ONeil 1 Tristin ONeil Ms. Judnitch 28 April 2014 Unit 4 Final Argumentative Essay Feminine Beauty vs.

Masculine The Other Side of Double Standards: a Normative Critique Its everywhere. Its on television, in movies, in magazines, on billboards, in social media. Everywhere a person looks they find the objectification of women, the socially unacceptable unrealistic standards for women, and the so-called fat-shaming of the female gender. However, all people know the argument against such sexist conduct. People dispute the issue over Facebook, blog journals, and even scholarly articles. Dove, the huge lotion, body wash, and shampoo conglomerate has their own Love Your Body Campaign which features average women in their ads. Now, this is fantastic that females can battle against how they are represented in media, but most people never consider that the same exact thing happens to men. Amanda Marcotte from Slate.com shows how the double standard is prominent with an example from a response to one of her articles about a relationship. Oh, and theres a new thought: a double standard with the males on the downside? I dont think many people have heard one of those before. A more known topic is the pressuring of children of both genders into traditional gender roles. Many people admonish the pressuring of girls into their roles, but pressuring boys is also a problem. Paul Theroux talks of this in his essay Being a Man. Media makes men out to be just as unrealistic as it does women, and this is also a problem. Just as women claim it is ridiculous that they must be stick-thin and tan, it is also ridiculous that media portrays men as hyper-muscular, with 0% body fat. In Cristen Congers article, she (rightfully) claims that mens complications with their portrayal are just as worthy of discussing as womens are. Its a big

ONeil 2 problem that men are shamed for their bodies, but its an even larger issue that people do not realize that this is happening. Little boys are corrupted very young in their childhood, not only by being bombarded with how manly they should be by society, but also by their parents, the people around them, and even their toys and cartoon idols. Everyone has heard the critiques stating that Barbie sets unrealistic standards for young girls. Nonetheless, I have never in my life heard someone discuss the negative effects of He-Man or G.I. Joe on young boys. Natalie Angier, in her article in The New York Times states Joe and other action-hero figures may, in minor fashion, help fan the use of muscle-building drugs among young athletes His biceps bulge so much that they are larger around than his waist, and, if ratcheted up to human size, they would be larger than even the arms of the grotesquely muscular Mr. Olympians of today. (Angier) So not only are these action figures causing insecurity in boys, they also indirectly play a role in the use of illicit steroids...in young athletes! Theyre using these body-altering substances when their bodies and minds are not even fully developed yet! This is just as legitimate of an issue as females having eating disorders because of insecurity. In The Representation Projects film, The Mask You Live In, Joe Ehrmann (former NFL defensive lineman), says The three most destructive words that every man received when he was a boy is when hes told to be a man. (Newsom, The Mask You Live In) I, as a child, had the experience of being told to be a man many times, and I agree with Ehrmann. It feels as if you have failed to live up to expectations. In Katha Pollitts Why Boys Dont Play With Dolls she shows the potential hypocrisy of feminists, saying Could it be that even sports-resistant moms see athletics as part of manliness? That if their sons wanted to spend the weekend writing up their diaries, or reading, or baking, theyd find it disturbing? Too antisocial? Too lonely? Too gay? (Pollitt 357). Little boys are not allowed to show their

ONeil 3 emotions or thoughts in todays society if they have the slightest implication of not being manly. If they do, they are scolded and called all sorts of names, like pansy, pussy, and most importantly, gay. The fact that boys are threatened with the concept of being gay as if it is a bad thing is ridiculous in itself, but whats even more ludicrous is that they are being told what is natural for them to doas a developing childis wrong. They eventually grow up into these cold, unforgiving, brick wall stereotypes that we have of men today, and then they are criticized for having no emotions. Other than the people closest to them, male children are pushed into this ideal for a man from every other thing in their life. In Being a Man, Paul Theroux quotes I was told to take up a sport, get more fresh air, join the Boy Scouts, and I was urged not to read so much. (Theroux, 352) This quote shows pressuring gender roles on male children in a nutshell. Little boys are mostly encouraged to be not-so-smart, non-emotional, sport-playing, muscular hulks whose main interests are cars and women (and not in a good way). But yet we blame them when they mature. And then when they mature, they must deal with tiptoeing around these standards that society refuses to acknowledge. Women have fought for hundreds of years because they have to deal with nonsensical, crazy, or just absolutely sexist double-standards. These span from womens suffrage, to the modern glass ceiling in the work place, all the way to the The women is a slut, the guy is a player debate. However, people dont realize that men also have huge double-standards imposed upon them. The one that I think is most prominent is body types in relationships. In Amanda Marcottes article, she shows two responses from her readers. One is of a woman who told her boyfriend at the time that she would leave him if he did not lose his gut. Now most people would think something along the lines of Yeah, good for her, get what you want, girl! Plus then the man is motivated to get healthier! However, the second response says Can you

ONeil 4 IMAGINE if a male reader wrote in and said, I told my girlfriend of four years that I was leaving if she didn't improve her physical appearance in the following, specific bodily way. Good lord. (Marcotte). This brings up an important issue. Men are known for objectifying women, but women do the same thing! The only difference is that males get scolded for it, called pigs and chauvinists, and women are encouraged to do so. This is why nobody realizes this is a problem. Women often say things like I only like tall men, or I didnt like him because he was too short for me. They pass up men because of insufficient height. Now I understand this, everyone has their standards. Be that as it may, men still get chastised for saying things like this about bigger women. I am not supporting this, but the thing is: women can lose weight. Everyone can. However unfair it is, that is a thing that is able be changed. Men cannot change their height. This really irks me. My question is: How can males be denunciated for wanting a change that is possible, but it is fine for females to covet a characteristic that is not? The issue is not that they do want this; I have no problem with that. The issue is the double-standard, its the unrighteousness that they can do what we cant. While writing this, I realized that Wikipedia, the single largest online encyclopedia, has two very lengthy entries. One was about beauty in females, and the change in the standards over time, and the other was about double-standards concerning females. The encyclopedia did not have any mention of the male side of these. They did not discuss this in the same article as the females, and they did not have one dedicated to males. This website is basically ran by the general public, and the fact that they do not even have a small entry about men concerns me. This is a fantastic example of how this issue is glazed over in society. The real big picture though is that while women have these double-standards, men cannot, and that is a huge double-standard in itself.

ONeil 5 Its everywhere. Men in media are shown on shows, movies, sports, online ads, and even social media. These menspray-tanned, cut, slabs of muscleare used by modeling agencies to advertise clothes, cologne, and acne medicationseverything you can think of. Women have hated the fact that they are portrayed unrealistically in the media for years now. Still, men have the same problem, but the problem is not known. In Cristen Congers article for Bitchmagazine.org, she states Pop culture's image ideals for men come with their own complications and double standards, which are worth addressing as thoroughly as those leveled toward women. Just as Western female beauty ideals are modeled around straight, white women, Western male beauty standards worship at the altar of the straight, white, six-pack ab-toting man. And both are equally problematic. (Conger) So why dont we acknowledge this? Men are just as photo-shopped and unreal as women in ads. When I am only thinking for myself, I do not find this to be much of a problem. I am out of shape and I know it. I want to look like the men in these ads, and I do not think this is a bad thing for me. It definitely takes a lot more work, however, for men to look like that than for women to be thin. Still, for myself, I think this portrayal is okay. However, if I am not being completely selfish, I can see this causes an issue in men throughout the world. As I previously mentioned on G.I. Joes, this representation of men causes complications for adults and children alike. It sets an idea in their heads of what a man is supposed to be, and they age with a general feeling of sadness because they were never a true man. That they failedbasically everyone. The boys and men who take action to become this ideal man usually turn out fine. But sometimes they go too far. A lot of men who strive to be this exercise frequently and generally do better for themselves. Yet, there are still thousands of cases of anabolic steroid use, anorexia,

ONeil 6 bulimia, extreme plastic surgery, and even suicide that stem from the bullying and low selfconsciousness that society has taught us to be normal! And then, on top of that, women complain about their portrayal, and blame it mostly on our patriarchal society (in short, its mens fault). Bullying in general is a problem everywhere. Many people have experienced it at some point in their life, whether it be they were the bully, a victim, or it happened to a friend or family member. Actually, according to Dr. Andrea Cohn, Bullying is the most common form of violence in our society; between 15% and 30% of students are bullies or victims. (INSERT CITATION HERE) And thats only the people who told the truth! Countless of these instances were caused (directly or indirectly), by some something wrong with someones looks, or their body image. It is known that efforts are made to stop bullying against females because of their body, but not many are made to stop it for males. I know there are some, but they are very halfhearted compared to the female side. Consider the hypothetical reaction of students and teacher when a girl is called fat by a boy, and a boy is called fat by a girl. The girl will get much more support than the boy will in this situation. This also brings up my previous point about mens troubles with their height. I was picked on throughout all of junior high and high school because I was under 51 until I was 16. It is extremely illogical to make fun of someone for a characteristic that cannot be controlledat all. This again produces a feeling of unfulfilled expectations. The representation of men in media wreaks indirect havoc. So if this portrayal of genders is such a problem, are there any movements to prevent it? As I have said, the argument against these standards of women in the media is heard everywhere, but the mens side is not. However, there has been a solution for the womens side created and it is being actively used. The idea to prevent all of the problems caused by the media is very general. The solution is said to be to start putting more average women in advertisements, shows,

ONeil 7 magazines, everywhere. There is a toy brand that has started making more average Barbie-like dolls. Dove, the lotion company, started the Love Your Body Campaign that advertises with all different kinds of average women and openly speaks against modern photoshopping techniques. The only campaigning I found for the end to the same issue for men were the hardto-find sources I have used already. So, my suggestion for a solution is to use the womens idea. Companies that advertise mens clothing should start using different, average men in their advertisements. As of now, if one goes on the website of American Eagle, or Hollister, or Macys, all of the models look similar in shape, and all have similarly structured faces. Men need to have something like Doves Love Your Body Campaign. This should really be an advertisement norm. Because now, average might sell more than unrealistic, just because people support the movement. Slowly people need to realize that men have gender-related problems too, and fight against it. The more-known issue for women is still very much a work in progress, so I suggest we pick up the campaign against double standards for both genders, but with both genders agreeing. As a society, we will never eclipse this dilemma if we always blame gender discrimination on the opposite gender.

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Golgowski, Nina. "Bones so frail it would be impossible to walk and room for only half a liver: Shocking research reveals what life would be like if a REAL woman had Barbie's body". Dailymail.co.uk. 13 April 2013. Web. 9 February 2014.