Coding the Crisis of Masculinity

Abstract

We seek to accomplish four goals: first, we situate the way that scholars have treated the crisis of masculinity and argue for the topic as one worthy of (critical) engagement in the undergraduate classroom; second, we reflect on the pedagogical strengths and challenges of this topic; third, we argue for the value of semiotic and discursive coding of commercials as a vehicle for prompting discussion of masculinity in contemporary America. Finally, we offer the reader a teaching activity based on our publication “‘We Wear No Pants’: Selling the Crisis of Masculinity in the 2010 Super Bowl Commercials” (Green K, Van Oort M, Signs J Women Cult Soc 38(3):695–719, 2013), in which students are given the opportunity to code the crisis presented in popular commercials first aired during the Super Bowl. We conclude the article using reflections on our own experiences teaching the activity in Introduction to Sociology; Research Methods; and Race, Class, and Gender courses to make a call for embracing complexity and uncertainty in the classroom.