The Guy Code and Fitness

Guy Code

Anfernee Raine Blog Post 2

24^th September 2014

The Guy-Code and Fitness

            In “Bros Before Hos” by Michael Kimmel, the writer discusses what the guy-code really is. He brings up the idea of the guy code as something has become a socially accepted concept which is why it is so prominent. Kimmel talks about the idea of “being a man” and where it comes from. According to studies done in his writing he says that the for most guys, they get all these ideals from either the men in their lives who helped raise them, the ones who they were raised alongside or their friends. This is a clear indication that the idea of the guys code is just a concept that is perpetuated by amount of peer involvement. It is such an engrained idea that is put in our heads at a very young age. So what is it to “be a man?” What does it truly mean to “man up.”

            Gender stereotypes are a byproduct of the idea of guy code. They are a major issue for a lot of athletes especially female athletes. These stereotypes more than often force females to be portrayed a certain way by the media and this bring on other issues as well. Female athletes mostly lack representation in full contact sport because women are seen as more fragile and frilly by society. An example would be the NFL’s “lingerie league.” It’s a football league for women but instead of it being a normal sport the women are objectified and play in their underwear. In normal football the men are expected to be strong and be very well rounded athletes and they aren’t bothered by the stigma behind gender stereotyping. The fact that this is socially acceptable shows how women are seen in today’s society.

 In one of the articles we read “Sports, Media and Stereotypes, Women and Men in Sports Media.” The writer talks about how males get a great deal more representation in sports media than women and it effects how women are viewed by society in sports. This is completely true because women often lack a major role model to look up to because most females who are muscular are considered “manly” and that isn’t a socially acceptable role for girls in this time. On the other hand in another article we looked at called “Threatened masculinity and muscularity: An experimental examination of different aspects of muscularity in men,” the author talks about how the ideals for a normal man have become increasingly unrealistic over the years. (Hunt) This has become apparent because of how the media portrays not only men but women as well. It changes how people view themselves and their bodies. Society has set a lot of rules in place that affect the lives of many. All of these ideas mostly come from what the universal expectation of being a man is.

Works Cited

"Threatened Masculinity and Muscularity: An Experimental Examination of Multiple Aspects of Muscularity in Men." Academia.edu. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

“Sports, Media and Stereotypes Women and Men in Sports and Media” Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
"The Ultimate Upper Body." @MHFitter. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.