Abstract:
The purposes of this research are to study masculinity which is presented through TV commercials on grooming products for men and to study the male audiences perceptions of masculinity depicted in these studied ads. The qualitative methods employed in this research include textual analysis of 15 TV commercials on grooming products for men aired from 2009 2010 and in-depth interviews with 30 male audiences. The research finds that the studied TV commercials depict three kinds of masculinity 1. Men who have sex appeal by having such appearance as half-blood look, white, tall, handsome and clear clean smooth skin. 2. Men who have self- confidence by doing all activities with keeping good-looking. 3. Men who have self-lifestyle that reflect their interests and identities. These three portrayals are constructed by merging the value of traditional masculine with the modern one. Regarding to the audiences perception of TV commercials on grooming products for men, The finding proof that they are active audiences having self-selective exposure, self-selective interpretation and self-selective retention from various advertising messages that flow to them. As a result, their perceptions of masculinity are vary. In general, the audiences perceptions of masculinity are dominated by the studied ads. However, there are some aspects of their interpretation are negotiated or even opposite meaning with the ads. The power of advertising message may be seen 2 ways. Firstly, advertising can introduce audience the new way of thinking about masculinity. Secondly, advertising messages may just repeat and enlarge the values and thinking that already exist in the society. In other words, advertising may be influent on audiences perceptions but audiences perceptions are also influent to advertising creation.