Gender Roles in Today's Society. From Metrosexual to Retrosexual - Book Report/Review Example

?From Metrosexual to Retrosexual: The Importance of Shifting Male Gender Roles to Feminism Katherine Noel Anderson) Part Summary In thisarticle, the author traces the shifting from the “metrosexual” to the “retrosexual.” In her view, the metrosexual man was one which became popular in the 1990s. The metrosexual man was one who would spend time and money on shopping, was willing to embrace his feminine side, had a heightened aesthetic sense and was a trend-setter. David Beckham is an example of such a man. This is a man who pays attention to grooming – he gets manicures and pedicures, uses upscale products on his face and hair, and he might wear makeup. He also is cultured, having knowledge about fine music, art and other cultural totems. His fashion is trendy and fashion-forward, and he might accessorize, even carrying a man-purse. He knows how to cook, and likes to eat healthy and gourmet. Anderson states that the show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, popular in the early to mid 2000s, catered to just such a man. In Queer Eye, five homosexual men – one who is an expert on fashion, one who is an expert on etiquette, one who is an expert on cooking, one who is an expert on interior decorating and one who is an expert on hair – make over one shlubby guy, along witht the guy's home, cooking skills and etiquette. Anderson states that, in reaction to the metrosexual trend, the retrosexual man came into the fore. Anderson traces the genesis of the retrosexual man to 2004, which, perhaps not coincidentally, is when the Queer Eye star began to fade. The backlash presented itself in blogs and print. Anderson, in particular, states that the turning point was a South Park episode in which the “Crab People” invade the town of South Park, with the intent of “sissifying” the town, which would enable the crab people to invade the earth without male resistance. After this, other parodies of the metrosexual sprung up, along with such male-testosterone driven movies as Fight Club, X-Men, Talladega Nights, Nacho Libre and Zoolander – all of these movies, according to Anderson, pokes fun of the metrosexual trend. Anderson states that the original metrosexual trend only came into being because of marketing. She believes that society should “allow” straight men to carry purses, wear makeup and be refined, without the man being ridiculed, and the metrosexual trend was a positive thing in this respect. She feels that the male identity was more divergent because of this trend. However, because she feels that marketing was at the root of the trend, this is less than positive, because it means that men, like women, are commodified. Capitalism is a neutral denominator, and capitalism is what is dominant in our society, not necessarily patriarchalism. In other words, men are dominated by capitalism, the same way that women are, and men and women are both dominated by capitalism, therefore society is less patriarchal than was previously imagined. Part 2 – Assessment Anderson does not really support her argument, perhaps because the article is too short. Most of the article is focused upon the difference between metrosexuals and retrosexuals, and her argument about commodification and capitalism, which turns out to be her thesis, is relegated to one paragraph at the very end of the article. She did not provide proof that the metrosexual trend was driven by capitalism and the desire to sell goods – for instance, she didn't specify that marketers were driving the trend by marketing certain goods, telling men that they need these goods, etc. She also did not even try to make the argument that the retrosexual trend was a function of marketing. Therefore, her overall thesis was very weak. Part 3 – Evaluation Her agenda was to critique the metrosexual and the retrosexual with a feminist eye, while also laying the problems at the foot of capitalism. I believe that she is distorting the analysis, in that there is not proof that the metrosexual trend, nor the retrosexual trend, is marketing driven. My own analysis of the issue is that metrosexuality was not driven by marketing, but, rather, was perhaps an issue that has been around for longer than is stated, and is still around, although it is not commented upon by the media as much. There are still metrosexuals, and there always have been. The media coverage is the only thing that is different, and I believe that Anderson completely missed the point on this. Is Advertising a Barrier to Male Movement Toward Gender Change? (Authors: Gentry, J. & Harrison, R.) Part 1 - Summary In this article, the authors investigate how men are portrayed in advertising, while looking at these advertisements through a masculine lens. They analyzed different advertisements by using a content analysis. They first looked at commercials during major sporting events on television. They then examined commercials which were broadcast during typical female television shows, which are afternoon shows which are directed at the female market. Advertising conducted toward children was also examined. For the 1392 commercials which were broadcast during sporting events, only two showed a man in a domestic role. Sixteen showed men in the role of the “do it yourselfer.” Thirteen commercials showed men shopping – for beer and auto parts. Meals and food made up the images for 177 commercials, all of them featuring the man eating out. 118 of the commercials shows men in violent roles. 100 showed men with family, but only seven showed the man interacting with children. The conclusion was that the man, in commercials on during sporting events, did not portray nurturing behaviors at all. So, the authors found that the men in these commercials do not cook, do not do domestic chores, do not have emotional ties to children and do not shop for anything but beer and auto parts. The authors also found that two broad categories of men are portrayed in these ads – stoic men and horse's asses. The stoic man is rugged, outdoorsy, career-oriented, and hard-working. The horse's ass is immature and incompetent. He never does anything right. For the commercials shown during women's programming, the authors found that 75 (out of 200) of the commercials deal with medical issues. 33 of the commercials deal with food, 22 of those with dining out. Seven commercials focus on men going shopping for groceries. Two commercials deal with violence. Two commercials show a father in a nurturing role with his children. The men are usually in the background of these commercials, and the men are not shown doing domestic chores. The authors concluded that men are not egalitarian in the commercials aimed at them, and that advertising enforces traditional gender roles. Women do not see much violence in their commercials, but men and children do. In commercials aimed at men, men are not shown inside the home. In commercials aimed at women, they are. Men are not shown to be active fathers. The authors cite a Barbara Durham, who states that, although gender roles in society are changing, advertisers do not want to rob men of their masculinity. The authors worry that frequent violence seen on commercials influence male norms, and that men should be shown that being a loving, caring, responsible father should be portrayed more often. Since gender roles are changing, men should be shown this, and encouraged to accept the changing gender roles. Part 2 Assessment - The authors do support their argument, which is that gender roles are changing, but the advertisers are not showing this. In particular, they showed that men are not shown in nurturing roles and that men are not shown in domestic roles. Also, there is too much violence in these commercials aimed at men. However, their argument could be stronger – they viewed some 1300 commercials during male-oriented shows, and only around 200 commercials during female-oriented shows. Therefore, the sampling is off. Part 3 – Evaluation – My own impression is that men are portrayed somewhat negatively in commercials – for instance, they are often incompetent, just like the author says. That said, I remember seeing quite a few commercials where the dad has emotional connections to the children, and these commercials air during gender neutral shows that I watch. Because of the oversampling of male shows, the undersampling of female shows, and the no sampling of gender neutral shows, I believe that the data is incorrect. The authors should have sampled male, female and gender neutral shows, evenly for all, in order to get the true picture of how men are portrayed in commercials. Looking for Gender: Gender Roles and Behaviors Among Online Gamers (Authors: Williams, D., Consalvo, M., Caplan, S. & Yee, N.) Part 1 – Summary In this article, the authors are focused upon assessing gender differences in video game players. In their study, players of the game MMO Everquest II were examined. Their survey was 80% male, 20% female. They found that, with the video games, men are motivated by achievement than women playing the game, and that women are more socially motivated to play the game than are men. Women had less playing time in the game than men, as far as experience goes, but they were more hard-core and played more often than the men. The women were healthier than the men who played - women had a lower BMI than the men, and also have better exercise habits than the men playing this game. Men are significantly more physically aggressive than the women playing this game. 62% of the women play the game with a romantic partner, compared to 25% of the men. The women were also older and better educated than the men playing this game, and were more likely than the men playing the game to be bi-sexual. Because the women spend more time playing the game than do the men, the researchers were surprised that the women playing the game were healthier and more fit than the men. Part 2 – Assessment The argument was that there would be differences between men and women who play the video games. The authors found this to be true. They also found some surprises – that women play the game more often than men, and are more hard core about the game than are man. They are also more likely to play the game for social reasons than are men, and they are more likely to play with a romantic partner. Therefore, the author did support their hypothesis that men and women who play video games are different and play for different reasons. As for the significance of the argument, the study falls in line with other studies which have looked at gaming and gender. Previous studies, according to the authors, were mostly focused upon video games which are not social in nature, such as those played at home. However, because the online game is social in nature, it is important to make fresh studies regarding gender and gaming, which capture the social aspect, which was deemed to be most important to women. Part 3 – Evaluation I found that this article was interesting, because it does address the social aspect of video gaming. So many of the articles out there focus upon certain aspects of video games, such as the violence of the games, etc. This one focuses on the social aspect, because this is what motivates women to play. That said, I also found it interesting that women who play video games are not only more likely to play with their romantic partners, but they are also more likely than male players, and considerably more likely than society as a whole, to be bisexual. To me, that was almost a contradiction. At first, the article seemed to suggest that women play the game because their man is into the game, which is why they are much more likely than men to play with a romantic partner. This would mean that the woman is fulfilling a feminine role – following their man into the men's pursuits. Then, there was the suggestion that women, as a whole, might be more masculine than the average woman. This is shown by the conclusion that the rate of bisexuality among women gamers is considerably more than in society as a whole. Therefore, the two findings seem to contradict one another, because the image of the bisexual woman is that she will be more likely to be independent and play the game because she wants to, and she is co-opting masculine roles. Overall, I felt that the article addressed key issues regarding men and women and why they play video games, and, more importantly, how social the two sexes are. However, the argument was somewhat undermined by the conclusion that many of the women who play video games are bisexual and hardcore. To me, that is a blurring of gender lines and roles, therefore it somewhat undercut the argument that men are women are different when playing video games. Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem Towards Gender Roles: Contributing Factors in Adolescents (Authors: Tam, C., Lee, T., Har, W. & Pook, W.) Part 1 – Summary This article regards Malaysian adolescents, examining how self-esteem and social support are linked, while examining the role of social support, self-esteem and gender. The authors examined students from school in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Exactly 50% of the participants were male, and 50% were female. All the participants were randomly selected and asked if they wished to participate in the survey. The authors measured self-esteem by using the self-esteem rating scale (SERS) and measured social support by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The authors found that there is a correlation between the amount of social support received and the rate of self-esteem in the adolescents examined. They also found that there was not a difference between the perceived social support between males and females. There also was not a difference in males and females as far as the level of self-esteem. Part 2 - Assessment The authors of this study went into the study assuming that males and females would perceive the amount of social support differently, that males and females would have differing levels of self-esteem and that there would be a positive correlation between the amount of social support and the amount of self-esteem. The only one of these hypotheses which was proven to be correct in this study is the third one- that self-esteem and social support are positively correlated. This is important to know, because this article goes against conventional wisdom, which is that males and females have differing levels of self-esteem from one another. The significance of the argument is that men and women are supposed to have differing levels of self-esteem, and other studies have shown this. However, in this study, this proved not to be the case. This is an interesting article for this reason, because it goes against the conventional wisdom regarding gender roles. Males are the ones with the self-esteem in society, because they are the ones who are supposed to get out into society and conquer it. Women are in the workforce as well, but the image of women in the workforce is not that they are so much movers and shakers, but more nurturing. Self-esteem goes along with this. Perhaps the issue is that these kids who are studied are in Malaysia, therefore do not have the Western ethos regarding work and a man's traditional role in the world of work, verses a woman's traditional roles. Malaysia is not considered to be a powerful country, therefore the country is not dominant in the world. Perhaps this kind of ethos, that the country is not going to dominate politics, business and overall power, results in differing gender roles and differing needs for self-esteem. This would be interesting fodder for follow up studies, which may study gender roles in third-world and non-Western countries in general, to see if the self-esteem issue is the same with these other countries. Part 3 – Assessment The assessment of this article is that it is pretty even-handed. There was exactly an equal amount of girls who took part in the study, compared to boys. This is important, because the results are less likely to be skewed. Moreover, the participants were found at random. There does not seem to be a hidden agenda in the article, other than to examine, objectively, the relationship between self-esteem, gender and social support. The researchers thought that there would be a gap between males and females with regards to self-esteem, and thought that there would be a gap between males and females with regards to the perceived level of social support. This did not happen, and the authors were surprised. I did not find that the article is ideological, in that it did not seem to push a certain agenda or take the stance of looking at the evidence in a theoretical way – such as examining the evidence with a feminist eye, or critiquing the evidence in any way. They also did not seem to really position the findings within the realm of gender studies. They simply reported what they found, stated that they were surprised by the findings, and moved on. A Bizarre Domestic Metamorphosis: Gender Roles, Power Relations and Threatened Homes in Shirley Jackson's Like Mother Used to Make. (Author: Cohen, G.) Part 1 – Summary This article describes Shirley Jackson's story Like Mother Used To Make by looking at the gender roles and power relations within this novel. In the process, the author states that the book has similar trappings to a gothic novel, which often features women who neglect the feminine nature and the male characters in these books. That said, the main character of this tale is a man. In this case, Cohen describes the plot of the book - the protagonist is David, and David lives in the same building as Marcia. David is domestic – his apartment is very neat, and he cooks. He also takes fine care of his plants and is dedicated to possessions, in general. Marcia, on the other hand, is not only a slob, but also does not nurture anything. Her apartment is bare - she doesn't even have any plants, let alone pets or children. One James Harris soon is integrated into the story, an Cohen spends a great deal of time explaining who James Harris is. James Harris is apparently a recurring character in Shirley Jackson's stories and novels, and the appearance of Harris is a harbinger of evil in Jackson's books. In this case, Harris really does not bring evil – he interrupts Marcia and David's evening by dropping by, and David, who seems to be a bit of a neurotic, ends up doing Marcia's dishes and leaving in a huff after Marcia pays too much attention to Harris. However, it is unclear whether there is a relationship between Marcia and David. Cohen's thesis appears to be that David and Marcia have a gender role reversal. David is the domestic one, and Marcia is the one who is not domestic. Marcia also appears to have the power over David, because she appears to be one in the relationship (if there is a relationship) who cares the least. She does not care that this James Harris drops by, and does not ask Harris to leave, even though she is kind of on a date with David. Part 2 – Assessment While Cohen says that her thesis is that there is a gender role reversal in this particular story, she does not make the case very well. The only evidence that she has on the gender role reversals is that David is domestic and Marcia has the power in the relationship. That said, Cohen does not really make the argument that Marcia has the power in the relationship very strongly. From where is Marcia's power coming, and how does she yield the power? This is unclear in Cohen's article, because it is unclear that Marcia and David have a romantic relationship with one another. According to Cohen's article, David invited Marcia to dinner, maybe wanted to have a movie with her after dinner, but a firm relationship is not established between the two, according to Cohen's analysis. Therefore, it is difficult to argue that Marcia has the power in the relationship, because the relationship itself is not established. And, how does Marcia wield this power? True, Marcia allows this interloper, James Harris, to interrupt her evening with David, and does not make James Harris leave. However, this is unclear how this, in and of itself, is evidence of the wielding of power. Is it because Marcia is showing David that she cannot be pushed around, as David evidently makes his displeasure with James Harris' interruption known? Or is the wielding of power by some other means? This part of the argument is very unclear. The only part of the argument that is clear is that David's role is not that of a typical masculine guy- he wears aprons, he bakes pies, he is fastidious and he tends to his plants obsessively. That Marcia is not typically feminine is less of a clear argument – yes, she is messy, but she also seems to be coquettish, which is a typical feminine trait. She isn't really masculine. Therefore, much of Cohen's arguments are weak – there isn't really a role reversal (David is feminine, but Marcia is not masculine), and there was not a reversal in typical power relationships. Part 3 – Assessment It seems that Cohen is attempting to fit the story of Like Mother Used To Make into the pantheon of gender studies, with regards to novels and short-stories, and how novels examine gender roles. She starts out by stating that gothic novels show women to be more independent than society saw women, then goes on to state that the protagonist of this novel is a man. Therefore, she undercuts her argument right at the first. As a feminist critique, this article does not work, as it does not prove the reversal of gender roles. A Single Woman: Rebellion Against and Reinforcement of Traditional Gender Roles in The Exorcist (Author: Marcus, B.) Part 1 – Summary In this article, the movie The Exorcist is examined by showing how the movie both reinforces and rebels against traditional gender roles. The article starts by stating that the mother in the film is not shown to be a typical single mother, who is facing the practical challenges of being both mother (nurturing, loving) and father (working, doing fix-it chores on her own). Rather, the woman in this movie is shown to have social and spiritual consequences for her choice to step outside the traditional roles of wife and mother. The author argues that Chris (the mother's) punishment for breaking tradition is that, because she is focused upon her career, her daughter becomes a vessel for evil. The author states that Chris is typically masculine, instead of feminine - her name is androgynous, she wears pantsuits, she works full-time, she has short hair, and she does not desire a relationship with a man. She doesn't even cook – she has a worker do the cooking. However, as the film progresses, Chris becomes more feminine – she starts wearing scarves, she seeks the counsel of men, she is more submissive, and she defers to the male advice. Regan, the daughter who is possessed by the devil, starts out as a feminine child – obedient, kind, and considerate. As the film wears on, and the demonic possession begins to take hold, Regan starts acting less feminine (assuming that feminine means “submissive”) and more masculine (assuming that masculine means rebellious, and uncontrolled sexually). The author concludes that the intent of the film is to demonize, literally, feminism, in that Chris is punished for her decisions to act like a man. The message, according to Marcus, is that femininism is evil, as is female independence and single motherhood. These are the forces which are destroying traditional America, according to the film, and this is symbolized by the demonic possession of Regan. Part 2 – Assessment Marcus does not make her argument very well here. There is no indication in her article that Chris' acting like a man actually brought about the demonic possession of Regan – there was not a cause and effect shown here. For instance, perhaps Marcus could argue that Chris was gone from the home for long periods of time, therefore she did not see that her daughter was changing, and did not get help until it was too late, and her daughter was already in the throes of a full-blown demonic possession. This would show cause and effect – the mother is checked out, the daughter runs wild, mother doesn't notice because she is too busy at the office, and the daughter is fully possessed by the time that the mother seeks help. However, the argument that Marcus seems to make is just the opposite. Marcus states that the mother is tuned into what is happening in her daughter's life, and this makes Chris want to seek the help of various professionals to help her daughter. This would seem to indicate that Chris is portrayed as nurturing and attentive, and not so focused on her “masculine” life that she does not understand what is going on with her own daughter. Therefore, the argument falls flat – the filmmaker is not trying to indict independence or single motherhood, because, if this was the filmmaker's agenda, the filmmaker presumably would not be so subtle about it. Moreover, the argument about Regan is not a good argument, either. Marcus appears to equate feminine qualities with obedience and charm, and masculine qualities with rebellion, crude sexuality and violence. This is the argument that is made when stating that Regan somehow changes gender roles, just as her mother does. Part 3 – Assessment The author evidently wants to use The Exorcist as a feminist critique, and an indictment against the filmmaker and the author of the book, William Peter Blatty. That said, my impression is that The Exorcist is a good horror story, nothing more. If anything, it is a story of what happens in a perfectly normal family when something like demonic possession occurs. I have seen the movie, and I never picked up on any misogynistic undertones. I simply thought that the mother and daughter were incredibly normal and loving with one another, which makes the horror of what occurs later all the more poignant. I do not think that the filmmaker or the author of The Exorcist had a hidden agenda, although Marcus certainly does. Bibliography Anderson, K. (2008) From metrosexual to retrosexual: The importance of shifting male gender roles to feminism. Thinking Gender Papers. Available at: http://escholarship.org/us/item/81z2f0p5 Cohen, G. (2012) A bizarre domestic metamorphosis: Gender roles, power relations and threatened homes in Shirley Jackson's Like Mother Used to Make. Revista do curso de Letras da UNIAEU, 3(1), 51-66. Gentry, J. & Harrison, R. (2010) Is advertising a barrier to male movement toward gender change? Marketing Theory, 10, 74-96, Marcus, B. (2011) A single woman: Rebellion against and reinforcement of traditional gender role in The Exorcist. Kino: The Western Undergraduate Journal of Film Studies,2(1), 1-4. Williams, D., Consalvo, M., Caplan, S. & Yee, N. (2009) Looking for gender: Gender roles and behaviors among online gamers. Journal of Communication, 59, 700-725. Read More