by Paul George
“In the days of my youth I was told what it was to be a man.” This opening lyric from a classic Led Zeppelin song established that boys grow up believing that, in order to be a man, they need to develop certain qualities. For many youth, a real man is physical, strong, independent, intimidating, powerful, in control, rugged, respected, hard, a stud, muscular, and, most importantly, tough. If a man does not measure up to these standards, he is labeled with the words pussy, bitch, fag, queer, soft, mamma’s boy, girly, emotional, weak, wimpy, wuss, and sissy (Katz). Sadly, the mass media and modern advertising have encouraged these mind sets rather than challenge them. Advertising directed toward men sends the message that men must be emotionally indifferent; consequently, it preys on any vulnerabilities or fears they have underneath the facade.
A quick look at a current issue of Esquire magazine demonstrates the emotional tone that is predominant in many men’s magazines. Of the thirty-two advertisements featuring men, only four showed men smiling. The twenty-eight glowering advertisements were for a variety of products including apparel, cologne, and whisky. The advertisement for Prada was typical of the other commercial content of the magazine. The two-page advertisement features two men. The young man on the left is staring to the right side of the page. He is emotionless, although there is a hint of sadness in his expression. The second man is on the right page gazing indifferently toward the camera. The message sent by this advertisement is that, as men, emotional expression is not a desirable quality.
Glamour, a magazine directed toward women, fares no better in its display of men. An advertisement for Calvin Klein Jeans displays two men sitting on a couch. One has no shirt on while the other has his shirt unbuttoned. Lying across them is an attractive woman, topless. Both men are staring away from each other and away from the woman. Again, their faces demonstrate no emotion. While the three page spread shows the threesome in various positions of contact, no emotional contact is displayed. The advertisement is clearly suggestive of a ménage a trios, yet neither of the men display any emotional attachment to the situation. Once again, the message is sent that, in order to be considered a man, you must purge any emotional responses, even erotic ones.
These very ideals have lead to a generation of men who find themselves at odds with their feelings. Men, unlike women, generally do not have the social structure that allows them to deal with anxieties. Many men find that talking to their wives or girlfriends simply exacerbates their emotional anxieties. When one man’s dog died, he was greatly distraught. When he cried in front of his wife, she simply told him to get over it. When a man displays fear, anxiety or sadness, he is frequently told “cry me a river,” “go tell it to the mountain,” or “welcome to the club.” Unable to externalize these emotions, many simply internalize their feelings. Since no one cares how they feel, they withdraw. A recent British study asked women the following question: If they died and were brought back to life, would they want to come back as a man or a woman. 19% of women chose to return as a male. The same question was then asked to a group of men. 60% of men said they would rather return as women (Torlée). Clearly many men are have lost their sense of belonging in the world. Advertisements like the one previously discussed reinforce the message that emotional distance is a desirable quality in a man. However, this tough exterior does not mean that men do not have emotions. It is simply a disguise.
Advertisers have tapped into the insecurities that men have and have preyed upon those fears. This is demonstrated clearly in advertising for weight loss supplements and erectile dysfunction advertisements. An advertisement for Xenadrine in Men’s Health displays the torso of a man with a chiseled body and well-defined abdominals. The copy reads “triple you weight loss!” and then proceeds to reach past the disguise of invulnerability that many men have and play upon their insecurities. The advertisement then inquires “Are you suddenly feeling you’re behind the game and much too soft and sloppy to take your shirt off?” Muscle & Fitness, a physical culture magazine, features an advertisement for the same product. However, it shows a picture of a muscular male before and after he took the product. The before picture shows a classically muscular man who should be proud of the body he has developed. The display announces that the test subject lost 25 pounds of pure fat from the use of Xenadrine. It states that his body was “carved by the world’s best fat burner.” The picture of the model after he took the product shows him chiseled and cut, as if he was carved from marble. The implication is quickly recognized in a man’s inner self. If a man has eaten right, exercised, lost weight, and improved his health, he still is not complete. If he is to be emotionally hard and indestructible, then physically he must be the same way. A man must eliminate anything soft from his body, mind and soul. He must be carved. He cannot be weak or vulnerable. If he is, he will be exploited. Of course, Xenadrine is right there to help him deal with his shortcomings.
Erectile dysfunction is a real medical condition. Many men who suffer from it, but feel embarrassed to talk about it. Since Pfizer’s release of Viagra in the late 1990’s, the issue of ED has been raised in the collective consciousness of society. An magazine advertisement for Viagra, an ED pharmaceutical treatment, shows a middle aged couple driving in a convertible with smiles on their faces. The copy reads “guys are getting the message.” Viagra’s website tells the viewer that “ED is more common than you might think.” The site explains that ED is not the same for all men, and lists various examples of what might be considered ED. There is a good chance that most men have at some time met these broad qualifications. The website then reaches past the tough male exterior and states “ED is a medical condition. So in most cases, erections will not improve without treatment.” This sends a message to many men that they must have this drug. They begin to feel inadequate, even when they have had no serious problems in sexual performance.
This has led to a silent epidemic, the abuse of Viagra and other ED medications. It is easy to get a doctor to prescribe the medicine because he can only base his decision on what the patient says. Many doctors have become concerned that younger men are taking the drug. Men in their 20’s and 30’s who have shown no signs of ED have started taking the drug (Condor). In the August 2008 issue of Playboy, a 28 year old reader wrote that he was taking Viagra because he became nervous on first dates. He felt the drug served as an insurance policy. However, at some point, he would stop taking the drug and his sexual performance would be normal. This has led to confused partners. Doctors are concerned that the taking of the drug by younger men will lead to a lifetime of dependence and can be potentially damaging to a relationship. The advertisements for Viagra and other ED medications have capitalized on men’s fears of sexual inadequacy. Since men have been told that they need to “suck up” any feelings of anxiety, they turn to a drug that they may not need. Again, vulnerability is exploited by advertisers. Yes, Viagra, men are indeed “getting the message.”
Sadly, boys and men are given a narrow box that defines manhood (Katz). Women are given an unrealistic standard of thinness. Men, however, are given the message that they must develop a lean muscular body in order to meet any standards of attractiveness (Vartanian). Modern advertising has helped men build a wall around their complex masculine emotional selves and then slowly eroded it with advertisements that tell them that they are weak, soft and inadequate. Due to media influences, men equate manhood with strength and power, not with compassion or love
Works Cited
Anonymous. “The Playboy Advisor.” Playboy. Aug. 2008: 37.
Condor, Bob. “The New Face of Viagra Abuse Is Younger Than You Think.” Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) (Dec. 26, 2003). n.p.. SIRS Researcher. Elizabeth Strum Library, Reno, NV. 5 Apr. 2009. SIRS Knowledge Source
Calvin Klein Jeans. Advertisement. Glamour. Apr. 2009: 27-29.
Esquire. Apr. 2009.
Katz, Jackson. Video documentary. Tough Guise : Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity. 2009. Media Education Foundation. 2 Apr. 2009. http://www.mediaed.org/cgi- bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=211.
Led Zeppelin. Good Times Bad Times.
Prada. Advertisement. Esquire. Mar. 2009: 1,2
Torlée, Liz. "The plight of the other sex." Marketing Magazine 109.20 (07 June 2004): 17-17. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Elizabeth Strum Library, Reno, NV. 26 Mar. 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=13581053&site=ehost- live.
Vartanian, Lenny R.. . "WHEN THE BODY DEFINES THE SELF: SELF-CONCEPT CLARITY, INTERNALIZATION, AND BODY IMAGE." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 28.1 (2009): 94-126. Research Library. ProQuest. Elizabeth Strum Library, Reno, NV. 26 Mar. 2009. http://www.proquest.com/.
Viagra. Advertisement. Esquire. Apr. 2009: 46
Xenadrine RFA-1. Advertisement. Men’s Health. Apr. 2009: 93.
Xenadrine RFA-X. Advertisement. Muscle & Fitness. May 2009: 22,23.
Copyright 2009 Paul George
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