UNIT 3: Unpacking Values: A Way To Understand A Culture of Hegemonic Masculinity

UNIT 3:

Unpacking Values: A Way To Understand A Culture of Hegemonic Masculinity

-Value systems are comprised of beliefs, value systems, hope and dreams, and ideas about ways to live that we acquire from family members, guardians, teachers, communities, and institutions to name a few.  

-The education of values we receive as children is called “ cultural transmission”, beliefs that are reproduced and become a part of everyday life.

-Cultural transmission can have positive effects which include learning of traditions, learning right from wrong, developing a moral code, and having the opportunity to share one’s culture with others.

-Negative effects of of cultural transmission can result in individuals not wanting to accept other cultures belief systems and believing that their way is the“normal” way of doing things.

-Cultural transmission in sports can involve the passing down of ideas that are considered important to a specific sport.  For example physical exercise and a competitive attitude are values of American football teams. Entire communities and governmental agencies can encourage these beliefs by providing financial assistance to these programs.

-Examples of cultural transmission

-father teaching son football

-girls encouraged to participate in individual sports

-urban kids playing sports like basketball or karate that require less expensive physical space

-the weather and temperatures of living locations can affect which sports kids participate in.

-colder weather; skating, hockey

-warmer weather; outdoor basketball, tennis

-Communities affect the way belief systems become embedded in sports.  Communities that are more individualistic focus on not only the team dynamic but also inward motivation.

-Socio-economic status affects which populations of kids are able to play certain sport based on what they can’t and can afford.

-Communities that focus on the group dynamic tend to encourage working together, supporting teammates, teamwork, and selfness in order to achieve a group goal.

-It can be difficult to understand our own value systems because they become partially unconscious as we grow up but it’s important to look in ourselves to understand why we hold the beliefs and values we have.

-Gender is is socially constructed by society prescribing each gender specific qualifications that are deemed appropriate or inappropriate based around the concept of what is considered “normal”.

-Hegemonic masculinity can be found in the dominant cultural construction of sport in using the image of the male body as the ultimate example of the desirable male athlete.  Achieving this physical goal systematically has been shown to increase a man's social capital in the realm of social construction.

-Because much of sport culture today has been based around archaic Victorian ideals, women have had to work extra hard to demand respect and and equal standing the sporting world.  Some theorists argue that women and women are much more similar in their physical capabilities than wa physically thought.

THEME OF THIS UNIT:

Social construction and value systems directly affect every aspect of social conditioning and women’s participation in sports is a challenge to the hegemonic masculinity sports culture was built on.

Scholarly Research Analysis Protocol

Instructions: While reading the assigned text, answer the questions below in the space provided.  

Please use direct excerpts from the text whenever possible in your responses.

What structural features define this text as falling within the genre of scholarly/ academic writing? (Create a bulleted list.)

-The article explores research into “The Televised Manhood Sports Formula” in order to understand the perpetuated narrow minded view of masculinity that is advertised to young men watching mainstream sports.

-The researchers of the piece explored and analyzed hours of commercial footage televised during popular mens sporting events and investigated and examined the subject matter of those advertisements to help comprehend messages young men are receiving from corporate America.

-The study examined qualitative and quantitative data from pre-game and postgame shows to achieve a well rounded view of sports programming.

What is the argument statement of this text?  (Write one sentence.)

“This article, based on a textual analysis, presents the argument that televised sports, and their

accompanying commercials, consistently present boys with a narrow portrait of masculinity,which we call the Televised Sports Manhood Formula”. (380)

Identify the jargon of this text. [Jargon is specialized terminology characteristic of a particular discipline or area of theory.]  (Use bullets.)

-masculinity

-advertising

-gender

-race

-aggression

-violence

-values

-inductive method

What are five statements that the author uses to support the argument statement? Use only direct excerpts; frame them with quotation marks, and note the page number.

1) “Our analysis revealed that sports programming presents boys with narrow and stereotypical messages about race, gender, and violence. We identified 10 distinct themes that, together, make up the Televised Sports Manhood Formula”. (381)

2) “Images or discussion of women athletes is almost entirely absent in the sports programs that boys watch most. SportsCenter’s mere 2.9% of news time devoted to women’s sports is slightly lower than the 5% to 6% of women’s sports coverage commonly found in other sports news studies (Duncan & Messner, 1998)”. (382)

3) “Moreover, as Table 3 illustrates, the commercials’ common depiction of women as sexual objects and as “prizes” for men’s successful consumption choices articulates with the sports programs’ presentation of women primarily as sexualized, supportive props for men’s athletic performances”. (384)

4) Commentators consistently lauded athletes who most successfully employed physical and aggressive play and toughness. For instance, after having his toughness called into question, NBA player Brian Grant was awarded redemption by SportsCenter because he showed that he is “not

afraid to take it to Karl Malone”. (385)

5) This injunction for boys and men to be aggressive, not passive, is reinforced in commercials,where a common formula is to play on the insecurities of young males (e.g., that they are not strong enough, tough enough, smart enough, rich enough, attractive enough, decisive enough, etc.) and then attempt to convince them to avoid, overcome, or mask their fears, embarrassments, and apparent shortcomings by buying a particular product. (386)

What values or views were represented in the message? (Write no more than three sentences.)

The values and views of this article encompass the idea that hegemonic masculinity is systematic and institutional problem preserved and maintained by the people in power which in America society is white men. Understanding the privilege of white men aids in discerning why exactly there us such a short-sited and small-minded view of masculinity is. Society as a whole suffers from this simple yet harmful vision of manliness in that it inherently is part of a system that only benefits white males while paradoxically boxing them into a pressure to practice very specific forms of masculine behavior in order to conform to the group qualifications.

LEARNING MODULE

STEP 1:

Domestic violence is a difficult thing to talk openly about for a variety of reasons.  Anyone who has experienced domestic violence first hand or knows someone who has can understand that the trauma can be paralyzing and many people repress the hardest memories they have in order to cope and carry on with their lives.  For the longest time it was essentially taboo to openly talk about issues of domestic violence in America and the world at large.  Although it is still very often a difficult thing for people to discuss publicly, videos such as “NFL Players Say No More” show some evidence that the paradigm is slowly changing and that members of a powerful institution like the NFL are backing the movement that there are no excuses for abuse against women of any kind.

The first thing that came to my mind while watching each of the NFL players speak was that this group of men represents a popular form of masculinity.  As we discussed in the Messer, Dunbar, and Hunt piece, popular male sports athletes are a huge part of “The Televised Manhood Formula” that much of America’s young male youth watch and look up to.  It is a powerful statement to have men who normally perpetuate aggressive, violent, and competitive nature on the sports field speak frankly about issues of violence in the home.  Society has deemed the men in this video as heros, the epitome of American success and athleticism, values that young men eternalize in a very big way.

STEP 2

Name of film	How do the following films create meanings and messages about sports, males, culture, and society?
The Blind Side	The Blind Side exemplifies the intersection of race and masculinity in team sports and a socio-economic difference in what sports young people are exposed to based upon their income bracket.
Varsity Blues	Varsity Blues perpetuates the image that football stars are untouchable and even at the high school level, can be considered local heros.
The Sandlot	The Sandlot shows a representation of male participation in sports that encourages men to determine their social capitol by comparing their athleticism to other men.
Miracle	Miracle is a film that explores that values of winning and teamwork as essential parts of what is determined as success in male dominated sports, using quotes in the trailer that are meant to inspire and romanticize team sports such as “a dream that united a team”.
Youngblood	Youngblood is a film about hockey that glorifies and encourages violence on the rink In order for men to assert their masculinity and alpha status to the group.
The Wrestler	The Wrestler addresses aging in popular sports and explores the concept that youth and hegemonic masculinity rule the world of wrestling.
Raging Bull	Raging Bull depicts the use of violence and scare tactics in boxing and shows the ways in which inspiring fear in opponents is a hyper masculine way of demanding respect.

STEP 3:

1) "Kris Jenkins' View of Life in the NFL Trenches," by Greg Bishop provides a truly intimate look into what its like to be a football player.  Jenkins describes “Piles, oh, my God, they’re brutal. I’ve had my ankles twisted. I’ve been bit. I’ve done stuff. I’ve tried to break guys’ elbows, pinching people, twisting ankles, trying to bend up their arms, pop an elbow out. Why? I had to fight back”.  Jenkins explains that football is far more dangerous and gritty when you are in the thick of it, and that asserting one’s masculinity through playing dirty is a common practice amongst players.

2) “Mentally, we’re conditioned to be tough. We’re conditioned to feel no pain. The only injury I ever felt while playing was when one of my knees tore. That’s the only time I felt pain and was like, O.K., that hurt”.  Jenkins, whether he knows it or not shows through this statement that he acknowledges a social construction to the game, that maleness is associated with toughness and repressing pain to show strength.  

3) “When I was a little kid, I got picked on. I didn’t start hitting my growth spurts until high school. I was the smallest kid in my class in junior high. When you get bullied, you either cower and shy away from the world, or you go ballistic. I didn’t get to the point where I felt like shooting people. But I fought back once I could”.  Jenkins, like many young boys (and kids of all genders) experienced bullying and learned from a young age that proclaiming one’s fortitude, attitude, and ability to defend one’s self is a way to assert dominance.

4) “The first warning is the first meeting you have with an agent, when you realize this is real. My choices count at this point. I’m going to be prostituting myself for the next 18 years of my life”.  Jenkins seems to accept his fate as being a number, being valued for his physical being more so than anything else in order to achieve success, which allows him to detach from the more immediate consequences of constant violence.

5) “The violence, we love it. The madness, we love it. We love measuring ourselves in it.

Those guys express themselves with their pads. You soften the game, you’re taking away their freedom of expression. Nobody wants to see flag football, and now, you might as well give guys flags, tell them to hug afterward, all that”.  Jenkins further explains that when playing the game of football, you become an entertainer and you figure out what people want to see, or, what they have been told through various advertising and powerful institutions they should want to see.

STEP 4: JACKSON KATZ:

1) Katz explains that hegemonic masculinity affects men from a young age in that the dominant culture provides examples for men to follow that are defined as manly and valuable.

2) There is learned behavior young men are exposed too as kids that encourages a belief that men must become real men with masculine attributes like being powerful, assertive, independent, and tough.

3)  There is a pressure for young men to conform to the narrow-minded ideas of masculinity or else they find themselves subjected to being called a wus or any other plethora of demeaning words designed to harm a man’s ego and sense of manliness.

4) Dominance, power, and control are concepts that are perpetuated by mainstream media that young men see in films, commercials, and TV shows defining what it is to be a man.

5) Male violence has become a widely accepted part of masculinity, so much so that it is considered a “norm”.

6) Violence acts such as murder, assault, sexual abuse, and domestic violence are disproportionately committed by men in the US presenting the idea that there are major issues with American understanding of masculinity.

7) Violence in general is often cyclical.  Perpetrators of violence are often individuals who have been abused themselves.

8) Addressing issues with masculinity in American culture benefits men as well as women especially considering that the majority of violence that takes place in this country is from men assaulting men.

9) Men develop what Katz refers to as a “Tough Guise”, a survival suit of sorts that appears to help them to deal with male pior culture when in reality it is holding them back from truly connecting emotionally with themselves and others.

10) Katz explains that the “Tough Guise” isn’t just a male problem, it’s an institutional problem that all genders can help in rectifying by rejecting violence in association with celebrated masculinity in popular culture.

STEP 5:

#	Theme	How/if this emerged in the regular broadcast	How/ if this emerged during the commercials
1	White males are the voice of authority.	The hosts of the show are a man and a women.  A man is narrating most of the show.
2	Sports is a man’s world.	During this game, the focus is women’s sports and it’s all they are referring too.
3	Men are foregrounded in commercials.	The commercials were mixed and slightly random.  Gender neutral ads for furniture
4	Women are sexy props for men’s successful sports performance.	The women are definitely wearing outfits that are fit for the sport although it’s important to note both players are wearing shirts on top of shorts.
5	Whites are foregrounded in commercials.	The commercials showed mostly white people.
6	Aggressive players get the prize; nice guys finish last.	The hosts of the show keep referencing how competitive the players are.  They keep referring to “domination” as an important part of the game.
7	Boys will be (violent) boys.	The players have been competitors since they were 13.  They are constantly being compared.
8	Give up your body for the team.	Both women describe tennis as being such a large part of their lives and how they will do anything to win.
9	Sports is war.	They refer to the idea of loosing as “taking a beating”.
10	Show some guts!	a commentator did reference good health as the most important thing in sports

The Australian Open is a major tennis event that is held in Melbourne, Australia each year in January.  The event first began in 1905 and first opened to women players in 1922.  The event features womens and mens single and doubles matches.  Formerly, the event was played on grass but changed to hard courts in 1987 and is currently played on Plexicushion.  Serena Willams was the first woman to win matches on two different surface materials over the years. Williams won her 6th Australian open this past January against Maria Sharapova.  The sports cast of the match is listed as “Australian Open 2015 - Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova”.

Themes in Overview:

Broadcasts of women’s sports’ events are very indicative of how the sporting world views gender, sex, and other societal and cultural media today. 1) There was no objectification of the players based on race, sex, gender,fashion choice, body type and far more emphasis on their athletic abilities which perhaps indicates some major changes in perception of women in tennis.

2) Commercials during the event were for the most part gender neutral and indicative of a value on product placement. 3) The tournament coverage was hosted by men and women providing a more diverse voice for the event.

VALUE OF WOMEN'S ATHLETIC ABILITY:

1. In the past (and currently in many instances), it was common-place for women to be judged in sporting events by their bodies and sexuality alongside their talents.  During the Australian open featuring Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, the hosts constantly refer to how “powerful” the women are and how fast they are.  If anything they say things like “Serena Williams makes it all look so easy” in admiration of Williams skill and endurance.
2. The only physicality the hosts refer to is Sharapova’s health when she coughs on the court.  They appear to feel for her, and emphasize the important in health in sports which is refreshing.
3. The male host refers to the first Australian Women’s Open champion Daphne Akhurst with praise, referencing that she was the first woman to win the event 5 times.  It is encouraging to hear male commentators discussing victories for women’s rights in such a highly publicized event.
   
   
   
   
   

PRODUCT PLACEMENT:

1. As with every highly publicized event on television, the product placement in the Australian open, is everywhere.  Billboards for KIA, Jacobs Creek, Hisense, ANZ.
2. The broadcast featured so much product placement that they had a live Twitter feed going during the whole event allowing viewers to interact with the sports coverage and weigh in on the match.
3. The event also serves as a massive advertising campaign for Melbourne tourism with the name of the city in almost every shot.
   
   
   
   
   

GENDER NEUTRAL EVENT COVERAGE:

1. Perhap one of the more positive aspects of the women’s single Australian Open coverage is how gender neutral the commentary was.  The event, hosts by a man and women, allowed equal speaking time for each host, more of a conversation between the two.
2. The gender of the players competing wasn’t at the forefront of the conversation about the match.  Besides using pro-nouns “she” and “her”, the players were never referenced as girls or used as “sexy props” as Messner referred to in his piece.
3. Another aspect to note about the commentary is that the commentators, although diverse in gender, were both white.  Tennis has for so long been a game in which the wealthy could only participate in order to pay for the lessons, practices, outfits, rackets and is still often a difficult sport to break into without having a privileged socio-economic background..  Serena Williams is an example of a person who overcame discrimination to get where she is as one the most successful tennis players in the world, regardless of gender.

CRITICAL OVERVIEW:

The broadcast of the “Australian Open 2015 - Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova” surpassed and and greatly rose above many of the concepts included in Messner’s (2000) “The Televised Manhood Formula”.  Messner described the dominant force of hegemonic masculinity in that “televised sports, and their accompanying commercials, consistently present boys with a narrow portrait of masculinity” which has been seen to be very much true of male dominated sports such as football and baseball.  Watching the Australian open with William and Sharapova was exceptionally refreshing and empowering.  It was quite inspiring to watch two women professional tennis players participate in an exciting, competitive, and intriguing game and not have to be subject to sexist dialogue while watching.  As we have discussed in the class before, sports in American culture are popular and pervasive which enables them to have the potential to have serious effects on social change.  I think this match would be a great example to show young kids how women are just as capable of being star athletes as men, and not base their celebrity solely on their appearance.