This week as we discussed the socialization of Americans through television and media, I could only think of my young cousins back home. One is a ten year old sporty, GI Joe-loving, good-ole' American boy; the other is a Disney princess ballerina seven year old girl.
TV becomes an easy babysitter, and while they don't watch anything bad, per say, I still wonder about how it will affect them.
For Kendall, will the images of what a girlie-girl "should be" limit her from trying new things? How and when will she rebel? I've know too many girls with eating disorders and low self esteem to disregard the impact the media can make on people...
Mitchell concerns me less- the media does not target men in the same way they do women. Considering the strong female influences in his life, I can't imagine he develops into a stereotypical beer-drinking football frat boy. But, hey... who knows.
I hope their good-natured family can help keep them grounded and real through their adolescence. Its a hard world to live in with pressures to be thin, athletic, cool, etc. rain in from all sides.
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It is fascinating how much your young cousins seem to be embodying the hegemonic ideals...do you see any resistance in them?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would consider whether it's truly that women are targeted MORE by the media, or if we fail to notice the messages about masculinity as much since we do live in a patriachal society. Masculinity tends to be the default, the "norm" and so we might not be able to articulate those messages as clearly. What do you think?
I agree that men are just as targeted by the media as women, but these messages don't stand out as much because masculinity is the norm in our society. These commercials can be very isolating and marginalizing, though, to men who are gay or just not as masculine as the media tells them they should be.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as far as your young cousins go, I think that it is completely normal for children that young to imitate/embody the hegemonic ideals that they see in the media. It is certainly scary to see the effects of media on such young, impressionable minds, but there is plenty of time for them to question what the media is telling them and develop as self-confident individuals.
Men are very much targeted by the mass media. Society's concept of masculinity used to be formed, at least in part, by a sense of duty, faith, and honor. With the advent of mass media, I think that classical masculinity has been replaced with a hedonistic agressive male image.
ReplyDeleteFor example, virtue, now thought of as an outdated moral standard, was directly connected to the word for 'man' in Latin.
Somewhere in the last several centuries, masculinity was redefined, and this new definition is perpetuated by the media as a dominant ideology.