objectifying objects objectively...

Today’s blog centers on objects and the values we place on them in reference to gender.  One glance across the media landscape and we are inundated with images on what is manly and what is feminine.  Every day we process these images and internalize them as if they have some real meaning.  But the truth is that they have no meaning at all.  Everything we are told and sold comes with a price.  That price could be monetary, and the advertising agencies thank you for that, but we also place a value that is completely constructed by society.  Through these false images and lies we are told what is appropriate for our gender.  Sadly, we begin to tell ourselves these constructions are truths, and do not doubt them.

1.)  The first object I noticed was one I use every morning: my deodorant.  Now, me being a man who is constantly trying to be a man, I know that I need to cover my disgusting scent every day.  And I do this with Old Spice Swagger.  How could I not when I have an ad with LL Cool J endorsing the stuff?  To be a real man in our society, I need to be pleasing and desirable to every lady out there, even if I am not interested.  LL Cool J is pretty well known for his contributions to hip hop, but he is probably better known for his sex appeal and the way women love him.  I mean, his name does stand for “Ladies Love Cool James.”  Because of him and the other random men in the Old Spice ad campaigns I know what kind of product I am getting: something that will make me not only attractive, but will make me a real man as well.

2.)  Later during the day I got into my car for my daily driving.  I flipped through the cd’s in my glovebox until deciding on one to cruise to: “A Badly Broken Code” by Dessa.  I figured that since I would be driving the back roads out in the north part of the county that I would enjoy being serenaded by Dessa’s sweet voice.  However, I still had to drive through most of Vancouver just to get out to country.  This is where my conundrum arose: listen to the feminine Dessa or put on something more manly?  Yes, I did indeed take the path of least resistance and put on some Lamb of God, a metal group which I love to “rage out” to.  This disappointed me.  Why did I care about what other people thought?  I had no real chance of seeing these people ever again.  But it was an image thing that was deeply ingrained within.  I could not be seen driving around listening to such femininity blasting through my speakers.  I needed something that screamed, “I AM MAN!”  Stupid society.

So, why is it that I allow society to construct these images of “a man” for me?  Is it because I lack the proper knowledge to think for myself?  Is it that I am so used to seeing things this way and don’t know the difference?  Or, is it something else?  Whatever it is, it needs to stop.  I know that it probably won’t at a macro level, but I can do something about my own personal existence.  I need to take away the value I place on objects.  I need to do something about my own world, then move on to the larger view. 

For my parting shot, I will now do a Google Image search for "manly objects."  Oh boy...