Masculinity

The search for becoming a man begins the moment young Johnny realizes he is different from his counterpart Jane. At this epiphany the search begins to find out his true identity. As Johnny’s eyes are open to his manhood he departs on a lifelong journey into his masculinity. What the young boy doesn’t know is that along the way he will be faced with many false ideologies of manhood. The biggest culprit lies in the portrayal of men in the media. The media is saturated with male role models. However the underlining message preached from the media is that of a hyper masculinity and not a proper view of what a man is to become. The media promotes an unhealthy representation of true manhood. The media has distorted what true manhood is. Combine that with the fact the United States culture encourages men to act like what they see on their television screen and you have a recipe for disaster. If a man were to base his masculinity on television role models he would assume that being tough, strong and sexual active with more than one woman is the status quo. For example, the show community on NBC has several male characters but only one that is portrayed to be a “real” man. Jeff Winger is the masculine character and is seen as witty, often demining to women, and a womanizer. Not only that but was a lawyer and cares greatly about his physique. Also in movies men are show an improper view of masculinity. James Bond is a prime example of how manhood has been warped. Almost every young man sees James Bond as the epitome of what manhood is. He is strong, unemotional, charming, and sexual active with beautiful women. With these kinds of role models it is no surprise the way men today see themselves. The media plays on the stereotype of a traditional man at the cost of young men losing sight of what manhood really is. The media promotes a hegemonic view of masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity signifies culturally normative and influential ideals of masculinity. As such, masculine

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