Men and Masculinities

Friends, family, the community and now the media have very important roles in helping the boy child define what it means to be a real man. With all the attention being directed to the girl and her needs, the man is left out. They do not know what it means to be a real man. If a man was to look at the media to learn what it means to be a man, they would get that a man needs to be financially independent, have a great well toned body, be in control of themselves and others and work in the public sector rather than at home and deal with issues in the family.

If you have read the wizard of Oz when Tot pulls the curtains back to reveal a weak, nervous and tragic Oz who all this time pretended to be a powerful and great man. This representation speaks a lot about the man today. Although he pretends to be strong and powerful, it is only an act, a mask he has learnt to wear everywhere he is.It is one that hides his vulnerability.

A great example of how the media has been preying on the insecurities men have about masculinity is the many adverts by the Monster Energy drink company. Most of its advertisements have men who have many tattoos, well toned bodies and who are considered by women as “perfect”. A great example of such men is Conor McGregor of Ireland. He a mixed martial art champion with many tattoos covering most of his body. He was a plumber and training in capoeira, tae kwon do, kickboxing and karate before he became a pro in M.M.A. He is clearly living the dream. This is just one person featured in the adverts.

In a bid to show that taking Monster Energy drink will unleash the beast’ in every man, the company has Conor McGregor and many more other athletes performing mindboggling tricks. They also feature monster girls’ like Brandi. This maybe shows that a man taking this energy drink can win the affection of any woman he wants without experiencing any difficulties. This is not the only company that takes this root in advertising its product; many of them do. The male centered advertisement strategy is one that has worked for decades.

So why is this disconcerting? Well the energy drink industry has been thriving. Today more and more people are taking energy drinks as compared to soft drinks. And no, it is not the health factor that is driving people to opt for them. It is the belief that maybe they too will achieve greatness. Today, the industry is getting more than 20 billion dollars as a result. The thrill id of the male is coming at a huge physical and psychological cost.

Researchers have found that the more a man buys into these masculinity ideals, the more he consumes the energy drinks. In the end, he has issues sleeping. Most energy drinks contain anywhere between 6mg and 240mg shots of caffeine per serving. With the recommended amount being 400mg per day, taking two of these drinks goes beyond the average amount of caffeine one should take.

But who cares, the man can handle most things. A lot of research has been done to establish the relationship between the woman’s unhealthy eating habits, body dissatisfaction and low self- esteem and the media’s representation of beauty. There is very little study on the same as far as men are concerned.

In a Taiwanese paper, it was found that men would take more energy drinks when they felt that their masculinity was being threatened. This suggests that men use these drinks to regulate their personal sense of masculinity. These ads, it seems, prey on young colleges- age men as much, or more than the diet pills prey on young women. Young men have not earned enough of the masculinity capital they feel is enough to be a real man and they, therefore, have to keep proving that they deserve to be recognized as real men. Older men are not as affected because they have already learnt to be comfortable with themselves and are therefore more confident. The dependence on energy drinks to give a man confidence is both sad and concerning.