Looking at the images in beer commercials among other things, this author wonders what the ideal image of men is these days (for themselves –not necessarily in the eyes of women) and what it says about our society. Do you agree that the image of men that is being promoted is one of the slacker or the lout: unsophisticated, insensitive and immature? Is that what men are actually turning into? What should we consider as a “real man”? Or is gender identity something that we should get beyond and thus treat the term “man” as only referring to biology/anatomy?
First of all, I must react on commercials issues in this article. Commercials are made in that way that so they would influence the majority of the people. I think that beer companies are trying to put into their advertisement a regular man so that most of men could find themselves in the spot and imagine them drinking the beer. Of course this is only my opinion, but I do not think that they are showing an ideal man. Conversely, they are showing the regular man with his shortcoming so that the commercial is closer to ordinary people.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the question here is: why most of the people are misogynist and lazy louts (It implies from the commercial dogma which is stated above)? I think that the answer lies in modern sociological and material situation. Nowadays everything literally lies before you. In the past days man must have fought over women, food and land. Nowadays you find work somewhere which suits your abilities you gain money and therefore your material needs are fulfilled. State gives you a house or you simply inherit one. There is relatively equal fraction of man and women. Approximately half of population is composed of women and the other half is of man. Due to this fact and due to our monogamist society one man can have one woman and vice versa. Indeed there are some cases where polygamy of man is accepted but that is culture far away and do not think this article is covering also Muslim culture for example. If a man finds a woman he always finds one, since there must be a woman for him due to equal part of women and men in population. Everyone can find a partner, since the women need a partner and they will be rather with lout than with nobody. I am not pointing out that women desperately want a man even thought it may sound so. I just want to point out that men who might be louts also can have girlfriends who will accept their loutishness. Furthermore, if you get something very easily you really do not appreciate it as much as you would if you would have to do hard work to gain it. To sum it up, men do not value women and other important values, because in modern days they get it very easily.
However, if we do not follow the commercial dogma we could take the commercials and poems of Tucker Max as metaphoric art. Maybe they make fun of a false stereotype of men. This is also a possibility and I find this one more pleasing.
Mojmir
Yes, the times when women had to fully obey men have vanished. In our European society, it is moreover right to say that women are really equal to men, furthermore, women tend to be in many cases even more responsible and educated than men. In general, the dramatic change of womens compliance to men has given women many new opportunities, however it seems to have brought about changes in the mens behaviour quite significantly too.
ReplyDeleteGive man a Bud and his buds ,and hell be happy. This „rule“ certainly applies to all men , no mater whether they lived in the 10th or 21st century.But the difference is, that in past ,there was a threshold at the age of 20 or even less, when a man was expected to marry, have children and find a proper job. Consequently there was less time for beer and parties. What I put forward, is that this threshold has significantly moved within the last ten ore fifteen years. Men and women tend to marry much later, around their late thirties. I argue that this fact can be put down to feminism, which is at the same time turning the potential fathers into louts.
In past, men were the ones to choose their wifes, they had the dominant position, but today it is different ,men have to literally fight for women. I think that men are simply becoming tired of attempting to get the womens attention and even when they do so, they are afraid of a refusal ,since women have higher and higher requirements for their partner. As it happens in our history, we go from extremes to extremes. Therefore as a response, men are becoming more flegmatic,especially about women. Mans priorities turn out to be his buds, with whom he doesnt have to handle any precarious emotions and of course, they can eat the liquid bread, beer. These priorities have turned into a lifestyle of easy going men, that are no longer willing to work themselves to death and take care of somebody else.
From my point of view, there is really nothing better than to watch a football game you have just made a bet on with your buds, all holding a big glass of cold beer. These are the moments when I forgot about all of my problems and really enjoy life. Whether women like it or not, they will have to like us as we are, or they can continue in claiming for a better gender equality. The last thing I have to say, that when we have too much of something, we will eventually get bored of it. Therefore it is just a matter of time, when the trend of louts will change into something very opposite.
It is true. The modern man is lazy and his focuses and values in life are beer and football. Women do not have high requirements for men or at least they have not changed. They simple want a male who does not stare at TV all the time and also makes something useful that is all. Some women are aware of men’s laziness and they are simply trying to avoid louts. Besides, there is also a fraction of women who find this attractive but this is another story. My point still holds. This is matter mostly of teenage girls and silly women who do not know what they want.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, men absolutely do not deserve the comfort they get. They slip into couch with buds trying to relax, letting all problems behind them, and do not value the comfort they get. In addition, I think that you are making wrong point here, men are not afraid of refusal. Men are simply not interested in women in the way they were before. In the past a woman was some kind of goal, the winning prize in fight for a family. Nowadays men take them as an integrated part of their lives and they just simply do not value them so much, since the process of allurement is diminished. Moreover, I think that the fact the women are being empowered does not have anything with the fact that the modern comfort world makes people unthankful for what they get, and this is the reason for existence of a loutish community.
Mojmir