Media's Influence On Masculinity

In the 21st century, gender issues have become a major talking-point. The previously male-dominated society is slowly becoming more accepting of females; the wage gap is being addressed, there are equal opportunities for both in the workforce, and sexism at work is diminishing. Teenage women are taught to accept their bodies and major strides have been taken to level the playing field in male dominated fields of study. However, what many forget is the issues young men face as they journey through adolescence. Society praises the burly manly man, and the stereotype has created a negative stigma around those who do not fit this restrictive mold. Therefore, the central issue surrounding young males is this cliche of the “manly man” conflicting with each adolescent male’s idiosyncrasies.
Those who break this stringent mold are often mocked for being too feminine or odd. The Marlboro Man is often cited as the most conspicuous manipulation of society’s views towards masculinity— the ad campaign features a rugged, cowboy-esque man scowling into the distance with a cigarette in his mouth. Though it may look like a harmless advertisement, there are various implicit messages hidden inside the picture. The image insinuates that cigarettes will morph one into a brawny man, the ideal version of males. These toxic connotations can influence teenage boys into changing their personalities into something they really are not. In fact, according to About Men by Gretel Ehrlich, the cowboys depicted in the infamous Marlboro ads are complete fiction, “But the men I see in these posters with their stern, humorless looks remind me of no [rancher] I know here.” This proves that these ads are just constructs of the media intended to sway impressionable young men into fitting the