Men, Media & Mental Health
It was recently mental health awareness week and this year’s theme is body image. I asked my brother how he felt about this issue, and he said ‘As guys, we are told to be brave, toughen up and get on with it’. Many of his mates agreed with him. This culture of ‘manliness’ is effecting men’s mental health and the silence is literally killing them.
Representation of gender in advertising is a powerful tool that emulates emotion and behaviour. Masculine images usually convey strength, power, virility and athleticism while feminine images show beauty, grace, sensitivity, compassion and submissiveness. These themes dated back to the classic nursery rhyme, yet still appear in popular culture and are often accepted by the public seeing them as natural characteristics of the human body. Evidence shows that these aspects of gender are learnt, not inborn and they continue to be fed with the constructs of gender representations promoted by the media.
The advertising world is built on desire, lust and attainment. Marketing and advertisers have one job; Regardless of the reality, products need to have appeal and make consumers want to buy them. People can’t attain what is digitally manipulated in photographs and this is having an impact of their mental health. We’ve come a long way celebrating the individuality of a women’s body, with many campaigns run by brands like Dove and Misguided to help dislodge digital distortion. Only more recently has the media publicised the effect on men. It’s time we shed light on the stigma and self-stigma that’s present in a man’s world.
One in four adults experience mental health issues each year, but men are far less likely to seek help which explains why they commit three-quarters of suicides. The Australian media often uses their voice to push positive messages regarding mental health, but the oversaturation of media outlets controls the disproportionate percentage of gender stereotypes. A New Macho study reported that 80% of people agree with adverts that influence gender stereotypes, though many of these masculine ideals are outdated, yet still enforced by the media. You might be familiar with the glamour boy, a sharp suited businessman or a cork popping playboy with sports cars and super models. The depictions of masculinity are scattered through film, media, television, video games and magazines. It’s no wonder guys are starting to question how they should look.
Efforts have been made to challenge male stereotypes, however, pressure to be strong, tough, competitive and independent still remain. The American Psychological Association conducted a meta-analysis of 70 US based studies, involving 19,000 men over 11 years to examine the relationship between mental health and conformity to 11 masculine norms. The most prominent norms that became evident were the desire to win, the need for emotional control and risk taking.
In efforts to start discussing and helping address the issue, platforms and campaigns on new media channels have started to circulate. Heavy use of social media has been shown to have a negative impact on mental health, but James King, a model says, ‘I’ve actually found social media really good platform for it. While I believe social media can be bad for mental health, I just started following more positive, inspiring people made me feel like I can be big and confident on Instagram without being a thirsty bear.’
One online campaign, ‘Men of Manual’ has made headway in men’s health and wellbeing, creating a new age of masculinity. They challenge the stereotypes of the male body and the outdated notion of men ‘shrugging sh*t off’ and carrying on. I 100% agree with them. It’s 2019 people, ideals like this need to change. They empower men to create their ‘own health and happiness’ with information and choices to be proactive and make informed, exclusive decisions. They found 90% of men don’t seek help unless they have a serious problem, making the statement ‘Real men don’t cry’, all too real. They don’t support this statement if you were wondering, instead look to embrace different shapes and bodies and the state of mental health.
Ben Whittacker, UK’s first plus sized male model stated, ‘Growing up seeing men on social media, seeing this ‘Men’s Health’ body, being told that all men have to look a certain way, and they have to have chiselled chests and rock hard abs, it put a strain on my mental health.’
The representations of gender are complex and stereotypes will continue to exist, though through awareness and reclaiming masculinity from toxic clichés, we can start to address the mental health issues within the male community.
