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How media can influence an individual identity
Social constructs of masculiniy
Social constructs of masculiniy
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“Often” encapsulates the masculine side of male R&B singers through various use of lyrics and imagery. The song opens with The Weeknd staring emotionless into the camera, a blank stare almost as if he is in his own world. Showing very little to no emotion is widely accepted as an extremely masculine trait. In one of Devors ' essays he says “men/who conscientiously avoid anything associated with femininity are seen as exuding masculinity”(Devor 139). This can be interpreted as expressing emotion is associated with being feminine, so by not showing emotion The Weeknd exudes masculinity. Further demonstrating his masculinity The Weeknds ' demeanor throughout the music video gives off an air of confidence almost arrogance. He is seen standing …show more content…
The video seems to take place in an apartment of some sort, overlooking a city skyline. The floor in the apartment is made of hardwood, and the furniture all looks brand new and well taken care of. The bright colors of the furniture also allude to wealth, one account suggests that “bright colored furniture specifically white gives off an air of cleanliness/Cleanliness is also a trait associated to wealth” (Micheal 's 15). All of the furniture in “Often” were specifically chosen to portray this sense of cleanliness, everything is in order, nothing is out of place. Moreover the clothing the women are seen wearing also advocate wealth. One woman is seen in a tight black dress with high heels, Her hair looks like it was done professionally with the desire to impress, she is also seen wearing make-up and a tight black dress. These items can be attributed to the wealth of the man, in this case The Weeknd, relaying back to my original point of how wealth can be used as a ploy for …show more content…
In this music video the use of his soft tone voice, and the choice of clothing. are used to the subtly fool women into believing they “love” the them. Where as their only true intention is to have sexual intercourse with them. In reality it 's just another woman used for satisfaction, in plain English a player. It 's awkward to think that a genre with singers who have some of the most soft tone voices can be so derogatory. It 's a contradiction for sure, but I think this contradiction isn 't even a contradiction to begin with, they uses feminine strategies to attract woman, which only further proves their masculinity. Why? The soft voice easily attracts the women into falling for them, and once they have them in the palm of their hands that 's when the player mentality comes out. An article done by Kristie A. Ford speaks on how “fake masculinity can be used to achieve real masculine behavior” (Ford 13). In other words the fake masculinity which is the soft voice and the choice of clothing, are used to achieve real masculine desires which is sex. So even though Devor says that men are viewed as masculine by looking aggressive, intimidating who carry a heavy voice, R&B singers use tactics which contradict that masculinity Devor speaks of in order to achieve something regarded as much more masculine, Sexual intercourse with multiple women. Adding to this One article
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
In 1996, the Wachowskis wrote and directed the noir crime thriller, Bound. In this film, the directors turned some of the archetypes of film noir on its head. Most notably, the role of women in film. Film theorist, Laura Mulvey, claims that the main role of women in film is to function as a source of pleasure, to be objectified, to be passive and at the command of male fantasy. This relationship of looking and being looked at causes each gender to have a particular presence within film; the male is active and the female is passive (Mulvey, 1975). However, in Bound, the character Violet, who is obviously objectified by the gaze of the male characters, does not hold a passive role within the film itself. Violet is a force that acts upon the narrative, manipulating events and scenes to her favor, along with actively controlling male gaze and using it to her advantage. Film theorist, Tania Modleski argues that there are passive and active roles within films that have connotations with “femininity” and “masculinity”, but these roles do not have to apply to the gender or outward appearance of characters that they align with. Modleski focuses more on the actions, not the outward appearances, of the film
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
He goes on to claim that as a man that is happily married he is the perfect person to degrade women in jest of popular culture. He believes that his song is a “feminist movement within itself” because it urges women to free themselves from their square, monogamous sex lives and have some fun (read: having wild sex).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Myers mentioned in his article that this generation of young discouraged, angry men feels abandoned with the today’s norms. Male movie stars and athletes have further influenced the masculine norms. In males perspective, liking a feminine color, doing feminine actions, listening to specified girl music is considered to be less manly. These have greatly affected the likes and dislikes of many men. The entertainment industry has created a big gap between what is masculine or feminine. This has caused a big separation and it's getting worse. Male are taught to be man of the house, strong, and powerful, but sometimes they’re belittled by society that they can’t do certain things and all the power is
The video begins with 50 Cent driving into the gates of a mansion in his sports car. When he enters the doors he is greeted by numerous women scandalously dressed. He then climbs the stairs in the foyer as he makes eye contact with the women. He sees Olivia and makes eye contact with her, then begins to follow her.
At a young age, gender is taught to have associations with different visual cues. Femininity is fragile, wispy, small, weak, grey, negative, and needs to be taken care of like a child. Masculinity is strong, constant, large, with standing, bright, positive, and has the need to be worshiped. Wonder Woman is the strongest example of diverging from the feminine norm yet Superman still swoops in and “rescues” her because that is how females need to be dealt with. Like damsels in distress. In My Life with the Wave, publication in 1949 when gender roles were most prominent in society, the gender associations are clearly marked out. The wave is a female thus she is negative and the man is male thus he is positive. In The Missing Piece, produced in
The most common theme in hip-hop music videos is the objectification of females. Women are portrayed as sexual objects throughout the videos. In some videos they are seen as a type of reward or trophy for the male. Other times they are seen holding money to gain the attention of men or are even portrayed as slaves willing to do anything to please the men in the videos. According to Catherine MacKinnon, “Objectification involves treating a person, someone with humanity, as an object of merely instrumental worth, and consequently reducing this person to the status of an object for use” (1989). Her point relates to the hip-hop music videos because the idea that they transmit is that women are only objects available at anytime for men’s use. When women are objectified men feel more “powerful” or “successful” by showing the have control over women.
There is a direct relationship between what is portrayed in music and the effect it has on its audience. Generally speaking, in modern music, woman have been placed in a certain mold. The molds portrayed in music have caused women to have negative self-perception. Through the lyrics presented in the songs and the images portrayed in the music videos, certain hip-hop songs may cause women to view themselves in the same light portrayed in the songs. The tone, lyrics, and images presented in the songs effect the intended audiences immensely. Hip hop music that objectifies black women negatively affects their self-perception because they view themselves as commodities.
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1955) is a play written in the post-war period by Tennessee Williams. It opened at the Morosco Theatre in New York on March 24, 1955, and it was directed by Elia Kazan, a friend of Williams. The play belongs to Minimalism – a movement based on taking a picture at a moment in time – which Tennessee Williams understood as the best way to represent realism. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” focuses on the members of an Southern American family, specially on the younger son of the family and his wife, Brick and Maggie. The relationship between these characters is not as close as Maggie would like it to be, and that is mainly caused by Brick's behaviour after the death of his friend, Skipper.
Common expectations seem to indicate gender roles on every individual. The males will play their part in being masculine while the females act an as object. There are several ways one can see how gender roles are played. A way is through hip-hop and rap music in the black community. Joan Morgan, an African American feminist and hip-hop and rap music fan, shows us how gender roles are being played in her community through music. Since Morgan is a feminist, she voices her opinion on the way black men treat black women in her article, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos.” Morgan states her argument that black men write lyrics ranting about black women to give a self-reflection. The males feel oppressed and express it through music. There are many reasons a male can feel oppressed, whereas one reason is becoming masculine. Michael Kimmel, a sociologist professor at Stony Brook University and the author of “‘Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” states that guys tries their best to show that they are manly. To clarify on how the men portray their oppression is to sing of misogyny and self-hatred in disguised hatred toward women. Men expressing their oppression through music tie the guy code of acting masculine and Morgan’s view of men feeling oppressed. Morgan describes black men express their oppression by objectifying black women sexually in music. Jean Kilbourne, the author of “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence” and an activist on advertisement based on public health problems and violence against women agrees with Morgan on women being sexually identified. Kilbourne and Morgan connect to Kimmel by showing how males are seen to be masculine and females are soft and emotional. Morgan’s claims, in “From Fly-Girls to Bi...
Arthur Miller uses the three main male characters to show masculinity, whether it's through actions, or through words. Eddie, Marco and Rodolpho have different views on masculinity, and these change throughout the course of the play, as does their masculinity, which is questioned because of the views portrayed by the other characters in the play. There are other factors in the play that link to masculinity in different ways, such as; actions, speech, honour, betrayal, relationships, jealousy, aggression, loyalty, and many other factors. The play was set in Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York, where all the people living there knew about the illegal immigrants from Italy. However, to keep the honour that they have established they will not tell the authorities that they are there.
Gender, sex, gender roles, masculine, and feminine; these are all things that can be shaped by society. Your gender roles can change, but not your sex; that is given at birth. If gender is shaped a certain way, then that changes us to fit those societal norms of gender roles, masculinity and femininity, patriarchy, and how to maintain this gender order.
The lyrics of music play an important part of interpreting the meaning of the song. The roles which women have been allowed by the society to embody have changed drastically. Women may question their roles because of what they see portrayed by popular culture or media. Change in female’s identity can be seen in how women are viewed or how they portray themselves in popular culture specifically through music. In general, music continues to...
behaviors, and social conditions that we call masculinities are “hard-wired” into males through biology (see Thorhill & Palmer, 2000) and/or the heritability of human psyche (see Jung, 1959/1989; Bly, 1990). They view masculinity as static, transhistorical, cross-cultural, and cross-situational. From this perspective, gender change is either impossible, or it involves the use of powerful force to constrain what is seen as “naturally” male. (Masculine Self pg. 19)