1. Males and Females are expected to exemplify stereotypical ideals in terms of their physical appearance.
In most forms of media, men are expected to be large, dominant, muscular, and physically imposing and capable. Females are expected to be attractive, voluptuous or model-like thin or slender, and in most cases, less than their male counterparts in terms of their physical ability and stature. This is exemplified by the models created for the game "World of Warcraft". Players are allowed to choose between male and female, facial features, and other physical characteristics such as skin tones and accessories like piercings, horns, and hair styles. But every choice of the ten different races limits selection to picking a larger, more physically domineering male, or a more slight and attractive looking female character. With concerns to accessories, options of piercings are almost exclusively available to females and more threatening attributes like scars or imposing characteristics like horns are relegated to males.
2. Sexual exploration and experimentation is expected to begin during adolescence.
Superbad is a movie involving three teens in their efforts to subdue their particular love interests before they graduate from high school. This is a common theme in American culture in that the longer one goes without beginning their sexual exploration, the more taboo their inactivity becomes. The three main characters in the movie all expressed anxiety over whether or not they were going to be able to accomplish their goals, and explored measures which included breaking the law to obtain alcohol which they planned to use to inebriate their potential firsts to accomplish their desires. This is counter-intuitive with regards to the larger cultural context which suggests that pregnancy should be delayed until an individual is economically capable or raising that child on his or her own, which is rarely the case among adolescents.
Superbad is a movie involving three teens in their efforts to subdue their particular love interests before they graduate from high school. This is a common theme in American culture in that the longer one goes without beginning their sexual exploration, the more taboo their inactivity becomes. The three main characters in the movie all expressed anxiety over whether or not they were going to be able to accomplish their goals, and explored measures which included breaking the law to obtain alcohol which they planned to use to inebriate their potential firsts to accomplish their desires. This is counter-intuitive with regards to the larger cultural context which suggests that pregnancy should be delayed until an individual is economically capable or raising that child on his or her own, which is rarely the case among adolescents.
3. Males and Females are held to different sexual standards in different situations.
In the media, often sex is so idealized that it trumps all other values. This of course is depending on the venue, but I have observed that often monogamy or staying true to one partner or the other isn’t as important as maintaining the illusion of staying true in most media venues. In this commercial for Carls Jr., a man is eating buffalo wings when an attractive waitress approaches from a few tables away and begins to flirt with him for a few moments. The camera then pans out and the man’s girlfriend comes in to view, and the narrator says “Guys love going out for buffalo wings, that is…when they’re with the guys..” This implies that although it wasn’t good that he be caught obviously lustfully flirting with the other woman, perhaps if his girlfriend weren’t present, it might be more acceptable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKr_bvd8h2I
4. Men and women are to serve certain roles in sexual contexts.
In sexual contexts, men and women serve different roles and purposes in the media. Men are encouraged to be dominant, intimidating, in control, and in some situations, violent. Most or all of these qualities are often presented to be desirable for a man to possess. Females are expected to serve submissive, helpless, silent, and deferential roles in sexual relationships. This picture shows both a male serving a very aggressive sex role over a female and a female serving a submissive role while simultaneously being almost unaware that she is being what appears to be attacked.
In the media, often sex is so idealized that it trumps all other values. This of course is depending on the venue, but I have observed that often monogamy or staying true to one partner or the other isn’t as important as maintaining the illusion of staying true in most media venues. In this commercial for Carls Jr., a man is eating buffalo wings when an attractive waitress approaches from a few tables away and begins to flirt with him for a few moments. The camera then pans out and the man’s girlfriend comes in to view, and the narrator says “Guys love going out for buffalo wings, that is…when they’re with the guys..” This implies that although it wasn’t good that he be caught obviously lustfully flirting with the other woman, perhaps if his girlfriend weren’t present, it might be more acceptable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKr_bvd8h2I
4. Men and women are to serve certain roles in sexual contexts.
In sexual contexts, men and women serve different roles and purposes in the media. Men are encouraged to be dominant, intimidating, in control, and in some situations, violent. Most or all of these qualities are often presented to be desirable for a man to possess. Females are expected to serve submissive, helpless, silent, and deferential roles in sexual relationships. This picture shows both a male serving a very aggressive sex role over a female and a female serving a submissive role while simultaneously being almost unaware that she is being what appears to be attacked.
5. Although it is taboo for certain ages to begin participating in sexual practices, they are fair game for sexual advertising in the United States
Products meant for a wide range of consumers are often advertised using very sexual images. Skechers is a common brand of footwear for all ages, yet in this ad, they take a pop singer (Who happens to be very popular at a variety of ages too) and hyper-sexualizes her using limited clothing and falic-like instruments to get one message across to the target audience, which is young adults. If you buy and wear skechers like the celebrity, you could be just as sexy and provocative as her! Skechers + your foot = Sexy!
These are just five of the ways that media in the United States works to construct and understanding of what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be either sex in relation to one another. Media paints a picture of what it means to be sexual for the viewers, and unfortunately if we were to compare the picture media paints, and the message that the average individual can appreciate, I believe it is clear that they are likely to be very different if not diametrically opposed.
Products meant for a wide range of consumers are often advertised using very sexual images. Skechers is a common brand of footwear for all ages, yet in this ad, they take a pop singer (Who happens to be very popular at a variety of ages too) and hyper-sexualizes her using limited clothing and falic-like instruments to get one message across to the target audience, which is young adults. If you buy and wear skechers like the celebrity, you could be just as sexy and provocative as her! Skechers + your foot = Sexy!
These are just five of the ways that media in the United States works to construct and understanding of what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be either sex in relation to one another. Media paints a picture of what it means to be sexual for the viewers, and unfortunately if we were to compare the picture media paints, and the message that the average individual can appreciate, I believe it is clear that they are likely to be very different if not diametrically opposed.
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