What It Means To Be A Male in America

http://www.menshealth.com/

Popular men's magazine, Men's Health is the epitome of contemporary masculinity in America today. To compete with it's female equivalents (Cosmopolitan, Glamour etc), Men's Health has branched out to the world wide web to appeal to a wider audience, providing more than the magazine alone ever could. Appealing to the 'modern man', Men's Health is all about self improvement, something that wasn't so important in the 1950's and 60's. With the birth of the 'metrosexual' and men who are beginning to spend more time in front of the vanity mirror than women, contemporary masculinity has shifted away from the values of more traditional masculinity. Long gone are the days when the man was the king of his castle (so to speak), where it was the men who were the primary breadwinners. Now more commonly, men are becoming stay at home dad's and 'house husbands', caring more about their physique and appearance than perhaps a working man of the 1950's would have done. Although male role models back then consisted of James Dean and Paul Newman who oozed testosterone because of the tough guy persona's they portrayed on screen, modern male role models are the likes of David Beckham and Brad Pitt; men who have built on their careers because of their looks more than their talent and these are the men that the magazine appeals to.

I very much doubt that Men's Health would do as well in the 1950's and 1960's as it does today. Although some men have always strived for physical perfection, I believe it is a bigger issue now than it ever was before. Men's Health magazine is about exactly that: men's health. With tips on how to achieve the perfect body and how to maintain it, how to eat right and how to please women, one could say that these are issues that men think about more and more these days. Plastered across the website are pictures of muscle bound men who are apparently average Joe's. It's enough to give men a complex! More and more we are hearing stories in the media about male eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia- disorders which by some are not considered 'manly'. The male ego is a fragile thing, and although some would consider the magazine a boost, an incentive to achieve a better life, others could regard it as the complete opposite and find themselves pressured into something they know cannot be achieved.

Tabs including Fitness, Women, Weight Loss and Grooming are highlighted on the front page as if to highlight the key issues. Is this what modern man is about? I believe so. Masculinity in America has come so far over the decades. Almost a complete opposite to what Robert Brannon described in 1976. Men now show and share emotions, now they aren't always the sole earner in the family and they don't only participate in masculine activities. Looking through the website, there is an array of advice, most of which would have been considered 'sissy' a few decades ago. In my opinion, Men's Health magazine most definitely defines modern masculinity in America. The issues highlighted on the website are relevant to men with differing degrees of masculinity, and overall defines what it truly means.