Masculinity

Lads.

McBride, H. (2013) Keep Calm. [online] Available:
http://nursingclio.org/2013/06/12/the-consequences-of-lad
-culture-drinking-football-and-fking/ [Accessed 25th February 2015].

Recently I keep hearing men use the phrase “what a lad” to describe other men. Upon further enquiry as to what this means I got the response “oh, you know, he just does some stuff that only a real lad would do”. So what is it that ‘real lads’ do and what does it mean to be a ‘lad’. The oxford English dictionary defines the term lad as ‘a boy or young man’ pg. 796. So what are the actions that define a young male as being a ‘real lad’?

The only answer I could find was the level of masculinity. The oxford thesaurus uses ‘robust, vigorous, muscular, strapping, rugged [and] macho’ as synonyms for masculine pg. 613. Masculinity is constantly shrouded by these stereotypes which we just can’t seem to get rid of. It appears that these stereotypes are enforced daily through our society causing pressure on males everywhere.

Imgarcade (n.d.) Macho man logo. [online] Available:http://
imgarcade.com/1/macho-man-logo/ [Accessed 25th February 2015].

 Alison Phipps and Isobel Young (2013) have been conducting research into ‘lad culture’ since 2013 and argue that this type of hegemonic masculinity is ever present within young males within universities. Imelda Whelehan (2000) believes that male aimed magazines, such as FHM, Loaded and Maxim, promote this ‘laddish’ behaviour where women are seen as sex objects and ‘changes in gender roles can be dismissed with an ironic joke’ (Gauntlett, D. [2008] pg 164). Social media is a major influence in today’s culture, especially with the younger generation, using websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. What’s disconcerting about these websites is the influence they have over the people that use them and the groups or followings they create. With poor regulation of content on these sites people are pretty much free to say what they want. A lot of these groups such as ‘dapper laughs’ advocate what has become known as ‘lad culture’, which is essentially hegemonic masculinity (the dominant male). Dapper laughs (otherwise known as Daniel O’Neill) who is a self-proclaimed ‘proper lad’ has recently gained his own TV show leading from his internet fame, which was short lived as it was axed after its first series due to comments such as “remember, it’s only sexual harassment if she’s more attractive than you” being broadcasted (Meredith, C [2014]). For people who use the internet daily, being exposed to hegemonic masculinity is just a regular occurrence and some people even ‘follow’ it and re-enact it. I always followed the belief that masculinity (and femininity) were social constructs that have become their own self-fulfilling prophecies, but maybe it just takes one person armed with a camera phone and a lack of respect to define what has become masculinity for young males in today’s society.

 

Reference list

(2003) The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. McGraw-Hill.

(2008) The Oxford Thesaurus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. McGraw-Hill.

Gauntlett, D (2008) Media, Gender and Identity – An introduction. Abingdon: Routledge. Pg164.

Imgarcade (n.d.) Macho man logo. [online] Available:http://imgarcade.com/1/macho-man-logo/ [Accessed 25th February 2015].

Meredith, C (2014) Dapper Laughs Defended By Heartbroken Fans And Furious Anti-Censorship Campaigners. The Huffington Post Online. Available from:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/11/dapper-laughs-defended-itv_n_6137948.html [Last accessed 25th February 2015].

McBride, H. (2013) Keep Calm. [online] Available: http://nursingclio.org/2013/06/12/the-consequences-of-lad-culture-drinking-football-and-fking/ [Accessed 25th February 2015].

Phipps, A. and Young, I. (2013) The Report Is Out! Lad Culture Research. Available from: https://ladcultureresearch.wordpress.com/ [last accessed 25^th February 2015].

Whelehan, I (2000) Overloaded: Popular Culture and the Future of Feminism. London: Women’s Press.