marketing of masculinity

the basic tom frank point is that masculinity, whatever its style, has always been marketed.

what i see in common, but don't really know what to make of, between ^^khakis ad, "the game", retroid style/identity moves either of the martini-classy or '30s beardo working-man variety, even Queer Eye, is: they are all about What To Do. they all offer a program, a way out of alienation. are you lost? are other men getting theirs? we can help!

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9804/tuxedo.jpg

Speaking of new suits, you could sell these now and make good money. Hell, I'd dress like fuckin' Jon Pertwee every day if I were allowed to, and could afford it.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa48/spryte_album/MISC/RealMen.jpg

1982

i think the thing with a lot of those programs that are supposed to lead you to some ideal masculinity is that maybe in theory they're supposed to work well, but 90% of the time when i see guys trying to be sophisticated martini dudes or classy beardos in suits or guys who run circles around women w/the game book in hand, the efforts and execution are awkward or ugly and classless.

and hey, ketel one dudes? sorry:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G4JT7FCVL.jpg

is there a commonality at all b/w the idea of men not caring abt the appearance and men not caring about their health/nutrition? seems like i've seen a number of ads for patently unhealthy food (fast food, "hungry man" dinners) that treat gustatory excess as some manly pursuit (counter this with most health-conscious food commercials being targetted at women).

men's health is usually for shit like boner pills and supplements/routines to get your RIPPPPPPPED

*ads targeted towards men's health

real men don't care about their health because their life spans are already shortened by the girth and length of their monstrous penises

yeah, the quiche book, which i place at just the right time when they were all reacting to the Alan Alda "sensitive man" vibe of the 70s. I think an early Bloom County strip mentions this explicitly.

i think so, because men are the ones who are cared for. if there is no one to care for them they will turn into animals who eat the nearest/easiest thing. you also learn from commercials that they don't care about the appearance of their living space
xposts

the most "bro" ads that run are ads for vodka or carl's jr

seems like i've seen a number of ads for patently unhealthy food (fast food, "hungry man" dinners) that treat gustatory excess as some manly pursuit

Yeah, lotsa crossover. remember a real man eats heartily of life and has kingshit big appetites, like a brian blessed character(or just brian blessed), for food or women. health or appearance matters not. Remember, the idea here is to tamp down all conscious thought, self-examination, or any sort of internal life. Act without thinking is what is best in life.

"care, feeding, and grooming own damn self" is a virtue regardless of gender imho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFyzC4V_x-w

xx-post you realize you have basically described jabba the hutt rite

Wrangler actually makes good jeans though, for real.

lol i love that wrangler ad, nothing brutal about football concussions or brain damage in boxing, no sir

only wrnagler ads i remember are brett favre just having fun (non-professional context)

jabba ate frogs, not hungryman dinners

Will somebody explain the Alan Alda thing for me? I know he was on the show MASH but how did he become the archetype of sensitivity? I thought his character was a sarcastic asshole ?

I thought it was Wrangler that had the animated ads in the 80s, turns out it was Levis

i think we are overlooking class in our discussion here -- being unconcerned with appearances goes from ruggedly masculine to just plain boorish as you go up the ladder, for example

Alda's prominence in the enormously successful M*A*S*H gave him a platform to speak out on political topics, and he has been a strong and vocal supporter of women's rights and the Feminist Movement. He co-chaired, with former First Lady Betty Ford, the ERA Countdown campaign. In 1976, the Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.

http://www.google.com/search?q=alan+alda+sensitive+man

Mix of self-styling and marketing, looks like. Same as true as in any era

xp

yeah further down the class ladder if you don't dress down to your level you're some kind of weirdo (at best.) there was this guy i knew in college who wore three-piece suits every day (with pocketwatch!) and carried a leather briefcase. i'm sure every college has one guy like that. anyway, he was definitely considered weird but he was just a normal guy who liked suits.

hmm i think the alan alda guy is a descendant of the bob hope guy, but instead of a mouthy dickhead barely hanging on in a world of better men, he's a mouthy dickhead getting away with everything, cos the better men are all fakes.

lol boomers, lol writers. dream on!

let's all just agree as the greeks did that having an meekly uncircumsized penis exemplifies masculine virtue and that having an bulbous, exposed glans is strictly for slaves, foreigners, and other lowly sorts

lol omar went to school with M. White

haha comment avez-vous deviné ? ;-)

polidicks of glansing xxpost

there was this guy i knew in college who wore three-piece suits every day

there have only been a few occasions in my life in which I have been in a suit

but I kind of enjoyed it, I felt v. classy / had a spring in my step

I would probably enjoy dressing like a swingin' playboy from time to time, and I sure think the guy you described had guts to dress the way he did with the briefcase & whatnot

but as fun as it would be for me personally it just wouldn't be worth labeling myself as "that guy"

i.e. that guy who wears a three piece suit

unless I was a famous musician in which case I could possibly get away with it

this is what I would listen to if I wore khakis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8PSYorL1cE

i usually get asked why "i got all dressed up" whenever i put on a goddamn necktie. standards are that low.

The cafeteria lady at my job asked me why I was all dressed up one day. Because I'm at work!

She's incredibly good people though.

i just had lunch with a bunch of co-workers and one of them wore an oversized tweed sportcoat and everyone's like "heyyyy you got an interview or something???"

an interview....with destiny!!!

a stripper he had met the night before

every single office i've worked in, when anyone dresses up it's like "lol interview!"

"wore three-piece suits every day (with pocketwatch!)"

the pocketwatch is insane but this is otherwise standard business school attire lotsa places.

http://www.lovingit.co.uk/images/2007-07_yorkie-vans.jpg

every single office i've worked in, when anyone dresses up it's like "lol interview!"

Every time someone does that to me, I stop and say, "No, no, court appearance," and walk away. Generally, they don't bug me about it afterwards.

"i'm being tried for murder : |"

Michael White is the living example of a quote I have stuck to my wall: "I don't deserve credit for turning the other cheek because my tongue is always in it."

http://www.blogadilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/dangerousbook4boys.jpg

i know this is more kid-aimed, but it seems def like preparing for some idealized manhood

I feel ashamed for thinking it, but they really need some noms de plume.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGI8IRXRqpo

Geez, what a pussy!

I always wear a tie when I'm giving a lecture. I figure if over 60 people are going to look at you for an hour, then you could make an effort.