Modern Masculinity

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a big hit in the early 1980’s. There was action figures, cartoons, and comic books focusing on a blonde haired, muscled man who carried a magic blade known as the “Sword of Power.” This sword would turn him into the most powerful man in the universe when he held it aloft and called upon the power of Greyskull. Once he was transformed to He-Man, he battled Skeletor, his mortal enemy, to keep the power of Castle Greyskull out of Skeletor’s evil clutches. In the 25 years since American children first watched Masters of the Universe, the idea of what makes a masculine man has changed little. In Germaine Greer’s “Masculinity” she explores the concept that cultural construct is responsible for learned behaviors in males. In American society many outlets have contributed to shaping its males into masculine men. Three of these outlets are television, video games, and hip hop.

Television plays the most influential role in shaping American men. This is largely due to the fact that almost all households have at least one, and in most cases, multiple televisions. There are many channels that are directed largely towards the male audience. For instance, sports channels showcase well-defined men in physical competition. Greer points out, “he is encouraged to take part in team sports, to get used to rough and tumble…” (896). Contact sports are considered to be the ultimate test of manhood, with the final score a standard by which masculinity can be measured. Another network directed towards men is the outdoors channel. It is solely dedicated to men hunting and fishing. These activities go back to the beginning of civilization when men were responsible for providing food for their famili...

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...sts like 50 Cent receive and as Greer notes, “To be successful young men have to achieve a measure of respect from other men; this is the spring of all their behaviors, in the workplace and at play” (897). All society seems to respect these artists and so far as the young boy is concerned it’s all because the artist proved himself to be the ultimate man.

It would appear that American society is today’s “Sword of Power” used to transform young boys into the masculine men they are expected to become. As Greer believes, “Masculinity is a system. It is the complex of learned behaviors and subtly coded interactions…” (898). Through media, society has many outlets that contribute to shaping its men. With so much pressure to be masculine one has to wonder if this “magic sword” is sometimes too much a burden for our young men to hold aloft.