[Rant] Gender double standards: how men are portrayed in the media

White men need to get their swagger back.

 

Yeah, more bands like Triumph would help, or at least like Foreigner. Don't see any on the horizon exactly.

 

Getting to what I was gonna post before ... Few months ago I stumbled on a "Misandry in the Media" video series on Youtube. Someone went through painstaking lengths to post several compilations of videos on that same subject. Mostly a bunch of commercials

http://www.youtube.com/results?sear...3l322475l0l323800l9l9l0l1l1l0l142l815l4.4l8l0

Personally I get more agitated at the Nancy Grace, Gloria Allred, Jane Velez-Mitchell "War on Women" types who capitalize on the women in danger subject, really. Legit "feminazi" types. Just saying that yeah I noticed recently lol.


( I grew UP around nothing but women until later in life. They were NOT so "benevolent" and even-handed)

 

Some movies are obviously geared towards women. And commercials for food products are, mostly, geared towards housewives -- aren't they?

There are plenty of movies and TV shows that come from a male perspective.

 

Being a white straight man means you can't make fun of anyone else. But all other races and females can do what they want.

Still, I wouldn't trade being a white straight man.

 

I agree that men are often portrayed as buffoons in the media, and it can be annoying at times.

On the other hand, think about how many movies you've seen where the male protagonist has a gorgeous wife who just exists in the background, taking care of the kids and house and never raising a fuss while he goes through whatever dumb crisis it is that's driving the plot of the movie. True, the movie doesn't denigrate her but it doesn't denigrate the furniture or landscaping either. All of these things - the furniture, the landscaping and the wife - are just scenery behind the male character, and the humanity of the wife is completely ignored.

It's easy to pinpoint the blatant negative stereotypes, but I think the more subtle ones (the ones that aren't noticeable unless you really think about them) can be even more troubling.

 

I find it hilarious, as well as rather pathetic, that a thread like this can exist when women in this country make less than 80% as much as men. Oh, the poor, poor, downtrodden men of this country. Bullied by the powerful women just ruining their lives.

The problem isn't women, it is you.

 

But isn't that for another thread? Aren't husbands and fathers portrayed as buffoons in a lot of media? I'm not sure if it's overwhelming and it doesn't bother me, but damn man, the dude is just ranting and you're calling his opinions as pathetic and then being completely sarcastic while talking down to him. That's messed up.

 

And women are portrayed as bimbos, sex objects, vacant headed housewives, "b****es." I just don't see how men are singled out for some sort of special abuse because of their sex that is any worse than what women are subjected to, or why a sexist rant about women is something that should be ignored if a thread is started about it. And women being paid 80% of what a man makes for the same work? That's messed up.

 

You're right about the inequality, so you should make a thread about it then, or at least not be jerkish. He saw a movie and a commercial and was annoyed at it, and you're slamming him. "The problem isn't women, it's you." Really, is that helpful at all? You're counterpoint about how women are portrayed is super valid, but you didn't throw it out until after the insult post. Why such a visceral reaction to what you perceive the bbs' ignorance?

 

i love those commercials with men bumbling around trying to wash a dish or mop the floor or get a stain off a pair of pants. TV men just CANNOT get a grasp on that shlt! then of course, they're like "honey, i'm no good at this" and the task is turned over to the hot, willing housewife, who smiles wryly, pats him on the head, and re-cleans/washes/scrubs/ correctly.

 

If you're waiting for some politically correct form of advertising that makes everyone feel content, i suggest you see RocketRiver's post.

 

Media is made up ***** for a point: entertainment .. funny, poignant, outrage etc. or to sell things by maybe over playing stereotypes. But it is crafted with a purpose.

In real life, men get the physical power, the sexual dominance and the money.
Look around at real life, it's not like the media might portray it for laughs or to sell something.

Guys can start whining when there is some place in the world where they are performing dick-ectomies.

 

Kim, read my post again. The point about gender inequality is in my first post. I wasn't, by the way, talking about Raven personally so much as addressing the issue brought up and the situation that exists when one compares men to women in this country. I'm sorry if you find my posts offensive, but I've had this position since the 1960's. The stuff on TV? Both sexes are made fun of. In my opinion, women more than men, but both sexes get ribbed and insulted in one way or another. If this thread had been started in Hangout, I would treated it more as a joke.

 

My complaint would be that it just isn't funny anymore. The role reversal of a wife telling the husband what to do or the kids being smarter than the parents might have had some appeal once. But, it's actually done so much that a white male character being intelligent, wise and in control would actually be fresh.

 

As long as my wife sexes me, I get to drink beer while watching Rockets/Texans/Astros and I get to go fishing occasionally, I'm good. Don't see the problem.

 

An important part of this portrayal of insubordination's spreading and resonating with the masses, is that men, American Men, are often complicit in being characterized this way. I think this is more of an admission of apathy toward what women really think than actual ineffectualness. To me it's sort of a new masculinity, where leading doesn't require control, so it's ok if she thinks she wields some real power, and rather it's better for the both the coupled man and the lonely man stuck playing the she-built construct that is dating and attracting, if the men themselves are underestimated by the women. Most men would rather keep their mouth shut and allow the woman her feminine perspective, in ultimate reinforcement of the autonomy of their own masculine outlook. Maybe this does mean men are weaker than in previous generations, I don't really know.

I haven't seen that movie.

 

Semi-related comedic video

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In the movie, Carrell plays, well Carrell. And after his wife bangs another dude and kicks Carrell out of the house, he meets Gosling at a bar. And Gosling bangs women for a living...well, he's some trust fun baby that bangs different women everyday. Gosling teaches Carrell how to man up in life. It's not a terrible movie...some funny scenes. Definitely not to be taken serious enough to spark philosophical discussion about relationships. This ain't Blue Valentine (another Gosling movie), where that downer will make you think hard and want to quit on relationships.

 

NSFW

Spoiler

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