It's easy to forget that Calvin Klein is marketing the underwear, not the body. And the confusing message preys on teenage boys. Everywhere you look, there is a guy in an advertisement with a chick. It makes me think that not only is it good to be cut, but when you have a body like that, life is better. Guys look to magazines, movies and music videos for the promise of what they can obtain.
Some teenagers are conscious of the media's role in setting the male standard.
The ads define the image of the way the body should be. The ideal body is clear to sophomore Darnell Roberts. More subtle tactics than the man running down the beach in his skintight bathing suit during the Baywatch opener, with his chest muscles bouncing up and down in sync with stride, invade the male psyche. Pope studied the change in action figures over the past twenty years, according to The New York Times Magazine. But, with time, these childhood heroes have become more defined and more muscular.