What is...Masculinity?

As part of our class today we will be revisiting "this is a feminist issue because..." entries and discussing the question, what is masculinity? Here are some commercials that I thought we could watch to get us thinking about the issue. All of these commercials were posted earlier in the semester on various "this is a feminist issue because..." entries.

So I was watching TV this morning and I saw these two commercials, one right after the other. It got me thinking about our analysis of women and housework commercials last week. How is masculinity represented/reinforced in these commercials? What are these commercials suggesting about what it means to be a "real" man and what it might mean to fail to be that man? Why is this a feminist issue? How can we connect it to our analysis of the larger structures/ideologies that foster injustice and oppression in its many forms?

And, I thought I would add this commercial on too--I didn't see it this morning, but was reminded of it when I started thinking about how masculinity gets reinforced in commercials. What are the implied reasons that men aren't wearing pants? Why do they need to wear (the) pants? How might not wearing pants signify failed masculinity? Who is to blame for this failed masculinity?

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I also wanted to add in another Old Spice commercial that M posted as a follow-up to this entry.

One thing that strikes me about all of these commercials is how they seem to be a warning--you better act/smell/look like a man or else. How are we kept in line by threats of not being considered a real man or a real woman? Who makes those threats? What are the consequences that result from one's failure to be a real man?

Okay, I can't stop...there are just too many commercials waiting to be analyzed. Here is the last one...for now:

So, what do these commercials tell us about masculinity and what it means to be a real man? What stereotypes do these commercials reinforce? How do these commercials make you curious?