Construction of White Male Violence in Advertising

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Advertising and Masculinity
The Angry and Aggressive Anti-authority Rebel
Depiction of Violence as a Genetic Programed Male Behavior
Use of Sports and Military Symbolism
Associating Muscularity with Perfect Masculinity
Significance of the Topic
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

There are many ways humans acquire violence, including culture, mainstream media, and advertising. Existing scholarship fails to represent roughness and masculinity in terms of gender differences. Masculinity refers to construction caused by the merging of various ideologies and discourses. Thus, masculinity does not exist in itself but is reproduced, contested, and constructed at individual, interactional, and structural levels. Furthermore, hegemonic masculinity emerges in juxtaposition and contradiction to other gender ideas and categories of identity such as class and color. Most forms of communication in the contemporary world portray hegemonic masculinity as a construct of a powerful masculinity form that is defined and defines other femininity and masculinity fabrications. Advertising is a cultural myth vehicle where masculinity ideals are visible (Knudsen & Andersen 65). It is critical to explore how violent white masculinity is contrived in mainstream media, specifically in advertising, and its ramifications, showing that violence is learned through white male masculinity construction.

Advertising and Masculinity

Advertising is a genre used as a shared cultural text to communicate wishes and dreams of better lives. It helps stereotypes and ideals come together to show versions of beautiful, culturally acceptable lives. Therefore, advertising campaigns visually represent a certain version of gendered behavior. In addition, advertising is a specific place where ideas regarding masculinity can be observed since they are both political and aesthetic. Such a perspective promises that when men consume a particular product, they can embody the same hegemonic masculinity shown in adverts. Thus, the appeal of violence in men is coded in many ways and exploits the feelings of small, weak, or nonviolent enough among men by offering products that supposedly enhance masculinity (Knudsen & Andersen 67). Several themes target men in advertising and identify violence with white masculinity.

The Angry and Aggressive Anti-authority Rebel

The contemporary world’s rap-metal, rock, and heavy metal cultures have created multiple male artists embracing white and working-class rebel masculinity. Such masculinity embodies every sort of resentment and violent waves of anger that seek validation to defy social conventions and middle-class manners. Unsurprisingly, advertisers use the rebel attitude in product marketing to attract young males (Scheibling & Lafrance 225). For example, Eminem, the white rap artist, is an angry and popular white male with an attitude and has skillfully marketed the anti-authority rebel character. Eminem is portrayed with a look of grim seriousness and scowls. The various violent poses used by Eminem suggest that his posturing towards gays and women is central to his constructed identity of a rebellious and angry white male. However, it is plausible to question what Eminem is angry or defiant against (Katz 353). For instance, is he rebelling against omnipotent lesbians and gays who affect the lives of straight people?

Advertisers for the movie and music industries constantly develop marketing strategies to appeal to young consumers. For example, advertisers often praise young people for being media smart compared to their parents. In recent decades, motocross racing, extreme sports, snowboarding, and skateboarding, have created white rebel masculinity packaged and vended to customers. In advertising, white male masculinity is associated with taking dangerous risks, increasing potential violent injuries (Katz 353). Such advertising would be okay; however, it is not because it encourages and legitimizes violent masculinity, normalizing actual violence.

Depiction of Violence as a Genetic Programed Male Behavior

Advertisers often show a service’s or product’s masculinity by using violent male types or icons from popular history. Such promotions further the ideological premise that men have been historically brutal and aggressive. For example, Trojan condoms once used an ad that featured a huge Roman centurion with muscles ripping while towering over a modern city’s buildings. Condom manufacturers understand that purchasing and using condoms is stressful since penis size is related to virility (Katz 354). Therefore, to decrease the anxieties of various male consumers, a product is linked to a recognizable and violent male archetype.

In another example, a Norwegian Cruise Line ran an ad that depicted men fighting with swords as some carry women. In the famous Captain Morgan ads, a cartoon pirate is shown with attractive women and obvious sexual suggestions. The captain is portrayed aboard with three young women in the ad with a text reading “catch of the day” (Katz 354). Such an ad implicitly challenges young men because it supports the idea that men have historically regarded women as lesser beings or objects, which is dehumanizing and may cause violence.

Use of Sports and Military Symbolism

Before the September 11 attacks in 2001, advertisers used sports and the military to enhance masculinity identification and the appeal of different products. Advertisements for the military portray the linkages between force and masculinity. The U.S. military spends millions of dollars each year on advertising. Unsurprisingly, armed services run ads that appear disproportionately on sporting events. Military ads feature exciting action scenes with text references to pride, respect, and leadership (Jester 61). Although such advertisements may enhance military service’s financial and educational benefits, what they sell to young white males is a masculinity vision filled with violence, aggressiveness, and adventure.

Abercrombie & Fitch was a company that did not sell football equipment, but it sought to increase its appeal to young males by identifying its brand with a young man who was archetypally masculine. The ad featured white and black photo belonging to a young white male who wore Abercrombie & Fitch advertisements, and an enlarged version of the picture was placed on the store’s entrance. Advertisers recognize that using famous and violent male athletes can increase the sales of products such as light beer and yogurt that are historically female-oriented (Scheibling & Lafrance 231). If such athletes use a product traditionally linked to females, the masculinity of the product increases the product’s market size. For instance, a 1999 Clinique cologne advert showed a young white male wearing a football uniform accompanied by a white woman who held a birthday cake. The ad aimed to increase the masculinity of a product whose name was associated with female connotations (Katz 356). The uniformed soccer player represented masculinity, while the birthday cake showed that the product was a desirable present for masculine men.

Associating Muscularity with Perfect Masculinity

Many men may feel insecure in economics and feel uncertain about handling the challenges linked to women in social relations. Since society continues to legitimize power relations, representations that identify masculinity with the features of violence, size, and strength have become more popular (Scheibling & Lafrance 229). Katz argues that “muscles are markers that separate men from each other and, most important perhaps, from women” (356). Advertising is a popular culture that helps to reinforce the muscularity dialogue. The media is filled with multiple ads offering good products to enhance muscles (Parent & Cooper 285). Such advertisements explicitly associate violent power with muscles.

Significance of the Topic

Heroic masculinity is equated with violence in Hollywood films and media. The advertisements of various films depict the most sexually titillating and violent scenes before the official premiere date. The actors of a movie are enhanced heroically by extremely large billboards movie advertisements. Males perpetrate an overwhelming part of violence on-screen and in real life (Parent & Cooper 289). A significant portion of the course readings focuses on white male masculinity and violence in advertising and mainstream media. People should be concerned about gender construction and its relation to violence prevalence. The constructs of white males in mainstream advertising normalize male violence, making it an almost acceptable scenario. It is critical to examine how every industry contributes to gender constructions that may pervade violence, whether in females or males (Zayer et al. 251). Such knowledge can help humans understand more the relationship between gender construction and male violence, potentially leading to effective interventions on violence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is essential to investigate how violent white male masculinity is constructed through advertising and its effects. Most males may feel weak; thus, mainstream advertising uses masculinity to appeal to those who want to become more manly. Violence is depicted in movies as action stars are regarded as heroic characters. Furthermore, organizations such as the army services appeal to young men by promising a healthy and masculine body or life. Ultimately, white male masculinity is constructed through people who depict themselves as angry and violent in mainstream advertising. People should be concerned about gender construction since it can better understand male violence and possibly remedy it.

Works Cited

Jester, Natalie. “Army Recruitment Video Advertisements in The US And UK Since 2002: Challenging Ideals of Hegemonic Military Masculinity?”Media, War & Conflict, vol. 14, no. 1, 2021, pp. 57-74, Web.

Katz, Jackson. “Advertising and The Construction of Violent White Masculinity.” Gender, Race, And Class in The Media: A Text Reader, 2nd ed., edited by Gail Dines and Jean Humez, Sage, 2003, pp. 349-358.

Knudsen, Gry Høngsmark, and Lars Pynt Andersen. “Changing Masculinity, One Ad at A Time.” Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, vol. 15, no. 2, 2020, pp. 63-78, Web.

Parent, Mike C., and Chiara Cooper. “Masculinity Threats Influence Evaluation of Hypermasculine Advertisements.”The Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 160, no. 3, 2020, pp. 282-292, Web.

Scheibling, Casey, and Marc Lafrance. “Man Up But Stay Smooth: Hybrid Masculinities In Advertising For Men’s Grooming Products.”The Journal of Men’s Studies, vol. 27, no. 2, 2019, pp. 222-239, Web.

Zayer, Linda, et al. “Men and Masculinities in A Changing World: (De)Legitimizing Gender Ideals in Advertising.”European Journal of Marketing, vol. 54, no. 1, 2020, pp. 238-260, Web.

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