Preview

Susan Bordo

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
976 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Susan Bordo
This is a chapter from her book The Male Body. This chapter explains her thoughts on the use of the male body in advertising. Bordo explains how and why she first got interested in looking for new advertisements of males in magazines. Bordo explicitly depicts her thoughts on how people look at the male body, how it was used in advertising, movies, and our culture overall. She also goes into how over time the use of male bodies has changed in our culture. Bordo uses a lot of pictures and actual advertisements to draw you in as a reader and get you thinking about the depictions of male physique in your own way. The author uses many major clothing companies as examples for her depictions like Calvin Klein, Haggar, Dockers, and Gucci. She expresses that these companies and more have paved the way for the use of male bodies as “sexual objects” on purpose. Her idea relies on the entire belief that sex sales, which it does. Her thoughts go in depth on this subject, as far as to say gay stylists helped the world along with this idea. One of the author's main points is wrapped up in the last excerpt of the chapter. She goes into great detail about how the world is now obsessed with looking thin and muscular or fit. From this conformity she explains that advertisements and movies have changed to fit the changing population. She uses an earlier example of John Travolta and how he was depicted in Saturday Night Fever as a younger man and later leaned up and sculpted like a Greek statue for the sequel staying alive. She expresses how she is old fashioned and wished the male body could be depicted as more natural nowadays.
1) This essay by Susan Bordo is indeed a long essay. It consists of forty five pages of detailed analysis of men in advertising. However, Bordo’s writing style is unique and fun making it an enjoyable read. I feel that by breaking the reading into sections, as Susan has done makes the essay easier to understand. Also, Bordo writes in the first

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Response to Tough Guise

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First, the image of a man has dramatically changed. As Jackson Katz quoted, males are now huge, bulky and muscular; whereas women are now anorexic, boney and thin. For example, A G-I Joe action figure had the arm circumference of twelve inches in the 1970’s; today the arm has a circumference of 26.6inches. In addition, other action figures have greatened in size and muscle index, even the Star Wars action figures! In contrast, women with full figures were seen as attractive. Marilyn Monroe was a size twelve. Today eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, have flooded our nation. Girls everywhere are trying to be the ideal size two. The image of men being big and muscular and women small and petite has a huge effect on Guyland.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Johnson uses examples like Marilyn Monroe and Western female Samoa to show that in some cultures, women were admired for their natural form. In today’s society, women are expected to be skinny, and not be who they are biologically built as. He also emphasizes that women are vital…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    An advertiser’s main goal is to make money by any means necessary. Therefore, it is no surprise that advertisements in the media today are preying upon young women’s insecurities and producing more and more advertisements that show how sex sells in the media. Throughout virtually any magazine or image in the media, a reader will find more women than men shown in the advertisements. Some of these advertisements include women interacting with men in a sexual manner, women wearing the slightest bit of clothing, if any, and women posing in provocative ways to sell a certain product. Virtually all of these advertisements and media images portray women who are extremely thin, sexy, and seductive in order to sell the products to either male or female consumers. Interestingly, the male consumer products that are advertised include women either being promiscuous with other women, or with men, while female consumer products only sometimes include men, yet nevertheless portray women seductively, beautifully, and in a way that appeals to men. The above collage helps showcase how advertisers use the idea that “sex sells” as a way to objectify women and hold them to the highest standards of beauty, thinness, and attractiveness to men, while simultaneously suggesting that in order for products to sell, women must sell the products in a sexual manner.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Men on Display

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Susan Bordo describes the ways men can alter an advertisement, and how the way they dress and behave in the advertisement can change the perception of them. Some advertisements that centers around men are used for the sole purpose of exuding sex appeal. Campaigns advertising products such as cologne and fashion use this approach abundantly, mainly to get people’s attention. When men are illustrated this way, it is much more controversial because men are perceived more in a feminine way. As Susan Bordo states, “It is feminine to be on display” (Bordo, 135). Males exuding femininity is not completely accepted in today’s culture because of the stereotype that men should be authoritative and burly men. This approach was used in the Gucci Underwear advertisement that Bordo described in her first chapter. Other ways that an advertisement can showcase a man is by perceiving them as “heterosexual” (Bordo, 145) and a stereotypical burly man. When males are perceived as manly men in an advertisement it appeases to a more homophobic group of people. Bordo believes that it should be just as accepted in todays culture for men to be the center of sexual and risky ads just like it is for women.…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Summary/Response Paper

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Lewis argues that this advertisement “blatantly uses stereotypes” (p. 179) to appeal to society’s decided gender roles and it gravely influences consumers to strive to fit in to those roles. She explains throughout her essay that we have been categorized into these roles over many generations that portray men to be hard, violent, “power incarnate” (p. 179), with no expression of weakness. Women are seen as being unintelligent, overly sensitive, sexual and innocent beings that must obey men. Lewis announces that this ad conveys the message that in order for a man to be “hard and powerful” or a woman to be “sexually intense and desirable” (p.180) they must be dressed in Fila jeans. She contends that there is a powerful sexual theme underlying the message conveyed in this advertisement.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Illuminating the Illusion

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Jay Chiat, and expert in the advertising field, looked at advertising differently than those in the advertising business today. He launched the Energizer Bunny and Apple commercials. Not only that, he started a new age of advertising during the Super Bowl. Chiat was an amazing advertiser; however, he reached a point in 1997 where he desired to leave the marketing industry. He no longer agreed with the ideals of the advertising world. In Chiat’s essay, “Illusions are Forever,” he uncovers the true ideals of the marketing industry. His essay discusses how the lies in advertising “lie in the situations, values, beliefs, and cultural norms used to sell a message.”(212) Through this essay, Chiat uses strong, vivacious words to create an image of the true face of advertising. In the same manner, he includes examples and descriptions that embellish that image and grab the attention of the reader. Amidst all of this, Chiat composes his essay in a manner that allows for a clear, insightful message to come across. Chiat is indeed bitter of advertising, but that does not affect his message. He remains conversational throughout the course of the essay. The technique that Chiat uses throughout his writing is superb, and he does an excellent job of getting his message across.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bordo uses primary and secondary sources in her writing to support her argument. She includes many personal stories and opinions that helped make her position stronger. In the beginning of her essay she discusses how in society during her time, males weren’t used in ads or in magazines. In the beginning she tells a story about when she saw an ad with a male body. “It caused me to knock over my coffee cup, […]. Later, when I had regained by equilibrium, I made a screen-saver out of him, so I could gaze at my leisure” (p.299).This gave an example of how she personally experienced ads where the men had little to no clothing on. Bordo also uses ads from major fashion companies like Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Versace, and Gucci to depict how they have used underwear and clothing to “enhance a man’s appearance and sexual appeal” (p.317). She expresses that these companies and more have paved the way for the use of male bodies as “sexual objects” on purpose.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One essay you will read this year is Susan Bordo’s piece “Beauty (Re) discovers the Male Body”. At first glance, this essay seemed to contain many images and text that some students found offensive. Do not let this put you off from this essay, as it is well constructed. This essay by Bordo is indeed a long essay. It consists of forty five pages of detailed analysis of men in advertising. However, Bordo’s writing style is unique and fun making it an enjoyable read. I feel that by breaking the reading into sections, makes the essay easier to understand. Also what make this essay unique, Bordo included many personal stories and in depth opinions and analysis. Some of which may seem long winded but of which channels well towards her position. To me she is showing that something new and important is happening in relation to men and fashion.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Summary Bordo

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body” Susan Bordo discusses the image of the male body. She starts by talking about how “the naked and near naked female body became an object of mainstream consumption” (168) while the male body has been gone with fashion. She tells about her first time seeing an ad using the male body. It was an underwear ad for Calvin Klein underwear. Bordo explains how this ad was different from other ads in the way the guy posed. In other ads the guys pose would say “Yeah, this is an underwear ad and I’m half naked. But I’m still the one in charge here. Who’s gonna look away first?” (170) In the ad she saw the guy “offers himself non aggressively to the gaze of another” (170). Bordo talks about how guys are not often portrayed like that as more passive and seductive.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Susan Bordo

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Susan Bordo’s passage, “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body,” she really focuses on the male modeling and the views of males in advertisements. She truly portrays the changes from traditional to modern views of male modeling by society. The Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement is the more traditional of the two. I believe that it conveys all of the types of examples and traits that a traditional male model demonstrates. On the other hand, the second advertisement is from Dolce and Gabbana and illustrates all of the traits that a modern male model has.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bordo essay

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Here is a typical type of ad that a man would feature in for about 50 years ago or so. Bordo mentions in her essay that men were rarely seen in ads and commercials, and when they did, they were always the gentlemen, or working type of guy, rather than sensual body warming models which they turned into after Klein. In opposition, women have always been the ones to be gazed upon, and get the attention of men in a bit more sexual way. Bordo states that men act, while women appear. Meaning, men look at women, women watch them selves being looked at. As this asvertisement presents for us, the man is cleaning the car with whatever product the ad is for. He is acting. While the woman bends over in a slightly sexual way on top of the car, inviting the gaze of a working male, and enjoying it. This proves Bordo's point, the ideal man for women at this time was not the type to be gazed upon, but much rather the ones who paid attention to women, and worked hard to get them.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A common misconception is that only women care about their bodies and how they look in men’s eyes. However, the author Ted Spiker shares his own experience with male body image. His main target is to convince his audience (women) that body image matter to men as it matters for women. In his article he mainly relied on pathos as an effective way to reach his audience. Throughout the article the author used “we” effectively as he is talking from the prospective of men directing his speech to women. His introduction succeeded in defining the problem by simply describing his own suffer from fats and poor body image when he was a child. In fact, the author also used ethos as evidence for each reason he mentioned. For instance, he stated that a recent…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * “Very considerable part of our total culture, not separable from any other activities of our world” (McLuhan)…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The development of the metrosexual which came around the mid 90’s, changed the perception of how the world can see men, the representation of strong, rough and dominate is now someone who apodts the lifestyle sterotypical asoicated with metrosexual men even though he is heterosexual. This modern metrosexual man is young and single has a highly disposable income, and doesn’t mind being objectified and sexualized, the metrosexual man goes against these traditional representations. With the introduction of the metrosexual, advertising foe men has another way to capatlise on these men anf their metrosexual pride. Even these men who have an intrest in beauty products and fashionable clothes they are exploted…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    shock! Naked man in ads

    • 2020 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The first time I read Bordo’ s essay, Beauty (Re) discovers the Male Body, I was shocked by what she wrote, because I had never read any articles like this. It was explicitly telling about naked or near-naked models in advertisement, nude women attracted men and also nude men attracted women, and these kinds of ads influenced people’s view on what a real man was exactly. There were few books mentioned naked men or women, but never in specific detail. I felt really awkward when I read this book in the coffee store; I was afraid other people saw what I was reading. I closed it immediately. I came from China; Chinese culture taught me to feel extremely shameful about allowing other people to see our naked body. In the ancient time of China, people had to use clothes to cover all body parts, both male and female. The body was the thing people never showed to others, only someone who was really close to them, such as their husband or wife, mom or dad. Besides, people should never gaze at a naked person for a long time. In most Chinese people’s thoughts, only the people who sold sex or used their body to make money would be willing to reveal their body. And those jobs were illicit, and those people who were doing those jobs would be discriminated and hated by most Chinese people. They wouldn’t have relationships with them, or speak to them, or even stay near them. But, in the past 10 years, things went differently. Naked or near-naked female ads showed up on TV and on the street. The first near naked women ad I saw was a body wash ad (the picture on left corner of last page), name of the company was Shulei. At the beginning, no one could accept that a near-nude woman was in the ad; the company lost a lot of loyal customers. This new form of advertisement shocked them. It was against their views about the naked body. But, within a few months, the amount of selling numbers showed this new strategy was very successful. People were…

    • 2020 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays