Hegemonic Masculinity in the Media - 1080 Words

Hegemonic masculinity can be defined as â€Å"the cultural idealized form of masculine character, which emphasizes the connecting of masculinity to toughness and competitiveness as well as the subordination of women and the marginalization of gay men† (Trujillo, 1991, p. 290). We live society were male dominance is the order of the day, from the family arena to the workplace, and in sports in which individuals with certain characteristics and attributes as seen as normal and the rest are termed as the â€Å"other†. This paper will focus on how hegemonic masculinity has been mediated through the media, by creating gender gaps. Furthermore, it is important to note that the media is important sources that orchestrate the perception of individuals in†¦show more content†¦Cooky, Messner, Hextrum indicated that the coverage of women’s sports is the lowest ever irrespective of the increased participation of girls and women in sports at high school collegiate a nd professional level (240). For instance KABC a Los Angeles televise new sports, spent less than 30secs of their sports segment covering the women’s U.S golf Opening on the LGPGA tour (240). Also the rare moments when women’s’ sports receives coverage from mainstream news media, the media trivializes women athleticism or reproduces a narrow stereotypical representation of female athleticism that draws sexist and/or racist ideologies (206). In their examination of print media they found that men were overrepresented in the sports newsroom (Cooky, Messner, Hextrum, 207). For instance, 94% of sports editors, 89% of copy editors, 89% of assistant sports editors, 87% of sports reporters and 88% of columnist are all male, the majority are white (207). However, this conveys the message that sports is for, by and about men. Trujillo, on the other hand, gave five features that depict hegemonic masculinity: physical force and control, occupational achievement, family hi erarchy, frontiermanship and heterosexuality (291). He proposed that history and dominant groups have successfully persuaded many Americans to believe that sports builds manly character and develop physical fitness, realizes justice and prepare young men for war (Trujillo,Show MoreRelatedHegemonic Masculinity Essay1114 Words   |  5 Pagesthan not people get their ideas of masculinity from the shows and movies they watch throughout their lives. In the article Hegemonic masculinity in media contents, by Peter J. Kareithi, he focuses much more specifically on how the media has presented it to the public, and less of the why, and how it started. The paper by Connell and Messerschmidt, Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept, does a much better job at explaining the history of hegemonic masculinity and how it came to be. Though togetherRead MoreThe Theory Of The Glass Ceiling Metaphor Essay1628 Words   |  7 Pagesof research was hegemonic masculinity theory. 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