In today’s society, gender roles placed on women have become a prominent issue in the media's eye. However, gender roles surrounding men are not often discussed. Standards that women are held to and the injustices they face are emphasized but we often forget that men can be objectified and caught up in gender norms as well. Male stereotypes and the media's portrayal of men are serious issues that must be addressed.
Society outlines that men must be dominant and masculine. Men are expected to appreciate being seen as sexual objects and this has become a prominent issue in our everyday lives. Ideologies such as these have been ingrained into the minds of the people since the dawn of the human race. The issue with gender norms is misconstrued in that most believe that it surrounds only women. However the hyper-masculine stereotypes that we place around men such as the classic "men cannot cry" or "cannot wear the color pink" because it is too feminine have been entrenched in our minds since birth. For example, one could examine a situation in which they were buying a gift for an unborn child. If the gender is unknown, it is difficult to find a gender neutral gift. Most clothing is gender specific with images of trucks and the color blue for boys and pink frills for their female counterparts. Similarly, the movie "Magic Mike" glorifies testosterone-pumped men gyrating their groins around for the sole purpose of pleasing women. This is a perfect example of the exemplification of male stigmas and gender norms.
In the same manner, that society frowns upon women for belching in public or not being able to perform the same duties as men, men are being stigmatized for accompanying their feminine counterparts into Victoria's Secret or for staying at home dads while the woman is the breadwinner. This begs the question "How can our society alleviate its sexist wrongdoings if it subconsciously stigmatizes both genders?" The answer is yet to be found. However, in opening dialogues such as this that incorporate the perspective of both sexes, one can keep an open mind. This allows for new solutions to be found and it culminates the possibility of a gender-equal society.
