A Semantic Analysis of the term “pagkalalake” through radio advertisements

According to Wilkinsons, it starts with identifying what we really need in our lives to feel
like men. Next, we must realize that society is trying to sell us a bill of goods as false substitutes
for true masculinity. (Wilkinsons, 2009). Many wonders what it means to be masculine, and if we
can really assign a definition to such one-sided term. Do individuals view determine what
constitutes as masculine?
Masculinity has certain characteristics assigned to it by our culture. Men are primarily
assigned and secondarily socialized into believing certain characteristics are definitive in
determining their manliness and masculinity. As a socially constructed identity, men learn
“appropriate” gender roles in accordance to the masculine expectations of the given society. All
men are influenced by their upbringing, experience, and social environment which play a big role
in determining one’s view of masculinity and manhood. This means that just like love, masculinity
is subjective and is going to be different for everyone. According to Tough Guise: Men, Violence
and the Crisis in Masculinity (1999), “Hegemonic masculinity” is the highest form of masculinity
that is represented by several characteristics: distance oneself from feminity, restrict emotions,
tough and aggressive (avoid vulnerability), and lastly our chosen topic, can be seen as highly
sexual with women.
Men’s masculinity is often stereotyped in the basis of their sexual dominance. Men’s
masculinity is based upon their superiority and is often referred as “toxic masculinity standards”
of the people. According to Suzannah Weiss, “Toxic standards of masculinity hurt men’s sex lives-
and everyone’s- just as much.” When people are held to gender expectations in the bedroom,
everyone misses out on living their authentic selves and connecting with their partner’s authentic
selves. One of the toxic masculinity standards of the people is that sex revolves around a penis
and men’s sexual value lies in what their penises can do. This myth is behind profitable industries
geared toward increasing penis size and making erections last longer, often on the grounds that
these two things are instrumental for female pleasure. But the fact is, they're actually fairly
irrelevant. “Most women don't orgasm through penile thrusting. Toxic masculinity's
overvaluing of the penis both makes men unnecessarily insecure and perpetuates the
prioritization of acts that don't give women much pleasure.” (Jones, 2003). Along with the idea
that the penis is the center of sex comes the notion that if a man doesn't please a woman, he's
not a real man. One study in the Journal of Sex Research found that in a hypothetical scenario
where a woman didn't orgasm during intercourse, both men's and women's greatest concerns
were the man's ego. This puts a lot of pressure on men to automatically know what pleases their
partners, and it also puts a lot of pressure on women to behave as if they're enjoying themselves
for the sake of their partners, rather than pursue acts that actually please them. While it's great
to care about your partner's pleasure, a problem arises when someone makes their partner's
pleasure about themselves.
The sexual advertisements about energizing intimate sexual intercourse or activity
continuously arise because of the toxic masculinity standard and that it must have something to
do with the satisfaction of men about their masculinity. There are various radio advertisements
promoting products that foster the masculinity of a man. It might be a sexual energizer or
enhancement of sexual body parts that will render the qualities of a real masculine man. The
researchers wanted to explore how these advertisements create constructive meaning about
masculinity, its characteristics, and mannerism to people.