The
films, Miss Representation (2011), and Tough Guise (1999), commentate
on dysfunctional representations of masculinity and femininity in mainstream
media and culture. While Miss
Representation focuses primarily on the objectification of women in
pop-culture, Tough Guise explores the
reverberations of perfunctory messages defining masculinity.
Jennifer Newsom in Miss Representation (2011), describes
how from a very young age women learn what is desirable and internalize these
ideals. Women are conditioned to please,
and not cause drama; they are expected to embody multitudinous yet incongruous
social roles. Women should be the perfect mom, victoria’s secret model,
career-go-getter, and house-wife, all in one.
My sisters, myself, and many of my friends have
struggled with eating disorders; many women in my family and friend-circles
have struggled with substance abuse and self-harm; my sisters, my friends and
myself have all been subject to sexual discrimination, harassment, or assault.
As is described in both films, this is not unusual. One doesn’t have to look
very far for confirmation; these are some statistics from anti-violence
organizations RAINN and Futures Without Violence, “every 2 minutes, someone in
the United States is sexually assaulted; 1 in 3 women will be a victim of rape
in her lifetime; 1 in 4 women will experience intimate partner violence in her
lifetime,” among other dire facts.
The plight of women’s struggles, although
extremely relevant, is practically old hat. So I appreciate how Tough Guise (Jhally, 1999) brings to light
the social pandemic affecting young boys and men as well. Katz, a writer for Tough Guise, illustrates how current
conceptualizations of femininity and masculinity feed each other. For example,
the waif-trend is a symbolic call for women to ‘take up less space,’ in a world
where they are asserting equality and how men’s violence against women could be
viewed as a backlash to their perception of constrained masculinity. Yet Katz
(1999) argues, “there’s nothing inherent about masculinity [and femininity];
its about playing a role defined by larger social structures.” We live in a
society where masculinity is equated with violence and femininity is equated
with sexual objectification—no wonder rape is pervasive.
Walk into any bar, gym, or house-party, and you
can pinpoint countless men, if not the majority, putting on their ‘guise.’ It
is with great empathy that I have been enlightened to the intense societal
pressures unremittingly exerted on men. While it would not be audacious for a
woman to stand up against sexual discrimination or vouch for curves, men aren’t
given permission by society to emotionally explore the effects of pernicious
gender messages on their psyche.
It could be argued that women have gotten better at distancing
themselves from harmful media messages. Personally, I have come to a place
where I can watch E! News and eat Annie’s Mac’Ncheese at the same time, because
I recognize that the media is selling an image for a profit. Through
consciousness, I have created a space for glorifying the perfectly imperfect.
Katz
and Newsom identify some cogs behind the wheels of structural violence:
patriarchy and capitalism. Patriarchy, as defined by Sommers-Flanagan (2012), is
the ideology in which attributes associated with masculinity, such as power,
control, dominance are privileged and those associated with femininity,
emotiveness, compassion, empathy, care, equality, are devalued (p. 340). White
patriarchy has been the automatic gear for the United States since its
inception. Men, particularly white men, dominate the spheres of cultural
influence: politics, corporate enterprise, entertainment and media industries.
As is described in Miss Representation (2011), it’s
all about capitalism. Corporations are only concerned with the bottom line and
if they make a profit out of hyper-masculinity, sexual deviance, and voyeurism,
this is what they will promote. Corporate impunity is bought via political
campaigns; democratic checks on media are usurped to maintain the status quo.
And so long as men dictate policy, scripts, and advertisement, malignant
cultural norms persist. It is not individual men and women who are flawed,
although it is important to recognize the potential for change on an
interpersonal level— it is the atrocious cultural definitions of gender that we
enact, conceived by the media.
Katz (1999) alludes to how change has to be
two-fold- on an interpersonal level and from the top-down. We, as young
individuals, have to be courageous by challenging social norms and instigating
dialogue. Consciousness is the first step. In recognizing how the messages from
mainstream media dictate our self-concepts in relation to society, we can
choose to call out these deleterious scripts and rewrite the dialogue.
Conceptions of masculinity and femininity are not written in our DNA—these are
learned worldviews.
There definitely seems to be a gap in dialogue
between the sexes. Women are always talking about men, and men (I think?) are
talking about women, yet there is hardly any crossover. We are left in gendered
wonderland where both sexes are speculating about the others’ motives or mental
status. I think the first step in creating a space for empathy is to lift the
taboo of ‘men are from Mars, women are from Venus.’ The fact is, either way
both sexes are vilified by damaging societal messages and exploring that common
ground of oppression could be an impetus for change.
The good news is that culture is malleable, as is
socialization. Our society has already made so many great leaps forward: gay
marriage was legalized in two states and was up for vote in even more; the
Violence Against Women Act (V.A.W.A.) was revamped just this past week to
include language about the protection of minorities (Bendery, 2013). Individually,
we should advocate for healthier conceptualizations of gender, but
simultaneously, we have a duty to make our sentiments known to the top-tiers of
power. Gender may always be a point of contention, but the discourse is not
deterministic.
References
Bendery, J. (2013, Feb. 22). VAWA 2013: House GOP Unveils Bill With
No LGBT Protections, Modified Tribal Provision. The Huffington Post, retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/22/vawa-2013_n_2742096.html
Jhally, S. (Director), & Katz, J. (Writer). (1999). Tough Guise: Violence, Media, & the
Crisis in Masculinity. Media Education Fountdation.
Futures Without Violence. The Faces on Domestic, Dating, and Sexual
Violence. Retrieved from http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/content/action_center/detail/754,
Newsom, J. (Director). (2011). Miss
Representation. Girls’ Club Entertainment.
RAINN: Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network. Statistics.
Retrieved from http://www.rainn.org/statistics
Sommers-Flanagan, J. & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2012). Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in
Context and Practice (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley &
Sons.
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