For this entry I am analyzing gender in Taylor Swift’s “The Man” music video. In this video Taylor has been made into a man and portrays many masculine stereotypes. This was most likely done to help the song draw attention to male privilege and stereotypes against women that are seen in many areas of society.
Masculine Stereotypes: In this music video the man demonstrates that he is a leader. While this goes along with masculine stereotypes in and of itself, he also appears to be a leader that abuses their power. He appears to be very verbally aggressive with his employees while also taking credit for the work of the office. He also appears to need to prove his success. On several occasions he is running through a hall with hands sticking out to high-five him. This could go along with the stereotype that men are supposed to be and feel successful. He is also portrayed to not care much about other people. On the subway he is taking up as much room as possible while smoking in the subway and tapping the ashes off into a woman’s purse, he also urinates in public which is not only illegal, but a public safety concern. While he is on the subway he is reading the newspaper, this plays into the idea that men need to consume media that is seen as informational instead of for pleasure. He is also seen on a boat with staff and with a deck full of pretty women wearing bikinis while he is fully clothed. He also uses the stereotypical maternal instinct when he is at the park trying to impress the women at the park by just sitting with a child. He is highly praised for this action. An occurrence that is common: men getting praised for spending time with children and that being an expectation of women. He is also seen sexualizing and objectifying women in the bar. He appears to be imitating breasts and hips of a woman with his hands, pretending to spank one of them women present, and taking shots from glasses on her stomach while she appears to be not entirely conscious and covered in money. He and some of the other men are also shown being physically aggressive with one another. There is a fight in the booths in the bar, the man flipping off a referee during a tennis game, and completely destroying his racked and throwing things everywhere when a call doesn’t go his way. At the same time there is a girl seen on the side lines looking completely disinterested and is praised for her performance afterwards by the director (Taylor Swift).
Feminine Stereotypes: The women in the office are fawning over the male executive and appear to be playing assistant roles in the office. The women in this video are consistently wearing little to no clothing. The women on the boat are wearing only bikinis, the women workers in the bar are wearing something similar, and their is a woman shown in bed clearly not wearing anything. The women on the boat crowd around the man to dance and drink, they dance by looking down and touching their own bodies. The woman’s body that the men are taking shots off of is covered in money displaying that women are only there to be entertainment for the men present. This video also played into the motherly stereotype for women. The only people at the park besides the main male character was women and their children. One way the video gave the man a feminine stereotype was at the end when the director told him to look sexier and more likable.
Gaze theory: This video did have objectification and sexualization that is associated with gaze theory. It portrayed wealthy men with attractive women at their disposal. The women were shown wearing little to no clothing often and their bodies were taken advantage of. Either by taking shots off of a mostly unconscious woman or the money thrown across their chests it is clear that the women are their to appease the desires of the men in the video. For those reasons I would say that while this video is ironic (it is purposely playing into stereotypes) is is also made for the male gaze.
Shared by: Margaret Shiverick
Image Credit: https://elzocco.com/musica/the-man-de-taylor-swift/