Strength in Vulnerability: Male Masculinity in Media

Noah Perkins

The Problem:

In today’s culture, men are generally represented as being strong, cold, authoritative, and rational, creating an atmosphere that suppresses male emotions. Andrew Edelblum and Nathan B. Warren's recent study, "Social Media and Masculinity" highlights these issues as a reflection on self-expression, finding "that men who post often on social media are seen as feminine," and coining this phenomenon as "frequent-posting feminity stereotype," (University of Dayton). This creates a stigma around male self-expression that has the possibility to be harmful as men bottle-up their emotions, not wanting to be perceived as feminine or weak. This was uncovered by a report from Innovation Unit that revealed "pressures on young males to conform to toxic masculinity" and found that "social media intensified this pressure," largely due to 24/7 nature of social platforms, there is no time for men to allow themselves to let their guard down.

Approach:

So what is the solution? Perhaps a bit far fetched, but creating a society in which masculinity is not a constant pressure on men. Innovation Unit suggests a change in school curriculums, one that teaches men to navigate these societal pressures. Keeping that same spirit, this campaign aims to create a space for men to let their guards down by creating a social media account titled "Strength in Vulnerability." This social media account would provide a google form for men to submit creative expressions, such as photography, film, audio, and everything in between anonymously. This would create a safe place for men to self-express, something lacking in today's world. Posts won't have to stick to a specific set of limitations, such as subject matter, and instead will stand as a community of male creatives rooted in a need for positive male self-expression.

Target Audience:

Of course, this campaign is targeted at men and would begin by posting items that state the directive, so to speak, with posts that follow themes of masculinity. Over time the account will focus its attention to general creativity and alluring not only creatives, but men as a whole. Hopefully, a campaign like this would connect men’s perceptions of masculinity to a less toxic and more unified group built on support rather than stoicism.

Sample Media:

Reflection:

When I first began this project, I was set on the idea of creating media for men who felt that they, in some way, were suppressed. After giving it some thought and reading over a few articles and case studies, I decided on the idea that I presented above. I found that my perspective alone would be limited to my experiences, which was most prevalent to me in a Redwood Bark article by Jenna Beauchamp that I read about the same topic and was the initial source I used to back my ideas. This article aimed to tear down toxic masculinity through media examples such as Trump's 2005 interview with Access Hollywood (famous for Trump's vulgar comments about women) and Kanye West's lyrics. Upon a re-read, I noticed that the article wasn't looking for a root cause of these incidents and instead just explained why they were bad, which felt shallow to me. So I focused my attention to a solution and a cause, instead of bashing toxic masculinity.

The Ruha Benjamin quote “Like mushrooms, the kind of imagination that can potentially transform toxic environments into habitable ones relies on a vast network of underground connections–with people, organizations, and histories," (Benjamin 123) gave me the idea of creating a community that could flip toxic masculinity on it's head. I decided that instead of just using my voice, providing a platform for many voices would be much more powerful than one person sharing their ideas. I believe that social media has the potential to be a great tool for creating community, making it the natural choice for my idea.

Works Cited:

Beauchamp, Jenna. “The Reality of Toxic Masculinity behind Media Portrayment.” Redwood Bark, 1 May 2023, redwoodbark.org/79728/opinion/the-reality-of-toxic-masculinity-behind-media-portrayment/.

“Social Media and Masculinity.” Social Media and Masculinity : University of Dayton, Ohio, University of Dayton, 31 Jan. 2024, udayton.edu/blogs/momentum/2024/01/edelblum-social-media-and-masculinity.php.

“‘be a Man’ - Toxic Masculinity, Social Media and Violence.” Innovation Unit, 2 Apr. 2020, www.innovationunit.org/thoughts/be-a-man-toxic-masculinity-social-media-and-violence/.