Culture is seen by Walby as a constitution that consistently distinguishes men and women, and generalises the behaviour we should expect from each. The variability in class, ethnicity and age is differentiated yet the charcteristics have stayed the same which make a women feminine.Women are thought to be feminine if they confine themselves to work at home.Pornography a male dominated industry has also degraded the postion of women and then glorifies it. This is a prime example of how the media can opress women.
Walby believes violence from men towards women includes, rape, sexual assault, wife beating, workplace sexual harrasment and child sexual abuse. This violence is then seen as a form of power over women, and can be used to frighten and threaten a women so she will stay in her place.
Although the state has tried to introduce legal backing for women it has yet to try to improve women's position in society, only in the home. Women still get lower pay than men and this rarely questioned. Women in one-parent families also get little state benfit, harm has also come to women from their exploitation in the pornography industry.
Jonathon Rutherford is a sociologist who has identified the new man as men who take fatherhood more seriously, who are more emotional, more sensitive and who also suffer more from being sexual objects Yet Rutherford admits that the new man may be a media myth. He notes that research suggests that the division between men and women in the home has not significantly changed. Women are still disadvantaged in the labour market to the extent that few families can afford to rely on the wages of a working wife, while the husband adopts the role of 'househusband'.
Kate Millett is a radical femisist is a strong believer in sexual politics, hence the name of her book, "Sexual Politics". She suggests that gender is the primary source of identity for individuals in modern societies. People react differently depending on your gender.Millett points to many aspects in having a role in patriarchy, firstly she belives that the role of socialization could have an effect. She goes on to say how she believes that men are socialized to have a stronger and dominant temperment, this then in turen provides men with a higher social status. This then leads to them filling roles in which they can in effect control women. The dependancy on men for financial support is also again believed to be key to patriarchy. As this then teaches children to react in the same manor in the futre, this then proves hard to rectify.
Religion is something which she also believes can change the effect of patriarchy as some religions believe that women are weaker and have caused suffering, the best example is Christianty which pinpoints Eve as causing human suffering. Followers in this religion can then take on this view and use in everyday life situations.Women are also beginning to take mens dominance fro granted due to length of time it has been widely obvious. This comes from humanity being described as 'mankind' and the interiorization of women to lay down to a male dominate society.
Its very clear on this evidence that the new man is widely considered to be a myth. Yet the fact that it is a myth means that it must have been believed in by someone, and then passed on until now. The sociologists I have mentioned are all feminists and they have clearly marked out their views yet they fail to consider how males see this situatuation or they have not used any information to back up their views. They have relied completely on theory and feminist view point. The new man may in fact exsist just not in these few sociologists eyes as they too have their own opinion.The myth of the new man must have started somewhere, and its widely apparent that the media is key to the idea of the new man. In films, newspapers, magazines and television, ideas can be transported to an audience in clever and demeaning methods.
The reasons the sociologists have put forward are not always true, they may have been altered just to suit their particular viewpoint. This is unfair as it can be an untruthful representation of men. If men are so dominating and women are forced to work at home, why do they marry and agree to live with a man? It is widely thought that it would be best if men and women lived in a cohibiting relationship, where they would have more freedom to move out. It is of a womens choice to marry, they are not opressed into this and many poeple find hard to come to terms with the reasons for their complaints. They put themselves in that situation, surely they should make sure they are doing the right thing, assess the situation and perhaps make precautions. Kate Millett argued that men are sociailized into having a dominant temperment, this is not a a true represenatative of men as this has been learnt and taught to men by older generations. This does not mean that all men are like this as its just an assumption.
It is also widely argued that for a family to exsist and to work efficiently and correctly, someone must take responsibility for earning wages. Men have taken responsibility for this and that women can do this if they really want to. Just because many women don't do this doesn't mean there isn't an opportunity. As women have come to accept this, it is equally their fault. It is viewed by many that women have accepted it therefore change has not been forced so the few complaints are perhaps not enough. There less and less women equality rights marches, stands and strikes this is thought to have come from the improvement in women's status in soicety. If women have ceased to fight for their rights then perhaps their is less to complain about.This therefore means it can be argued that this is due to the exsistance of the new modernised man who has made life easier for their wife/girlfriend. The fact that women have taken men's dominance for granted cannot be fully faulted to men as, if women take it for granted it is their fault they have not camplained about it.
Employment opportunities are growing for women and it can be argued that women have got used to their position. Therefore work would be too much effort for them and they have become stubborn in taking the work opportunities. It can also be discussed that this is a reason why women recieve less pay due to a reluctancy to work. This is not the case for all females and some have taken lower paid and lower status jobs, as they feel they are incapable of receiving better ones.
Men are made out to be in the media to be two things. The first sensitive,caring,romantic,understanding, brave and family-minded. However they can also be shown as brutes who use violence against women and often use sexual violence against them. This can deminish and opress men. Women therefore believe they have a relevant and effecient reason to fear men, due to this representation. For example the use of the character Trevor in the popular soap 'Eastenders' was not a fair view of men. This use of men in a bad position generalises all men as having a violent and overbearing side. This along with the gory,detailed and exaggerated descriptions of some man on women attacks can help to hinder men's position. It can widely thought that it is true men can harm women in many ways but this glorified and made to look worse than it is. This much used as tabloid news to endulge readers in stories about such things.
Yet the media can also be kind and truthful of men. Television and newspaper articles are key to this. Television is argued as being the most powerful agent of media in society, it can change a viewpoint by showing something relevant, yet this may not always be true. Programs such as the popular soap opera "Coronation Street" can show men in the 'househusband' position. It can be viewed that the amount of men taking up this position is rising, and that this why the media find it relevant to use this example in a popular program to get across, that this is happening in many societies.Newspaper and magazine articles can also do this. Emotive language and real life stories can be used to show how men can lead usual and working lives whilst being a single parent. It is often shown as a viewpoint of many that men and women have the opportunity and that women sometimes take the comfort of benefit.
In religion it is true men and women can be divided unequally yet isn't there an opportunity to question this?. Religion is not always right and people need to realise that their culturistic views are not always the right ones. The point made about Christianity may be relevant yet Jesus is a man and his representation is not mentioned, a man pure and full of sensitiveness and good will. Yet this is not mentioned as people perhaps want men to be viewed as putting women down.
It can also be argued that women revel in the fact that men apparently dominate thier lives, they are in the position to complain and perhaps retrieve treatment they would not usually achieve.This would then deminish the idea of the modern man as people would not believe these claims due to the amount of bad claims made against men. This is unfair to men as it is rare that men are unfairly treated by women and complaints of this are even moe rare, so therefore women atke up a postion of assissted life whilst men are left to themselves.
In conclusion with all of this information and its contrasting views, it has proven very difficult for soicologists to currently agree on the myth of the modern man.Feminists argue their opinion that the new man doesn't exsist, yet there is also evidence that this may be unfair or an untruthful represenatation of men as a whole. When the aspects are considered surrounding patriarchy there is good evidence to prove the opression of women, yet there are also flaws which help claim the exsistance of the new man. With all these in mind it is very hard to actually decide whether it is a myth or not.