Barstool and the Lad/Bro

While reading about 'lad' culture, I was instantly reminded of our discussion earlier this semester surrounding "ironic" portrayals of racism, sexism, or whatever kind of dominant ideology 'ism.' We laugh at Tosh.O because his irony is so blatant and unavoidable, characters like Barney on How I Met Your Mother are funny because they're just so ridiculous, but there seems to be a flip-side to this kind of humor and it is highly noticeable in lad humor.

The words "lad" and "bro" seem inextricably tied in my mind and while men on campuses across the country don't deem there sexist jokes harmful, they can be. What's even more disturbing is that some females have actually begun to take part in this type of humor. Barstool has received a great deal of criticism within the past few months, especially as their Barstool Blackout Tour went across the nation, indirectly encouraging date rape and promiscuity on numerous campuses. Girls can't find Barstool to be despicable simply because "it's so funny, "the stories are so ridiculous," "it's all just one big joke." But is it really a joke?

Barstool's reactions to many feminist groups against the site (or hell, probably just a bunch of girls who are sick of reading rape jokes, watching girls get finger banged in the front row of some dubstep concert, and constantly having to see guys looking at links like "Guess Whose Ass" and "Smokeshow") has been to continually throw more sexist crap onto the web and specifically directing these posts at their haters. This certainly is crossing a line -- if you're undergoing criticism, if citizens are outraged and hurt by the content that is being posted, isn't it time to take it down a notch? There comes a point in time where the "lad" or the "bro" need to realize that while women understand that these are jokes and that they are ironic, that doesn't necessarily make them funny. They still derive from some place that can in fact be truthful in one's mind, and thus hurtful to another.

American Chopper and Masculinity

Carroll's article on "American Chopper produces a recuperative blue-collar masculinity that attenuates the putative losses suffered by working-class men under the postindustrial service economy of the contemporary United States."After reading this article I googled about the masculinity crisis in America and found a blog post about the Super Bowl Commercials and how masculinity is presented to America. Carroll's article highlights the idea of the "American Dream" and the "rags-to-riches" mentality that the Tetul's embody whereas, the commercials in the blog present tropes of the alpha male, which seem almost satirical. The blog states that the men in these advertisements "seem to promote an atavistic, hypermasculinity, while at the same time suggesting that such a masculinity is absurd and even laughable." Another section of the blog post discusses how, "by 2002, the advertisements of mega media sports events began to construct 'a white male ‘loser’…who hangs out with his male buddies, is self-mocking and ironic about his loser status"--the setting of these ads is ironic because it is a hyper-masculine event (sports) and the ads show ironic tropes of vulnerable and self-conscious males.

This reminded me of the irony and knowingness that we studied with feminism and got me to thinking about females in comedy. We noted that women can only be funny if they are presented in loud and crude manners so is it possible that males can only be seen as sensitive and vulnerable in the midst of irony and satire? The fact that we even see these ads as satire shows how we view masculinity in our society; if these tropes were true and acceptable, we would not see them as humorous. Does this present Carroll's description of hegemonic masculinity as ultimately, unattainable?

Relating back to American Chopper, the idea of the unattainable seems to shine through when one considers Carroll's argument. He mentions the "mythic status of the custom motorcycle and the 'outlaw' biker lifestyle in American culture" (266), which embody a sense of this unattainable masculinity. While American Chopper presents somewhat of a fantasy when it comes to attaining the custom bike, it seems that hegemonic masculinity is coupled within that fantasy as well. This article got me thinking about representations of males in media and how they are held to just as high a standard as women when it comes to how they act and look. We are quick to disregard the possibility that men may feel offended by representations of their gender in society and it seems like American Chopper helps men to achieve a sense of belonging and if anything, a goal that resorts back to one of hard work rather than the theme of unrealistic expectations and entitlement.