Portrayal of Men
It seems as though in advertisements, depending on if it's for a men's or women's product, men are portrayed as either the buff ideal man or stupid. Men are also often pictured in advertisements as strong, independent, competent, successful, muscular, rugged, in control, dirty, and dominant. While not all of these things are negative it can lead to unrealistic ideals of what a man should be. Many advertisements geared toward men convince men that with their product they will get all the ladies. Advertisements either use “real men” to sell their products or try to tell men that they aren’t a “real man” unless they use their products. For many women’s products, advertisers portray men as stupid, dirty, or incompetent. The clichéd message in many ads is that women are the civilized voice burdened with managing men and their ingrained frat-boy mindset.
Research says that while body ideals have been around for a while for women, standards for men to be more muscular and lean are on the rise. With the rise of this ideal for a chiseled body, there is also a rise in low self-esteem issues and depression amongst men. Men are increasingly thinking they need to constantly lift weights, fill themselves with protein shakes, and even use steroids to get that body of a god look.
Research says that while body ideals have been around for a while for women, standards for men to be more muscular and lean are on the rise. With the rise of this ideal for a chiseled body, there is also a rise in low self-esteem issues and depression amongst men. Men are increasingly thinking they need to constantly lift weights, fill themselves with protein shakes, and even use steroids to get that body of a god look.