Reprint Retrospective: Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity: From BMWs to Bud Light

Abstract

Abstract: This chapter sketches out some of the ways in which hegemonic constructions of masculinity in mainstream advertising normalize (White) male violence and point to some new developments and continuities in the way this is achieved. Several recurring themes in advertising that targets men help support the equation of White masculinity and violence: these include the angry, aggressive, White, working-class male as anti-authority rebel (21st-century version); violence as genetically programmed male behavior; the use of military and sports symbolism to enhance the masculine appeal and identification of products; and the association of muscularity with ideal masculinity. In addition to examining some of the ways in which advertising links violence with White masculinity, this chapter makes a call to study other cultural sites where violent masculinities are produced and legitimated: video games, comic books, toys, the sports culture, professional wrestling, comedy, popular music, and pornography. More media literacy education is needed to help us understand better the connection between interpersonal violence and the construction of gender in media texts and other cultural representations and narratives, which might then contribute to more sophisticated and effective antiviolence interventions.