Beauty Rediscovers the Male Body, Article Critique Example

The article focuses on advertising of males and also looks at the various modern advertisements through using the male body as a benchmark. Most of the gay men are known to enjoy these advertisements. Despite the negative comments that the global community may have on gay men, Bordo seems to understand and appreciate them. The advertisements are however enjoyed by everyone, including the straight women because they seem to bring out the picture in a better way. Male sexuality is not the only things that is focused on in the advertisements, are issues are looked at into as well such as the morality in the society. The photographers bring out sensitive issues that are traditionally dramatic.

The article starts with a general introduction that talks about the Gucci advertisement and then it narrows down to her personal life where she talks of her love experience and her embarrassment. She relates this back to the story of cultural models and the various sexes in the society. Homosexuality is looked at throughout her article, and there is no one specific area that focuses on it. The book is divided into six sections. The first section captures the reader’s attention by throwing naked images to their faces. It is the shortest section and therefore it captures most of the reader’s attention. The second section focuses on the various uses of homosexuality in terms of advertising. It analyzes the craze that is there in the advertising industry and what the customers and viewers are more entertained with. The third section is what she calls Rocks and learners, it is the longest as compared to the other sections and mainly focuses on the various phenomenon that are there for advertising. The rocks signify how the masculine men stare towards the camera as they turn their body forward, it is all about image. When the models stare away from the cameras they are considered to be leaners. The next section is about the heterosexuality that is there in the society. It is describe by a captivating subtitle of, honey, what do I want to wear? The final section looks at how the different cultures are responding to the male decorativeness. She looks back at the history of men and then brings in a comparison with John Travolta. The last two sections are the main body of her article and the previous sections mainly grab the reader’s attention by giving a critical assessment of what is there in the society today.

Bordo brings contrast in her essay. She brings out the confident factor that is there within us through various advertisement. Like the face off advertisements which is common brings in masculinity as it captures the viewers’ attention. From this we can learn that stares have an effect on one’s confidence and our ability to be ourselves. The leaning advertisements are known to persuade the viewers since it is inviting and it proves that a man’s gaze towards a woman makes her feel whole again. Another example to this is her discussion on how men act compared to how women would like to appear. She brings out the man to be too busy to know of how handsome he is but he would quickly notice the beauty of a woman. This is common in the heterosexual man. Other examples are available but the article clearly outlines the perception of men, both heterosexual and homosexuality towards beauty.