Conley Hausle

Doctor Ouellette
ENGL 327W
Response Five: Classmate D

One star I have for Classmate D is her discussion of the way male bodies are portrayed in

the media. While it is true that the media tends to push an ideal female body more, there is no

doubt that there is also an ideal male body presented as well. In his paper “Machines, Missiles,

and Men: Images of the Male body on ABC’s Monday Night Football” Nick Trujillo makes the

statement that “the athletic body is interpreted as a key resource in producing a preferred

ideology (1995).” These athletes’ bodies are held up to everyday men as the type of body they

themselves should have. However, for many this type of body is not even obtainable, and to

suggest that it is seems rather cruel.

Another star I have for Classmate D is her discussion of hiding emotions. While everyone

hides their feelings, men tend to be much less likely to share their feelings with others, as society

trains them not to share their feelings. In her paper “Action Bodies in Futurist Spaces:

Bodybuilder Stardom as Special Effect,” Linda Mizejewski states that “the ‘emptiness’ of the

super-built male body as a signifier suggests the emptiness of its gendered and sexual identities

(1999).” This indicates that being a massive muscle doesn’t really bring happiness or fulfillment.

On the whole, it is rather empty. However, men are shown this as an ideal, and they have literally

died trying to achieve it.

One wish I have for Classmate D is that she had expanded on her point about the average

male body versus the super-bodies portrayed in films. While it is great that she focused on how

men hide their emotions, the beginning of her reflection would have been a great place to talk

about male body image issues. By portraying these bodies as ideal, young men are told they need

to be buff like that. The problem is that, especially when one is a preteen or teenager, this can be

very difficult if not outright impossible. Thus, men are exposed to these harmful ideal bodies just

as much as women are, and it’s a topic she could have explored well with her given material.
 Works Cited

Mizejewski, Linda. “Action Bodies in Futurist Spaces: Bodybuilding Stardom as Special Effect.”

Alien Zone II: the Spaces of Science-Fiction Cinema, edited by Annette Kuhn, Verso,

1999, pp. 152–172.

Trujillo, Nick. "Machines, Missiles, and Men: Images of the Male Body on Abc’s Monday Night

Football." Sociology of Sport Journal, vol. 12, no. 4, 1995, pp. 403-423.