measures when in the presence of females, but it also has some traditional aspects. In one hand, men take this over board and think they have to express useless action to get a girls attention or that they have to dress nicely and perceive as if they have excessive amounts of money. In the other hand, men take “leaps of faith” for what they believe in, for instance, Henry Ford with his belief to capitalize on motor vehicles or John F. Kennedy for striving to be the President of the United States or the first country on the moon. These famous people stood out by striving for excellence and in return received fame and even interest from