Look at the difference in body types in these wrestlers.

We watched a film today in one of my classes called, "Tough Guise" that addresses the problem of male roles and masculinity being influenced negatively by the media and culture. It was very interesting and some of the results were astounding to me. It talked about how men's violence is not plainly stated within media. For example when a man rapes a woman, the article in the newspaper is more about the woman being raped rather than the fact that the male raped the woman. This is found in almost every violent act done by males. Why??? Because white males have dominance and therefore it is just assumed that males are the more violent gender. But why?

Here is a quote from the fim:
"The marked increase over time in the size of representations of men's bodies, and the concomitant increase in gun size and killing power, provides a kind of cultural rorschak test. They are indications of how the stakes have been raised, how the real man fantasy peddled to and consumed by so many boys has grown increasingly physical, violent and mean. Significantly, even as we observe this phenomenon of increased male body size, particularly in the kinds of representations that predominate in action films, professional wrestling and video games, we can trace simultaneously the shrinking of the ideal body size of women. Such increasingly impossible and potentially destructive images need to be taken seriously, especially in the context of heightening concerns not only about male violence - but about steroid abuse by boys and men, and anorexia among girls and women."

The film talked about how over the years men's bodies have gotten much bigger and powerful while women's bodies have decreased greatly in size.

As a male, do you feel a lot of pressure to be masculine and conform to male roles? Women, do you add to this increased pressure towards males? Any other thoughts?