Media and the Image of Masculinity

One of my favorite television shows is Castle, a comedic procedural drama in which a male writer shadows a female homicide detective in order to gather inspiration for his future novels. The female detective is not only intelligent, but is also tough and able to take down the criminals portrayed on the show. Essentially, she effectively performs her job, an occupation that is considered male dominated. However, despite her competence, the people in charge of the show—producers, stylists, and the like—have gone out of the way to make this protagonist obviously female using clearly unrealistic methods. For example, the female cop is always shown to be wearing sky-high stilettos and pumps, even when she is supposed to be running after criminals in a certain scene. While not the only example, the unrealistic image projected by this show ties in to the idea of masculinity. While females can also be masculine, it is a trait that society links to the male form; thus, in order for women to hold jobs in areas traditionally dominated by men, her femininity must be emphasized so as to forbid her from appearing “manly” or “butch.” Masculine traits are seen as negative when applied to women, but positive when bestowed upon male characters. This sort of duality, particularly when masculinity is defined as a trait that demonstrates assertiveness or power, reinforces the idea of a socially generated gender hierarchy.