Men are not idiots 14 Apr 2008

AdvertisingAge has an interesting article on the media's disparaging depictions of men. It seems that "Man as idiot" isn't going over too well these days.

Defenders of this type of portrayal typically justifiy their actions by arguing that "men are privileged"...and that "it's men's turn"...and that "men simply don't care how they're portrayed anyway". AdAge does a good job of tearing these popular misconceptions to shreds. Here's what the authors say about the "men are privileged" argument:

"Young males certainly aren't privileged. The vast majority of learning-disabled students are boys, and boys are four times as likely as girls to receive diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Girls get better grades than boys and are much more likely than boys to graduate high school and enter college. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, women earn 60% of all bachelor's degrees and 60% of all master's degrees.

"That adult men are 'privileged' over women is also questionable. Yes, men do make up the majority of CEOs, politicians and powerbrokers. They also make up the majority of the homeless, the imprisoned, suicide victims and those who die young."

As for the suggestion that "it's men's turn", well since this argument is so deeply flawed, the authors don't even stop to contemplate it. (Yes, the media has tradionally been unkind towards women...but that doesn't make being unkind towards men acceptable).

In tackling the third argument - "men don't care about how they're portrayed anyway" - AdAge produces some compelling evidence to the contrary:

"According to Leo Burnett Worldwide's 2005 'Man Study,' four out of five men believe media portrayals of men are inaccurate. The study found that men care more about the way they are viewed than was generally believed...This sentiment was reflected in the popularity of the highly publicized campaigns we've launched against advertising that is hostile to males. Several thousand protesters participated in both our 2004 campaign against Verizon's anti-father ad 'Homework' and our 2007 campaign against Arnold Worldwide."

It therefore seems that enough is enough. A joke's a joke, but men's collective patience with this "bumbling moron" stereotype has worn thin. So if you're in the business of selling products and services, you'd be wise to avoid the ubiquitous "male bashing" approach.