I made a note to check out the website www.shapingyouth.org after reading chapter 6 in Hobbs' book, Digital and Media Literacy. The section in the book about Amy Jussel's pieces on Target and Kmart ads stuck with me since we usually don't associate "family" retail stores with subliminal messages about sexualization. In my mind, these types of negative messages came from cigarette ads, makeup, or even barbie dolls. My oversight sparked my interest and I went deeper.
Coincidentally, this post ties in with my previous post about "boy-toy sexuality", but it looks at the issue of media messages and their effects on boys. Too frequently we consider the influence the media has on young ladies and ignore the implications that these pervasive messages have for young boys. For ladies it is simple; the media perpetuates unrealistic ideas about weight, body shape, sexual power and prowess, etc. But what messages are teenage boys taking away from the various television shows, magazine covers, video games, and sports programs they take in daily?
According to Jussel, boys "are joining girls in socioemotional sidewinders impacting their health at ever-earlier ages in adolescence, and their dissatisfaction with their own body image has risen from 15% to 43% in the last thirty years." Where media images and messages lead to anorexia in girls, they are leading to "bigorexia", "exorexia", and "manorexia" in male teens. Boys are now comparing themselves with the Taylor Lautners plastered all over the internet and big screen. According to media massages, huge, Hulk-like muscles and impossible 8-pack abs are what make a boy a man. Jussel provides a number of links to helpful resources that expand on the growing problem of boys and unrealistic body image. Boys suffer more now from eating disorders than they ever have in the past, and objectificaiton is no longer an issue relegated to the world of women.
It is easy to overlook boys in a culture that has grown ever-watchful of female gender stereotypes. Our increased vigilance in one area has caused neglect in another. If we are going to educate our students about the media messages they take in, we need to be very careful that we look at them from all sides. Our male students will be severely under-served if we turn a blind eye to what the media is telling boys about masculinity.
Jussel's blog:
http://www.shapingyouth.org/?p=18956
Kirsten, I love the point you make here. Why does America in particular only focus on the way the media affects girls? I think even eating disorders are more common in men because of the media then we are let on too. Women are just as harsh on men as they are on us. We expect the perfect male body to be chiseled and tall and tan, with perfect teeth and sparkling eyes. Great point addressed here!
ReplyDeleteI remembered this post as I reflected on our discussion Friday on my drive home. While I still believe that improvement in women's roles in society are still necessary, we downplay the objectification of men. I was reading on Jussell's blog about D'Angelo and his struggles with being objectified as a black male:
ReplyDelete"The objectification that D’Angelo dealt with was inextricably linked to the historical fetishizing of black men’s bodies as excessively virile and animalistic; for a performer already highly aware of what it means to be a famous person of color, the combination was too much."
I don't now much about D'Angelo except a few songs and of course his reputation for his body. It was shocking to me that someone who seemingly has so much would struggle and nearly ruin his career because he wanted recognition for his talent, not his body. We often don't think about that for men and of course it would be too macho to speak out against that treatment. I would imagine it would be career damaging in itself. So as we look at teenage boys harrassing one another about how big their muscles are, or what a wimp they are you can only wonder what the harrassers are feeling about themselves.
Women's objectification is in our faces everyday and women are fortunately able to speak out against it even though not always successful. We are fortunate to more easily raise awareness. Men's objectification seems to be the silent victims.