“Girls
outperform boys now at every level, from elementary school through graduate
school" (The Demise of Guys?).
In comparison with women,
men have never done worse, but it doesn't stop there. “Young
men’s SAT scores, meanwhile, in 2011 were the worst they’ve been in 40 years" (The Demise of Guys?).
 |
| Department of Education,.
Percent of All College Degrees Earned. 2012. The Demise of Guys?Web. 5 Nov 2012.
|
Over the last 40 years, men have progressively earned a smaller and smaller percentage of college degrees.
What is causing this change? What in society is damaging our young men?
What is causing this change? What in society is damaging our young men?
Though many factors
contribute--and personal choices are certainly at the top of the list--mass
media’s misguided and conflicting portrayal of the role of men has guided a
generation of men to destruction.
The role of men has
changed, especially in mass media. Males used to be protectors and providers, and
they were portrayed as such. They had to prepare early in life and work hard throughout adulthood to fulfill that duty.
Masculine character roles have changed. Now it is common to find the masculine role in a movie or series that drinks, engages in unsafe sexual activity, plays video games excessively, or is otherwise unsuccessful in real life accomplishments. They are distracted and find jobs and hard work unattractive.
While this kind of character can be entertaining, what kind of example does it provide our kids?
Those lives of video games sex, and alcohol seem fun. Success in the world does seem so exciting or valuable when endless days of gaming and partying are available. Thus academic and career goals are left behind or forgotten.
They are also fitting the role they think men are supposed to play:
“But [college men] also say to [Harper]: 'You know, that’s not really who I am. That’s just what guys at college do.' Gender, Harper says, is performative: Young men are simply following a script, doing what they think they’re supposed to”
These bad examples bleed over into moral relativism. Society in general has adopted a philosophy of ‘anything goes’, and it’s no surprise that mass media has portrayed that.
Sure, good grades and test scores can be nice, but laying around all day killing people in video games is cool, too.
This kind of thinking gives time no value and life little substance. Let’s give our young men a fighting chance and show them examples of men that work hard and sacrifice for others and value the true things in life.
Masculine character roles have changed. Now it is common to find the masculine role in a movie or series that drinks, engages in unsafe sexual activity, plays video games excessively, or is otherwise unsuccessful in real life accomplishments. They are distracted and find jobs and hard work unattractive.
While this kind of character can be entertaining, what kind of example does it provide our kids?
Those lives of video games sex, and alcohol seem fun. Success in the world does seem so exciting or valuable when endless days of gaming and partying are available. Thus academic and career goals are left behind or forgotten.
They are also fitting the role they think men are supposed to play:
“But [college men] also say to [Harper]: 'You know, that’s not really who I am. That’s just what guys at college do.' Gender, Harper says, is performative: Young men are simply following a script, doing what they think they’re supposed to”
These bad examples bleed over into moral relativism. Society in general has adopted a philosophy of ‘anything goes’, and it’s no surprise that mass media has portrayed that.
Sure, good grades and test scores can be nice, but laying around all day killing people in video games is cool, too.
This kind of thinking gives time no value and life little substance. Let’s give our young men a fighting chance and show them examples of men that work hard and sacrifice for others and value the true things in life.
Works Cited
Department of Education, . Percent
of All College Degrees Earned. 2012.
The Demise of Guys?Web. 5 Nov
2012. <http://www.demiseofguys.com/infographics-and-survey-results/infographics-demiseofguys-01-
01/>.
2012. <http://www.demiseofguys.com/infographics-and-survey-results/infographics-demiseofguys-01-
01/>.
Zimbardo,
Philip, perf. The Demise of Guys?. 2011. Web. 5 Nov 2012.
<http://www.ted.com/talks/zimchallenge.html>.
<http://www.ted.com/talks/zimchallenge.html>.
Hingston, Sandy. "The Sorry Lives and
Confusing Times of Today's Young Men." Philadelphia
Magazine. 2012: n.
page. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://www.phillymag.com/articles/the-sorry-lives-and-confusing-times-of-
today-s-young-men/>.
page. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://www.phillymag.com/articles/the-sorry-lives-and-confusing-times-of-
today-s-young-men/>.
By: Ammon Mayfield
Great post, and a really interesting viewpoint. We hear a lot about women's portrayal in the media, but never much about men, so this was fun. Things I'd say need work: give some examples. I don't think it would hurt to be a little more specific, especially in the research paper. Really dive in. Also, in the photo with the graph about women earning more degrees than men; could that just be because more and more women are attending college? Just be sure and address the issues that contribute to the problem instead of just saying they exist. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback! I got the idea from an amazing general conference talk in priesthood session. Some examples sound good, thanks! I included some information comparing men to themselves, that way the regression of men couldn't just be pushed off as the improvement of women. I hope I mentioned the issues that contribute to the problem... That was kinda the focus of my paper. The first part was about men doing worse in school, then I talked about the sources and influences of this problem. The part right after "What is causing this problem?" should have addressed those concerns.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything Kate said. May I add another possible counter-argument: some would say the portrayal of men as strong and masculine was detrimental as well, in that it became difficult for men to show emotion or sensitiivity. A small counter-argument, yes, but I think your issues paper would be stronger if you addressed both the pros and cons of old and new media portrayals, and perhaps presented a balance. I say this because, from your post, you seemed to suggest reverting completely back to the old media portrayals of men.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! The last sentence of my paper tells you what I want. Not to go back to the old ways, but to "show them examples of men that work hard and sacrifice for others and value the true things in life." I think men should be strong and masculine, I just don't think emotion or sensitivity represent weaknesses or femininity. I don't mean to suggest in this paper that the culture that encourages men to share feelings is making them weak. Quite the opposite. The distractions (porn, videogames, sexual behavior, selfishness) that some view as manly behavior are stripping them of all emotion. They cease to care about others, they cease to care about their own futures, and the world tells them that they are just fine living that kind of life.
DeleteThis is a very interesting post; I wanted to keep reading it because the topic was so different from what is normally talked about concerning media. I certainly agree with Kate and Diana that you could use a few counter-arguments. Something else that I think you could add in would be a few examples of when men have been demasculinized in the media; it could be a movie or any other type of media. I also really liked your graph at the beginning of your post--it is very eye-catching.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Some examples would be good. I get that a lot. :D I'll take a look at counter-arguments. You guys brought up some good points I should address better. If you're looking for more information, this is an excellent article:
Deletehttp://www.demiseofguys.com/the-sorry-lives-and-confusing-times-of-todays-young-men/
You did a good job with your post. I'm glad that you took a side that is not often explored in the media. However there seem to be two different viewpoints. You start off looking at education and the factual side of the matter. Like their grades and college degrees. But then you switch over to the morality of it all. The transition was fairly smooth, just unexpected because the introduction to the topic set up the audience differently. Overall, it flowed very nicely and was well supported, though addressing some counter-arguments could have made it stronger. You also did a good job at addressing the "so what" aspect at the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The organization was meant to be effect-cause. It did switch subjects. The factual side of the matter is the proof that there must be something inherently wrong with the system. I could have talked my whole post about statistics, but I would have nothing for people to disagree with. It would be purely informative. Or, I could have talked the whole paper about the negative influences in mass media on young men. This type of article would lack substance: I would have no proof that those influences were doing any harm. I feel that the article would be best with both incorporated. Thanks about the end part. I tried to make it matter. :D
Delete