How the Media Distorts Male Self-Perception Essay

The media is capable of articulating images, ideas, concepts, and principles in order to manipulate people’s brain. Their ideas and concepts are easily identified by the passive and uncritical audience. The opinions of the observers are molded and directed by television (largest social communicator), radio, magazines, internet, and newspapers. The current role of the media creates a reality produced by themselves, thus it is capable of constructs and produces male and female behaviors.

Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. Not only do we strive for human approval and companionship, we also thrive on social media. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience muscle dissatisfaction, weight disparities, and anger and/or anxiety toward showing their body in public. This paper will address these facets of the media’s effect on male body image as well as presenting what has been done to address this quietly debilitating issue.

“Evolving Ideals of Male Body Image as Seen Through Action Toys” points out clearly that this pressure to conform exists for men today as well as for women. While Barbie dolls and GI Joe action figures are not the one and only reason that the majority of people feel insecure about how they look, they are a piece to the much larger puzzle. It is speculated that it takes a large number of combined factors that cause a specific person feel insecure about how they look. Countless times it is something that we unknowingly see or hear that effect how we think about ourselves. If we are always self-concise about how we look we are more likely to buy something that we observe in an advertisement, which claims to transform us to look better. Unfortunately the images that we have and are trying to obtain are unobtainable, so as a result, we continue to invest and spend time in pursuit of this alleged

In “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body”, Susan Bordo, a known feminist that studies body issues like eating disorders in men and women, focuses on the shift of views amongst men and women in advertisements that we see portrayed by the media. In our society, sex sells. Because of this, women have always been the targets of scrutiny, but why now fix our attentions to men? Bordo explains how homosexual men have shaped the way our society views men in the media, not by their “Schwarzenegger bulk”, as Bordo describes, but by how a man’s “body projects strength, solidity” being that “he’s no male waif” (Bordo 170). One of the main contributors to this shift in attention, other than the homosexual male community, is fashion icon Calvin Klein, a

The statistics that identify an increase in eating disorders and other mental health issues due to the presentation of women, especially young women, in the media is shockingly significant. Many women aspire to achieve the “perfect” body. Currently research sites that being thin and toned is the most aspired body type. Woman are largely

This unrealistic ideal of masculinity that is presented to society through modern advertisements and television have several negative effect on how men perceive their own body images. For a long time, people have been talking about how women were affected by those ideals, and how they were having unhealthy habits to try to look like models and actresses, but is very rare to find people discussing how men are affected by those ideals. But surprisingly men are very worried about their body shape and appearance, and are very affected by this unrealistic ideals, sometimes more affected than women.

As a woman in society I have always had a hard time dealing with my body image and the pressures to fit in. There are so many burdens within society for women to fit a certain criteria to be accepted. The media has a lot to do with the way women perceive the way they "should" look and act. Friends and family are another source from which this perfect image stems from. It's not healthy for young girls and women to be stick thin and starving themselves just to go along with societal norms and look like everyone else. Women need to learn that it's okay to have they're own look and not be "perfect" because it's impossible and they'll die trying. Instead of worrying about what we look like in the

Humans Have leaders, an individual's actions, however “independent” they might seem are invariably linked to those actions of the leaders. Whereas in the past leaders might have been drawn from the immediate Populus around us, nowadays with the unfathomable power of media we look too new people for leadership. People such as Brad Pitt, Channing Tatum, Zac Efron and Chris Hemsworth are portrayed as heroes and the embodiment of masculinity, consequently they are setting the standard for fashion, lifestyle and consequently body image. Notwithstanding the fact that these famous personalities are required to have an aesthetic reminiscent of the Greek gods simply to function as an actor, everyday people see this standard of body to be normal. Furthermore when the individual fails to emulate The near impossible to achieve the aesthetic of these actors it leaves a feeling of inadequacy. And men are willing to take whatever steps necessary to combat this.

Nowadays the world without media is unimaginable; the media have controlled the population and it is more likely to get worse. Since children and adolescents are particularly more vulnerable to messages and images, they have been the easiest and the most affected targets. Girls are more likely to do so because of their natural instinct of vanity, Approximately 90-95% of anorexia nervosa sufferers are girls and women (“anorexia nervosa”). According to surveys, around 83% of adolescent girls read fashion magazines for an average of 4.3 hours per week, and this number is growing abruptly (Spettigue, Wendy, and Katherine A. Henderson). Magazine articles present in the society, mainly to young people, what they consider beauty and requirements to

I actually really enjoyed reading this eye-opening chapter. I almost found it refreshing because society usually ignores or lack to analyze the social construction and the stereotypes surrounding the male’s physique. In many different ways, I would argue that, in many cases, men have it just as bad as or possibly even worse than women because there is very little to no variety in the male’s appearance in the media. Lorber and Moore support this claim by stating, “The standards for beauty are so narrow that one good-looking man in a magazine very much resembles others,” (89). Women have the pleasure of seeing different sizes and body shape on TV and they are usually represented in a positive light. However, men do not have this pleasure. The media advertises the same type of

Televisions and movies through their visual effects help define ‘a real man’. During advertisements, there are some particular aspects of man that are portrayed. A man who fails to have certain forms of male features may not be shown on TV or may not be considered for a film (Cohen & Hall, 2009). Moreover, the marketing companies have started to objectifying men in the same manner women have been objectified. The fitness of a

Throughout society, men and women have been expected to live by guidelines consisting of media generated ideas and ways of living out life. Both men and women’s thinking process are being altered the negative effects of society’s mass media. For both sexes, this repeating negative exposure causes a constant downfall in self-image and creates media influenced decisions that lead to unhealthy lifestyles. The media effects the thinking process of both men and women in negative ways therefore media needs to be heavily regulated.

Every year you hear and see commercials saying, “Start your New Year’s Resolution early…Join [Such and such] fitness today…Feel good and look good”! The people who represent the fitness centers are the most athletic, fit people you see. They are the model by which to look. I try not to play into what I would call the superficial world of looking good, but it happens to the best of us. It is part of our culture. It is a very strong way to define oneself as more masculine or more feminine. But, the lines of masculinity and feminity have somewhat merged. In the past it has been acceptable for females to be concerned with their looks and for males not to outwardly care as much. But, with the existence of weight rooms, it

Many times people tend to judge a book based on its cover. They may assume based on ones gender and idealized image of how they should present or carry themselves. In particular I am talking about women and their bodies. Today’s culture and society as a whole has a misconception of how women should look and what is considered a healthy weight for women. If a heavy women walks in a room she may get glares or classified as “fat” or “ unkept”. In reality she is an average working class woman with lack of financial means to keep up with the Jones. This does not mean she is any less intelligent or beautiful then a women who lives up to societies unrealistic expectations, she is what I consider “normal”. Expecting women to “look a certain way” or “be a certain weight” frustrates me because not only does it cause eating disorders, it takes the individuality away from a woman.

Do I look fat today? Does my hair look alright? Why can't I have better skin, a better body? These are questions men are asking themselves every day, and yet the subject is very hush hush with boys there's a lot more "banter". They're often hurt, but the expectation is to laugh and shrug it off. Do looks matter? No, you say. Yet we live in a society that seems to contradict this very idea if looks don't matter why does the media use airbrushing to have men appear more muscular? The pressure of "body perfection" which we promote is a risk factor for developing an eating disorder. Bombarded with unhealthy male body ideals, the media target on the vulnerable people who strive for acceptance. We must address this ongoing gender bias so men have the confidence to get the help they need.