Masculinity and Power Relation
From urging women to behave like men by suiting up, to promising “promotions” to those who purchase advertised clothes, the “Man-up” commercials express an identity politics that favors and centers on male traits, stating women cannot be like men, and a power relation that subjects both genders. Butler and Foucault converse with each other through the presentation of this image, arguing whether a consensual subjection to a new form of individuality should be championed, and what are the possible technique women can adopt to combat their identities being subordinated.
The phrase “man-up” implies there exists a prototype of being man. It is necessary to have a standard male figure in order …show more content…
Both advertisements suggest that women should dress like men in order to be recognized by instantly receiving a promotion, implying masculinity is a necessary pre-requisite for becoming high achievers. Butler provides a powerful insight in understanding how contrasting creates originality in the case of heterosexuality, “the origin requires its derivations in order to affirm itself as an origin” (1714). The female model here is a performer of the desirable masculinity, who relinquishes her women’s identity which, by contrast, does not have as much value as men’s identity in the job field, otherwise she should wear sexy dresses and remain conventionally feminine. The underlying message is that women surely can be successful, as long as they look like men. Thus, “man-up” phrase praises and admits whatever man have is desirable and …show more content…
It still suggests a correlation between sex assigned at birth and gender traits cultivated afterwards by using “man-up” instead of “be masculine”. The message behind this link is that society demands that females are born to behave in a way opposite or similar to the other sex, even if they may have different preferences. Butler recognizes the root problem for “proper gender” is the whole binary framework of gender, since whenever masculinity “sets itself up as the original, the true, the authentic”, femininity is rendered as “a copy, an imitation, a derivative example” (1712). The solution leading to a fundamental liberation for women would be renouncing the binary system as women can then be themselves without concerns of how men behave. In this case, the commercial reinforces the system of division by highlighting differences between menswear and womenswear. Thus, with Butler’s concern in mind, it is reasonable to understand why the commercial is not helping women. In addition, the advertisement does not present women in a masculine
From urging women to behave like men by suiting up, to promising “promotions” to those who purchase advertised clothes, the “Man-up” commercials express an identity politics that favors and centers on male traits, stating women cannot be like men, and a power relation that subjects both genders. Butler and Foucault converse with each other through the presentation of this image, arguing whether a consensual subjection to a new form of individuality should be championed, and what are the possible technique women can adopt to combat their identities being subordinated.
The phrase “man-up” implies there exists a prototype of being man. It is necessary to have a standard male figure in order …show more content…
Both advertisements suggest that women should dress like men in order to be recognized by instantly receiving a promotion, implying masculinity is a necessary pre-requisite for becoming high achievers. Butler provides a powerful insight in understanding how contrasting creates originality in the case of heterosexuality, “the origin requires its derivations in order to affirm itself as an origin” (1714). The female model here is a performer of the desirable masculinity, who relinquishes her women’s identity which, by contrast, does not have as much value as men’s identity in the job field, otherwise she should wear sexy dresses and remain conventionally feminine. The underlying message is that women surely can be successful, as long as they look like men. Thus, “man-up” phrase praises and admits whatever man have is desirable and …show more content…
It still suggests a correlation between sex assigned at birth and gender traits cultivated afterwards by using “man-up” instead of “be masculine”. The message behind this link is that society demands that females are born to behave in a way opposite or similar to the other sex, even if they may have different preferences. Butler recognizes the root problem for “proper gender” is the whole binary framework of gender, since whenever masculinity “sets itself up as the original, the true, the authentic”, femininity is rendered as “a copy, an imitation, a derivative example” (1712). The solution leading to a fundamental liberation for women would be renouncing the binary system as women can then be themselves without concerns of how men behave. In this case, the commercial reinforces the system of division by highlighting differences between menswear and womenswear. Thus, with Butler’s concern in mind, it is reasonable to understand why the commercial is not helping women. In addition, the advertisement does not present women in a masculine