Masculinity and Representation: a Timely Call to Action

Like most teenagers, I am plugged in.

I check my phone repeatedly, refresh Twitter, like Instagram posts, and open Snapchat stories. I consume pop culture from the time I open my eyes in the morning to the moment that I close them, whether it is checking the news or watching a movie. However, thanks in part to the research project I have been working on for the past two years, in addition to seeing the world from the point of view of a teenager, I also see the implications of my research translated over my worldview.

As someone who has been researching modern masculinity, I see that the masculinity that exists in the media we consume is narrow and not fully representative of manhood. We have a habit of recycling the same form of masculinity throughout our culture, one that embodies independence, dominance, strength, assertiveness, often to the extreme, and downplays other characteristics that are positive like intelligence, sensitivity, resilience, or awareness.

Take the popularity of the Marvel superhero franchise, for example, with superheroes such as Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, and Deadpool. Young boys idolize these characters, and in addition to seeing their movies, they also purchase their merchandise. It is not uncommon to go an a playground and see young boys shooting imaginary lasers out of their fingertips while flying down the slide to resemble these archetypes.

All of these characters are physically strong, assertive, and dominant. When thinking of who they want to be, young boys look up to these characters.
Our culture also idolizes sports players such as New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees or Golden State Warriors Point guard Steph Curry. Our culture reveres them for their athletic ability and their leadership. We value what they have to say and we buy their merchandise. Our culture has deemed people like them as role models and they are seen as ideal men.

Conversely, our culture showcases men who are more reserved, charming, and sensitive. Take celebrities such as Ryan Gosling or Justin Timberlake. These men embody confidence, charm, and good looks. These men showcase the “metrosexual” side of masculinity and society admires them as much as athletes or other men.

Let me be clear when I say that there is nothing wrong with any of these characteristics. Many young boys subscribe to these traditional expressions, and all of them have positive aspects to them. However, what can be problematic about the idolization of characters like these is that it gives young boys an idea of what it means to be a man from a young age that is not fully inclusive.

If young boys do not identify with some of these characteristics, they themselves may feel like they are not enough as they are. Others may think less of them as well, purely on the basis that these boys do not fit into any category that they have encountered.

Ultimately, this is an issue that comes down to representation. Current conversations about representation often center around racial inequities. And as a young black male who has grown up in South Louisiana, I am a part of that conversation. But, I also encourage the expansion of the representation conversation to include expressions of gender.

Because I am still a teenager, I understand how impressionable young people are.

In a world that is dominated by media and screens, I know that the characters that we consume influence us in ways that extend beyond the surface. I see how my friends (myself included) idolize figures and strive to be like them. I see how the figures that are in the forefront of society have influence.

We yearn to identify with figures in the media and when we do not, we feel delegitimized. When we come across people who do not fit into categories we have seen before, we categorize them as “other” and leave them behind. This is what has happened with young boys. Because some boys cannot subscribe to the narrow boxes that exist in pop culture, they do not feel like they are “man enough”.

This concept is referred to as symbolic annihilation in the social science field and as George Gerbner describes, “Representation in the fictional world signifies social existence; absence means symbolic annihilation.”

I am not saying that we need to push the Captain America’s, the Dwayne Johnson’s, or the John Cena’s off the stage. I am saying that in addition to admiring these characters, we need to acknowledge that there is more room on the stage than we currently allow. We need to encourage the brands of masculinity of people like Jonathan Van Ness, John Mulaney, Bill Gates, and Neil deGrasse Tyson; we need to multiply their presence and invite all of the other representations on the spectrum of masculinity to share in the spotlight.

The version of masculinity that we are currently propagating is overly simplistic, and by stepping up, we have the power to overhaul a culture. Representation is imperative and we owe it to our boys to work with a revived sense of urgency in creating a world where the pop culture figures that we look up to reflect the diversity of experiences that come with manhood.

 

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