The Playboy Rabbit is Soft,Furry,and Cute: Is This Really the Symbol of Masculine Dominance of Women?

Abstract

Images presented in the mass media often contain subtexts that perpetuate gender stereotypes. We suggest that in some instances, underlying messages in mass media can operate to oppose, rather than reinforce, gender stereotypes. To examine this hypothesis, we used the first ten years of Playboy magazine as our data source. We provide evidence that the magazine attempted to broaden the conceptualization of masculinity by defining as the ideal an identity that incorporated a number of characteristics traditionally associated with women. We identify several processes by which Playboy accomplished this goal. These processes included co-opting the meaning of the word “playboy,” associating sexual success with the possession of traditionally feminine traits, and using a rabbit as Playboy‘s symbol.

Keywords

masculinity gender stereotypes feminine traits media symbols mass media

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