The Presence of the Media - Essay Example

The Media’s Impact on How our Society Perceived Masculinity and Femininity Total Number of Words 279 IntroductionThis paper will focus on examining the media’s impact on how our society perceived masculinity and femininity among the American people. As part of examining the media’s impact on how our society perceive masculinity and femininity, this essay will prove that the presence of the media has a strong impact over the socially constructed and accepted masculine or feminine image for men and women respectively. The Media’s Impact on Socially Constructed Masculinity and Femininity Devor explained that “very young children learn their culture’s social definition of gender and gender identity at the same time they learn what gender behaviors are appropriate for them” (Devor, p. 385). Based on what a child witness inside the comfort of their own home, experience in external environment like the neighborhood or in school, and observation in television or poster advertisement, the child’s perception of socially accepted masculinity and femininity is developed. As a common knowledge, the media plays a significant role in the development of the American culture and perception regarding the acceptable masculine and feminine images. In line with this, the media is often used as a communication tools by large-scale companies when incorporating or projecting their products as something that is masculine or feminine. Cigarette companies are among the large-scale companies that use advertising posters and television advertisements as a way of influencing the socially constructed masculinity and femininity in the United States. Despite the negative health consequences of smoking, a lot of men choose to smoke since the media kept of stereotyping that men who smoke are masculine. After many years of media intervention, cigarette companies like Marlboro has been successful in developing a connection between cigarette smoking and masculinity throughout the country (Starr). (See Appendix I – First Marlboro Poster on page 7) Notice that in the first poster presented in appendix I, Marlboro Country presented three images. The picture on the middle portion of the advertising poster suggest that real masculine and mature men smoke the brand of Marlboro as their preferred brand whereas the top and bottom portion of the poster suggest that Marlboro is the best cigarette brand for real men throughout the urban and rural areas in the United States. Similar to the first poster presented in appendix I, Chesterfield – another famous cigarette brand back in 1947 has been using famous male Hollywood stars to encourage more men to smoke cigarettes. (See Appendix II – Chesterfield Poster on page 8) On the third advertising poster presented in appendix III shows that Marlboro users are masculine by nature. This picture does not only reflect that the man is riding a horse but also suggest that the man in the photo has the power and stamina to be frequently in action. Because of the positive impact of masculine image presented in most cigarette advertising posters, cigarette companies through the use of the media strongly influence the development of smoking habit in socially constructed and accepted American masculinity. (See Appendix III – Second Marlboro Poster on page 9) Upon careful observation of the three advertising images presented in appendix I, II, and III, the first and second poster suggest that real men are serious and keen observers. Physically, real men are energetic and usually have clean hair cut, well shaven, and with or without mouthstache. To create a masculine image, men have to wear long sleeves, jacket, hat, trousers, and leather shoes. In relation to how real masculine men should look like, Vazquez received a comment from a man regarding this issue of homosexuals stating that “We hate homosexuals. They degrade our manhood because they act like girls” (p. 475). This statement clearly shows the masculinity is a stronger sex as compared to femininity in the sense that most men do not want to show their weakness or act feminine because people would think they belong to the weaker sex. In most cases, people perceive men who belong to a football team to be macho and manly (Vazquez, p. 475). Often judged by a person’s physical appearance, most men avoid wearing leather jacket or dangling earrings because of the perception that “dress like a homo, dance like a homo, must be a homo” (Vazquez, p. 473). Because of the strong influence of media over the masculine culture in America, some people develop a wrong connotation that to be masculine, there is a need to be associated with a gang who would often get drunk and get involved with bullying or physically hurting other people (Vazquez, p. 473). Similar to the influence of the media over the development of masculinity in American culture, the media is equally effective in terms of influencing the feminine image in the country. As a role, “femininity is best suited to satisfying a masculine vision of heterosexual attractiveness” (Devor, p. 389). For women to be readily accepted in our society, women are expected “to dress, move, speak, and act in ways that men will find attractive” (Devor, p. 388). Cigarette companies do not only concentrate on targeting men to smoke. In line with this, Philip Morris marketed its menthol cigarettes to female users. Presented in appendix IV, the famous Lucille Ball advertised Philip Morris to women back in 1950s. In this poster, Lucille Ball was wearing full make-up with matching pearl earrings and necklace to add sophistication on the model’s physical appearance. In most cases, women are not only expected to wear female clothes such as blouse and skirt or attractive dress but also maintain a good hair style. Basically, the feminine image shown on this particular advertising poster revealed the need for women to dress up properly in order to attract men. (See Appendix IV – Lucille Ball on Philip Morris Cigarettes on page 10) Another advertising poster show that it is acceptable for women to smoke in public places or when taking a break from work. (See Appendix V – 1948 Camel Cigarette Ad on page 11) Conclusion The advertising media has a strong impact on socially constructed meanings of femininity and masculinity. With this, the media strongly dictate how men and women should wear proper clothing such than real men are expected to wear long sleeves shirt and trousers whereas women are expected to wear blouse and skirt or dress. The media also dictates the way men and women should act in public places. Despite the socially accepted gender roles of men and women within the society, it is undeniable that the use of media and technology could sometimes bend the way on how we should accept the sexual preferences of each individual. In the past, women are not allowed to smoke in public since the act of smoking could create a negative public impression on them. Because of cigarette companies’ desire to earn more profit, the media has been constantly promoting women to smoke in public. For this reason, the number of women who smokes gradually increases over the past few decades. Eventually, smoking has been an accepted norms among the modern women. With respect to the role and responsibility of men and women in our society, the media dictates how men and women should dress up and act in public. Based on the direct quotes from the texts used in class and my personal observation concerning the media’s impact on how our society perceive femininity in women and masculinity in men, there is a strong socio-economic factors that directly influences the way people perceive and accept the real meaning of femininity and masculinity in the United States. Other than the direct influences of the family members over a child’s developmental growth, the advertising media together with the use of other related technology significantly influences how a person chooses the best sexual preferences for himself/herself. *** End *** Appendix I – First Marlboro Poster Source: Starguide Enterprises Presents Appendix II – Chesterfield Poster Source: Fan Pop b Appendix III – Second Marlboro Poster Source: Fan Pop a Appendix IV – Lucille Ball on Philip Morris Cigarettes Source: Fan Pops c Appendix V – 1948 Camel Cigarette Ad Source: Fan Pops d References Devor, Aaron H. Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality. 1989. "Fan Pop." 2010 b. Chesterfield Cigarettes. 3 July 2010 . "Fan Pop." 2010 a. Marlboro Man. 3 July 2010 . "Fan Pops." 2010 c. Philip Morris Cigarettes. 3 July 2010 . "Fan Pops." 2010 d. 1948 Camel Cigarette Ad. 3 July 2010 . "Starguide Enterprises Presents." 2010. Marlboro Poster. 3 July 2010 . Starr, Michael E. "The Marlboro Man: Cigarette Smoking and Masculinity in America." The Journal of Popular Culture (2004): Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 45 - 57. Vazquez, Carmen. Appearances. n.d. Read More