Analysis Of Men Masculinities And The Media

Jackson Katz is an author, a lecturer, filmmaker and a well known anti-sexist male activist. He’s made a few documentaries and has written articles and short stories on ending violence against woman and sexual equality. One of Kat’s writings is a non-fiction article called “Men, Masculinities, and the Media”, in it he writes about the challenges of male identity, how the media defines masculinity and how it correlates with sexual equality. In the beginning of the article, Katz makes a comparison about masculinity and The Wizard of Oz. He compares Toto pulling back the curtain and revealing a scared, pathetic man pretending to be someone great, the Oz, to the way media portrays man and influences man. He mentions that the curtain symbolizes a shield to protect men’s vulnerability and humanity (Katz 1). Media image is an important influential source to woman and man; it follows throughout generations and can shape the ideas and behavior of both sexes. In “Men, Masculinities, and the Media”

Katz states that “physical size and strength for many men have become increasingly important to proving manhood” (Katz 3). He blames mainstream media for creating stereotypes of what men should look like and how they should act if they want to be a manly man. Action films starring, buff, male actors is one example he uses that portrays a tough guy image. He goes on to say that men are challenged by woman in education and in profession so the belief to have the advantage of being stronger and bigger in build result proving how important physical appearance is to man (Katz 2). The way he explains it is that men are to be seen as violent and more powerful or they won’t be seen as a manly man. Katz stresses on the idea of stereotypical images of men and the expectations that are put on men because of how much it can affect them at a young