http://raltman.blogspot.com/
Responding to Becca’s Masculinity Sexualized
The construction of masculinity is defined not only in Becca’s blog but it is reinforces, according to Becca, by media and its images. The cultivation theory would explain how television/media repeats our culture’s stereotypes/myths/ideologies. The female gaze is then discussed to support the Vogue cover with Lebron James. I do agree that James is being objectified on the cover but the text around the image indicates why he is posed on the cover. The issue is addressing how to obtain a great body and how to diet. Becca does state that this is a female targeted magazine and that James does not really fit the cover; but when the media thinks about masculine words like body strength the idea falls towards masculinity. These types of words fall towards masculinity because of male scripts and what males are associated with.
Adding one female to a dominating male photo does reinsure the heterosexual masculinity. By adding the female in the Twilight cast also demonstrates the power men have over women. How men always “outweigh” women in media or in the work force (specially viewed in media as a myth). Even though the woman is added into the photography to reinsure of the heterosexual nature of the photo the woman is also there to display a balance physically in the picture. She divides the males in the photo.
I disagree with Becca’s response to the pictures of 50 Cent, Zac Efron and Justin Timberlake. She said, “All three of these men are not showing any emotions on their faces…” In the 50 Cent image he is compensating his tough facial expressions with a reinforcing gun to symbolize that his is tough/strong “a man”. The Zac Efron image depict him as being innocent/ non-threatening as he plays with a ring on his finger and is gazing down. Efron is mysterious in this poise and I believe the way he is looking down is supposed to be inviting to the female eye because he is not “taking us on” in a dominant manner. In GQ Justin Timberlake is expressing a blank direct gaze out toward the viewer; almost making direct eye contact referring to a “bring it on” look. Becca did not look deeper into these last three images. She should have studied them more to understand how other viewers might understand the media images instead of lumping the three images together.
Overall I do agree with Becca’s blog about masculinity and how it is portrayed in media. The reinforcement of masculinity is strong in our culture. The ideology is often not questioned by others and the social norm of masculinity may take many years to change or develop. With media’s strong reinforcement of what is normal for masculinity one may never think of other possibilities of depicting masculinity.
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