Male Aesthetics: a Diversion from the Common - Assignment Example

Male Aesthetics: A Diversion from the Common In the world nowadays, the notion of about the male body is changing especially in the realm of pop culture. There is an inherent assertion about these representations of the male body that deals with the representations of sex and gender together with its generalizations and complexities. Bordo, in my opinion, is a very keen philosopher since she has tried to problematize a very delicate matter: the male body. Throughout her essay, Bordo has focused on how the male form, nude or dressed, is being scrutinized under the eyes the different people in the society under the paradigm of consumerist capitalism. Even though she has touched on the complex matter as such, there is still a deliberation in her essay about how the images in different advertisements has used the thought or idea of sex in enticing people to purchase products. She has carefully assessed the manner of representation: from the form, the pose, the lighting, the figure, the emotion and all other factors. However, it is very surprising that Bordo focused as well on the different conditions surrounding the issue of gender and sex since she has provided certain conditions about how the gay people become very involved in the production of these advertisements. In the end, the essay of Bordo has focused on these major concepts; representation of the male body, conveying sexually charged images, societal implications of this marketing breakthrough and issue of gender roles. In relation to contemporary advertising, I have chosen three different ads to assess. First is the figure of Adam Levine, the lead vocalist of Maroon 5, posing naked for an awareness campaign on prostate and testicular cancer. In this ad, Adam Levine does not have any clothing yet there hands of a lady covering his genitals. There is also presence of tattoos almost all throughout his body especially in the arms. His face is also very manly, emanating a very strong and a bad-boy like aura. He also stands very still, showcasing a very manly attitude. How the representation of Adam Levine relates to the assertions of Bordo? First is that the very firm standing position of Adam Levine denotes the dominance of men, considered as one of the traditional conventions. Second is that tattoos are in most cases, associated to rowdy men, which is a signifier of social class that happened to be one of indicators of gender norm as asserted by Bordo (146). Third, the bad-boy like aura of Levine can be associated to his tattoos, and it happens to be one the characteristics of men that women like. However, the last controversial factor about male representation in this ad is the nakedness of Levine. The whole fact that he is naked shows that he is not scared of showing his body to the world even if women and gays will have to fantasize over him. Despite of that, the presence of the hands of her girlfriend is also a signifier that even if Adam is an ideal standard of beauty for men, he is already taken. In this case, two premises somehow clashes. First is that the ideal men should be hot and lean. The second one is that men should be decisive and loyal to women. Unlike before, there is only a dominance of one image yet the image of Levine can be considered a breakthrough since there is an inherent assertion that he is not just a man of looks but also of attitude. Despite of this awesomeness present in the ad, one thing can still be contested about it. Why a denotation of sex is the most appropriate way of campaigning for prostate and testicular cancer awareness? This is indeed questionable. The very nature of the ad already objectifies Adam Levine as a subject of sexual fantasy and his image in the ad does not really speak about awareness of prostate cancer. One thing can be considered certain about this; Adam, being an image of pop culture, should at least be capitalized for the benefit of a project. Yet his representation is very trivial and sensational. The second ad I want to focus on is the image of the football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for Armani. In this ad, Ronaldo stands in a military like stance. He is also being splashed on with water with white underwear on. Also, his muscles are relatively flexed in a very natural manner. Also, his facial expression is somehow frowning yet can be considered seductive. In this ad, how did Armani employed Ronaldo as an image of seduction and a manliness? In Bordo’s essay, she has mentioned that most companies, in order to advertise their products, are resorting to using the rock and lean bodies of athletes to encourage people in the market to purchase their products since it is not only associated with manhood but also with social class (145). The image of Ronaldo, in the ad, shows that he is not just an object for sports but also of sex and fantasy. The very presence of water being splashed on to him is associated to the sexual notion of getting wet. Next complicated matter about this image is the way he holds his hips to showcase further his abs. This is an indication that his figure is an ideal one for a man; a must have and a signifier of masculinity. Also, it denotes that people wearing underwear by Armani are people presumed to have good nature when it comes to sex. Third is that the act of getting wet in the picture provided a condition to showcase bulges in this his genital area. This has become a common representation in the ads that are like this. The male body has always been projected in a very enticing manner that triggers the erotica of women and gays alike (Bordo 156). The most important factor of this image is his frowning look that signifies something about him being a man. His frowning look is an indication that he is not a typical man meant to be stared at and fantasized even if his whole image in the ad already suggests so. This could only mean that the manner of the viewing the image could not be one sided. There is a resistance on the part of the image to change certain notions about the male body. However, even if there is resistance, the perceptions of the viewer will still be the most dominant and influential factor that leads to different themes present in the image (Bordo 141). The third ad I want to focus on is the ad of Calvin Klein. In this ad, the man, stands and leaning against a walls. He is also holding the boxer briefs while his face is very happy upon doing so. Also, his body very sculpted. His abs is refined. His arms are huge. His smile is very natural looking and his eyes can no longer be seen that much due to a very happy expression on his face. Even the way his boxers are worn is very parallel to his tight body that his bulge is highlighted as well. These are the intricate features of the ad. However, there is still a need to look at it in very close detail. First to assess is the expression of the model on the face. There are several possible connotations that can be inferred. One is that the man is presumed to be welcoming of a very fun experience that can be associated to sex. This has become a possible inference from the advertisement since the man is quite uneasy by the way he holds his boxer briefs. There is an implied urgency on his part to engage in an erotic situation since he has worn the undergarment very tight, holding it differently and the appearance of the bulge. However, the very difference of the manner of representing sex here is possibly on the idea that sex is a fun thing and a normal thing to do. This also provides an implication about men being too aggressive when it comes to the idea of sex without even considering the feelings of women. This is obvious since men have been very active and incoherent of the conditions of women about this matter. Another thing is that representation of the body of men in this ad also shows that humorous men are the ones who wear this type of boxers and the ones who are ideal and worthy to be called a man. Another thing to see from the ad is that the man is very welcoming of the stares of the people and it seems that there is initiative on his part to engage the stare of the public that has very different notion that comes with it. Also, the image is very receptive of the impositions of the viewer and the image can be subjugated accordingly to the wants of the said stares. In these three ads that I have presented and chosen, there are several things that I have to concede with the philosopher Susan Bordo. First is that men are now represented differently (Bordo 144). They are no longer confined to the conventions imposed by the society. It is now the society who must understand the new conventions being presented and entering the mainstream. This a breakthrough to be considered since this shows that the norms are no longer the same as before and correlative to the changes occurring in our times. Social status has been one of the most intricate representations associated with gender and sex (Bordo 155). There are cases that these ads depict economic power as one of the means to acquire the ideal things being presented by these ads like the perfect body, prefect man, perfect style and the like. This can be considered to be an esoteric matter yet this speaks about how people are being confined to new methods representations that complements the very humanistic satisfactions. The male body is no longer confined to its common notion. It starts to break away from the common understanding of it and now starts to be a new method of representation. The aesthetics of the male body is not just for aesthetical purposes. Its aesthetics espouses the social, political and economic condition together with the norms on gender and sex that evokes a very complex relation amongst each other. Despite of such complexity, one thing is clear: the imposed notions are no longer the notions being followed and they are now being challenged as new people, new knowledge, new representations and new functions of things start to infiltrate the society now and the male body is no longer an exception. WORKS CITED Bordo, Susan. Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body. ­p. 129 – 181. Cristiano Ronaldo in Armani Underwear. Genius Beauty. 02 Dec. 2011 Adam Levine Gets Naked. LA Guest. 02 Dec. 2011 Calvin Klein: Nothing But Looks. Composition Section. 02 Dec. 2011 Read More