Masculinity In Advertising Essay

An advertisement depicting a person working out, with words of inspiration written over him. “Take charge. Write your own story.” it reads, but there is an underlying meaning beneath this cloak of motivation. This ad is inspiring, but also depicting what society believes masculinity is. Nike is emphasizing the importance of working out and being one’s own person in a way to define masculinity. The advertisement displays stereotypes of masculinity through the man, the weights, and displays a theme of bravery, a characteristic often associated with masculinity. In the background picture, there is a man working out, which is stereotypical because it is commonly accepted that a man is to work out and has the desire to be fit. Another reason it
This is stereotypical because both men and women alike workout and care very much about their physical physique. The way that this man in the picture is shown with weights in his hands is just the way that society has thought the way that men should be: big, strong, and powerful. This is shortsighted because women are very involved in the fitness world and care about working out just as much as many men do. The weights in the hands are another stereotype of masculinity shown in the
These are through the person shown working out being a man. Also, it is because the man in the picture is holding weights, which is playing into what society believes that men should do and look like. Finally, the text over the picture reads out a saying that inspires bravery, which is often associated with masculinity. The advertisement does not show that all of these traits, no matter how masculine they may seem, can and do apply to women. This is a problem because the person in the background is a man, so it is easy to misunderstand the meaning of this advertisement because of these traits of