'Dissing' men is the new sexism.

[gaelfarce]

Feminism has drawn attention to and fought against stereotypical and sexist portrayals of women in mass media, but new research shows that media portrayals of gender have largely done an about face in the past decade or so. There is a new “gender war” and the main target of discrimination is no longer women, according to research - it is men.

Comments

[ragnarok20]

This is stuff I have been saying for the last four or five years, haha...I have a whole myspace entry devoted to the subject of the modern male image...

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=1781311&blogID=93685390&MyToken=302ca922-a9cb-44f0-b064-e46013af47dc

[gaelfarce]

That's why I posted this. All that I had found was anecdotal evidence that was generally pretty one-sided. Now that we are seeing misandry becoming the de facto position of progressives and feminists there is more factual information coming about. I am wondering how many responses there will and I'm very curious to see what the overall tone is.

[octi_stripe]

Personally, I think this is more about how the media focuses on negative images of people in general than about feminism or masculinity.

ピンポン!

[thorny_rose]

Exactly what I was thinking. While people can and do take to heart media portrayals, the media is essentially an entertainment tool and it's primary concern is telling a story, no matter what sex the antagonist is.

[gaelfarce]

So more negative sterotyping in the MSM is not going to increase gender strife?

[thorny_rose]

Well, I dunno about octi, but I'm saying that MSM isn't negatively stereotyping a sex - it's stereotyping humanity as a whole. People. In general. It's a bandwagon. It's a farce. We read and go *gasp!* Media can only do what media does, and that's offer an idea. What we do with it is our own choice. If we allow it, or anything other than one's own sense, to rule our actions and lifestyles, sure it can increase strife, or decrease it, or confirm it. Maybe this is straddling the fence, but anything's possible. People don't like being held responsible for their lots in general, so thank god there's MSM! *ahem!*

[calif_troweller]

I have some issues with the way this article is written... for one, it perpetuates the concept of a "gender dichotomy", which is in my mind, the root of the entire problem

[gaelfarce]

Preference is not egalitarianism. When a man is blamed for all rape in the whole world because he is male and this thought is not quashed for the sexism that it is then that is not equal. Denigrating anyone's struggles perpetuates rather than prevents sexism.

hear here

[metahara]

I agree.

Additionally, as media goes, 96.4% of those in the D.P. (camera) union are male. 87% of those in the DGA (directors guild) are male. the stats are dismal for the Producers guild and the WGA(writers) as well...Men are Writing, producing, Directing, shooting and editing most of what is known as Media. Perhaps if more women are given/allowed/offered more work in the industry, we'll see more humanitarian/feminism.
"forming discriminatory “boy’s clubs” to prevent women progressing beyond the “glass ceiling”, despite many men claiming that this image is far from reality."
glass ceiling? what glass ceiling? oh pullease.

common negative male stereotypes are propegated by a male engined machine...for instance, the beer ads with Burt Reynolds and that "manly"
that Burger King commercial were produced, written, directed, shot and edited by males...the advertising agency is a male dominated agency, etc.

be the change you want in the world.

[calif_troweller]

I disagree, even in our present society, if an individual woman treats an individual man in an unfair manner simply because he is a man that is sex discrimination.

[gaelfarce]

When does fighting back against oppression become dominance? What about the theories that patriarchy stemmed from matriarchal abuses? Even over systems theory there has to be an equality rather than a reassignation of who gets the power for payback time.

[wolfshift]

May I post this (or a link to it) to mens_studies?

[gaelfarce]

I don't think it would be a problem...it's not a closed community...but keep it academic I guess.

[wolfshift]

What's funny?