When the subject of porn and female beauty comes up a lot is written by feminists and their supporters about the objectification of women in media and society based on physical appearance. And how this encourages a dependance on external validation, body image issues, etc. However very little is said about the objectification of men.
IMO and IME the objectification of men is based on social status, utility and persona;
Athletes (physicality), wealthy men (utility and social status), men in positions of power (social status), men in uniform (social status), bad boys (persona, social status), actors and entertainers (social status), bad boys with a heart of gold in fiction ie. fifty shades of grey, and twilight - from what I've heard (persona), etc.
And IMO this objectification if internalized by men can lead to self hatred just as powerful as the objectification of women. When a man perceives himself to be of low social status (not in a position of power, not a bad boy, etc), and utility (no job, low income, etc) it can lead to serious self esteem issues.
(Perhaps that's partly the reason why many nice guys are bitter about the female love of 'bad boys/jerks' and wealth. People shit on guys who are bitter, but applaud women who criticize cultural standards of beauty with the same passion. It seems to be OK for women to express disdain for standards that make them feel less than worthy, but if men do the same they are considered 'whiners who need to man up'.)
It might be interesting for people to know that the suicide rate globally is disproportionately higher for males;
Gender and suicide -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_and_suicideUK -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/23/suicide-rates-men-gender-issueI'm not saying that objectification is the sole reason for disproportionate male suicide. But my questions is if feminists and non-feminists agree that the objectification of females in media leads to serious self-esteem issues in women, then why isn't the same considered for male objectification?
If feminists and non-feminists agree that the standards of beauty that the media portrays is unattainable and therefore damaging. Then why isn't the same true for men in regards to the standard of acceptable status, persona, and utility that are presented in media?
Here are some videos that talk about the objectification of men in media;
(Others have pointed out that the statistics in this first vid are dubious)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-N9daqANcwOur culture seems to applaud hyper-masculinity, or denounces the concept of masculinity itself as 'archaic' or 'misogynistic'. Like someone else on another forum pointed out men can feel pulled between hyper-assertiveness, hyper-ambitiousness, stoicism, etc and the need to be hyper-sensitive, and pander to women (this applies to hetero and non-hetero men, you can pander to women non-sexually). It rarely shows simple masculinity where men enjoy expressing aggression, physicality, competitiveness, intentionality, but at the same time can express vulnerability, and sensitivity (ie. expressing that they have low self esteem, are stressed, depressed, or hurt.)
What do you guys think about male objectification in media?
Why does it seem to be OK for women to express dissatisfaction for media and cultural standards that make them feel less than worthy, but it's not OK for men?
Topic: The Objectification Of Men In Media