Masculinity in crisis

in 1999, children now, a California-based organisation that examines the impact of the media on children and youth, released a report entitled boys to men : media messages about masculinity. the report argues that the media's portrayal of men tends to reinforce men's social dominance.

the report observes that:

• the majority of male characters in media are heterosexual

• male characters are more often associated with the public sphere of work, rather than the private sphere of the home, and issues and problems related to work are more significant than personal issues 

• non-white male characters are more likely to experience personal problems and are more likely to use physical aggression or violence to love those problems

children now conclude that these dominate trends in the media portrayal of men reinforce an support social attitudes that link masculinity to power, dominance and control.

the portrayal and acceptance of men by the media as socially powerful and physically violent serve to reinforce assumptions about how men and boys should act in society, how they should treat each other, as well as how they should treat women and children.