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Abstract
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The destabilization of the straight white male's normativity has created a crisis in masculinity that erupts in social, political, and personal contexts in contemporary US culture. "The Man Show" is a response to this crisis manifesting in the mass media. Since the emergence of identity politics and the politics of identity, the hegemonic male has been compelled to respond to the breakdown of white male normativity and, in some instances, to create new strategies in the struggle for dominance.
The hosts employ humor to broach topics publicly that normally would receive attention only in private conversations because of their sensitive nature, such as the fears, concerns, and frustrations felt by the hegemonic male as a result of the increasing public presence and power of women and minorities. In order to minimize the distress caused by changing social relationships, the hosts use humor to deny reality and to detach from the reasons behind our current social climate.
Behind the laughs, the very fact that there is an audience for a ''man show'' suggests that the straight white male is having difficulty navigating his place in contemporary society and has few places to look for social support. Rather than being a space where men might discuss solutions to the pressures they face, The Man Show is a place where resentment festers and temporary fantasy gratification is used as a way to avoid and trivialize the stresses of everyday life. By denying reality and creating a narcissistic world with the white male at the center, the hosts do little to help white men keep pace with the demands of feminism, multiculturalism, and changing US cultural values. Indeed, by covering over differences between white men and largely ignoring issues of culture, sexuality, and gender, the program actually hinders the hegemonic male's ability to negotiate successfully his position in a changing and often unsympathetic society. |