Masculine sexuality is seen in the media as being assertive, dominating and forceful. There is a “no-holds barred” to the way the male is seen in the sexual light, and while boundaries are set for what can and cannot be shown, there is an air of “no excuses” when it comes to how men are sexually portrayed.
As with feminine sexuality, masculine nudity is prohibited in the public, however more of the female body is shown in advertisements sans full breasts and crotch-area, whereas in masculinity it is common for guys to just be seen with their shirts off. Anything showing their whole body is deemed lewd and unacceptable.
For the first advertisement, there is a guy’s torso shown, the man with his shirt off and in the moment of taking off his pants. This is a still-frame shot that gives way to what would happen next, however the frame is just showing pre-nudity rather than just showing the guy in his boxers or stripping.
The second advertisement uses a tongue-in-cheek approach, showing a sexual act while at the same time objectifying the woman and reaffirming male dominance. His sexual drive is shown as being a picture of a BMW car in place of the woman’s face, and that his desires are not only sex, but cars as well; this reestablishes the male interest and pleasure over the woman’s pleasure.
The third advertisement shows an Abercrombie and Fitch model taking his shirt off. He is not-so-much modeling the clothing as he is showing off his physique. The interesting notion here is that several times Abercrombie has received flack for their ads and showing barely-clothed male models, whereas a brand like Victoria’s Secret is able to adhere to social boundaries and guidelines with their bra and panty show.
The forth picture is a composite of various advertisements and magazine covers featuring men. In particular, the area of interest is the Dolce & Gabanna advertisement seen on the left. The man is seen wearing only his boxers and a watch, and the lighting is subdued so as not to give too much away. You also don’t get any full-on glances of the male’s body or anything that would give way to being socially unacceptable to show.
This last advertisement shows male sexuality with humorous undertones. The guy is seen in a passive pose in front of a fireplace, which is a very common stance for a woman. The humor of the advertisement explicitly shows that while women would be taken seriously and shown as sexual, the man here is just a mere parody of the idea of sexuality. This affirms the notion that while women are expected to be sex figures, males are not to be seen as sexual because it may then lead way to them being even the least big submissive.
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