Advertising: David Gauntlett and masculinity

Read this extract from Media, Gender and Identity by David Gauntlett. This is another university-level piece of academic writing so it will be challenging - but there are some fascinating ideas here regarding the changing representation of men and women in the media.

1) What examples does Gauntlett provide of the "decline of tradition"?

• The traditional view of a woman as a housewife has been changed to idolise "girl power" icons
• Traditional masculine views of emotional silence and toughness have also changed to as there is now a new emphasis on mens emotion and their mental health 
• The gender categories have not been shattered but there are now alternative ideas

2) How does Gauntlett suggest the media influences the way we construct our own identities?

• The media provides the tools for people to build their life around
• TV shows, songs, adverts, movies and the internet provide different ideas on how life should be
• the audience choose ideas from them - some may be good ideas some may be bad ideas

3) What does Gauntlett suggest regarding generational differences? Is it a good thing that the media seems to promote modern liberal values?

People attitudes get less liberal as they get older and the media reflects the changing attitudes of society and challenges the more conservative views 

4) Why does Gauntlett suggest that masculinity is NOT in crisis?

men had a problem, then, it was not so much because society had changed, but because they as individual men had failed to modernise and keep up.

5) Does advertising still reinforce the "conventionally rugged, super-independent, extra-strong macho man" that Gauntlett discusses? Offer examples for both sides of the argument from the wider advertising industry.

I think that the media does try to steer away from this image of what masculinity is but I still think that it is very prominent still especially on social media

6) Gauntlett discusses the idea of 'girl power' and offers examples from music and film. Does advertising provide evidence to support the idea of 'girl power' or is the industry still reinforcing traditional representations of men and women?

Advertising sometimes does support the idea of girl power however it is still pushed that women have to look a certain way whilst being independent and powerful

7) Do you agree with Gauntlett's argument under 'Popular feminism, women and men' where he suggests that younger generations are not threatened by traditional gender roles and are comfortable with social changes? Does advertising provide examples either reinforcing or challenging this idea that younger generations are more comfortable with changing gender roles?

I disagree, I think that advertising uses less stereotypical versions of what men should be like and what women should be like but I feel like young people have access to anything online so it is really easy for them to find people still pushing these negative and harmful stereotypes which can lead them to have dangerous views or attitudes. Since its online I think that it is an issue that cannot be controlled as you cannot regulate what anybody is watching and parents cant monitor their kids all the time when they are online.

8) What examples from advertising does Gauntlett provide for the changing nature of gender in society (from the section on Judith Butler's Gender trouble)?

the sexually charged but androgynous imagery promoting the CK One fragrance 'for a man or a woman' - had reminded viewers of the similarity of genders, hinting that it wouldn't matter which of the attractive male or female models you chose to desire.

9) Why is advertising such a good example of the 'contradictory elements' that Gauntlett discusses with regards to the mass media? In other words, how does advertising continue to both reinforce and challenge gender stereotypes?

We don't get a singular message about something since the media is so diverse and people have so many different opinions. We take bits and pieces from different people and places to help form our own opinions and our own persona.

10) Finally, Gauntlett makes a clear case that things change and modern identities are increasingly fluid. What is your opinion on this debate - do you agree that the media reinforces the changing attitudes towards gender and sexuality in society?

I think that they are fluid and changing but regardless of how much it changes the traditional views are always there and will still be pushed to young people because of the internet and social media so just changing what the media shows is not enough, it needs to be actively taught to people.

Media Magazine: Andrew Tate - Masculinity in crisis?

Now read 'Tate Crime' - Media Magazine's analysis of the rise of online influencer Andrew Tate. You can find this in MM83 (p6) in our Media Magazine archive. Answer the following questions:

1) What is misogyny and how does it link to Andrew Tate?

Misogyny is when somebody has a prejudice against women, Andrew Tate pushes misogynistic views onto young impressionable audiences for his own fame.

2) How does the article suggest Andrew Tate used social media to build up his reputation and following?

He will say outrageous things that are not true to get a big reaction online and then say that whatever he said was taken out of context when confronted about it and says that people should go and watch his podcast or video where he actually said it in order to get more views and increase his engagement. 

3) Does Andrew Tate's popularity suggest there is in fact a 'crisis in masculinity' - disagreeing with David Gauntlett's view?

I think that masculinity is not in crisis just evolving like Gauntlett. There will always be people promoting traditional and harmful ideologies of what it means to be a man and people like Andrew Tate specifically target young people because they are the most impressionable and vulnerable. I think that it is shocking to see how many people agree with Tates views but often it is because of a lack of education about misogyny because a lot of his "supporters" either deny the things he says about women and believe that it is all taken out of context (which is clearly wrong) or they genuinely believe what he is saying, none of them can actually quote what he has said and contradict themselves constantly.