Superstars, Superheroes and the Male Body Image: The Visual Implications of Football Uniforms

Introduction Ann Hollander has argued most successfully that there is a relationship between the cut of clothes and concepts of the ideal body, and that the body ideal changes as fashions change (84-87). Although football uniforms are not daily dress, they have been the costume of heroes idolized by young boys and grown men alike as the embodiment of American manhood in the middle of the twentieth century. It can be argued that the evolution of the high tech protective armor worn under the uniform created an exaggerated image of male musculature, particularly in the years from World War II through the 1980s. This silhouette has exerted a relentless pressure on the ideal form of the unadorned male body. This pressure can also be discerned in recent fashion trends. To be sure, not all men are sports fans. Martin and Koda make a persuasive case for a set of options from which men can choose to define their personal style (7-9). The preeminent choice they offer is between the look of the "Jock" and the "Nerd." They present the recent rehabilitation of the fashion image of the Nerd as a backlash against the ultra-macho Jock notion of manhood. Even with this alternative, the relentless images of muscular bodies presented by the media must be difficult for any man to ignore completely. Football has been described as the ultimate expression of manly skill and aggressiveness, a metaphor for male roles and social relationships. In the introduction to a history of the National Football League, football is described as a "symbolic war": Professional football is basically a physical assault by one team upon another in a desperate fight for land. Most people see themselves as the sum of their possessions-I am what I own. The most basic possession, land, is the issue in football and the most basic weapon, the body, is the means of acquiring it. It is a game of physical dominance; the weak are punished unmercifully and the unskilled are run off the field. So much of a man's personality is at stake that the game becomes a fanatical crusade." (The First Fifty Years) There are several possible reasons why football rose in importance by the midpoint of this century. Social scientists have made a case for territoriality as a basic human trait. As our population has grown, becoming more urban and crowded, the appeal of this turf-oriented sport increased. This has also been a period of unparalleled technical development, social upheaval, alienation and anger. Football reflects an increasingly high tech, fast-moving culture, generating metaphors of violence, high tech strategy, corporate style teamwork, and high tech-augmented physical power. These images resonate with the temper of society in a way that the slow-paced, graceful virtuosity of that other great American pastime, baseball, can no longer do as effectively. As football gained in popularity, it was discovered that television and football were remarkably well suited to each other. The continuous action and visual impact of football came across dramatically on television. The enormous success of televised football has firmly planted the football hero in the pantheon of male icons. The Evolution of the Football Uniform Football began as a college sport, and although in recent years professional football has gained preeminence, college football has retained a passionate following. Since its beginnings, football has been followed fervently at the University of Alabama, and with great success. This was particularly true during the tenure of coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from 1958 to 1982. The opening of the Paul W. Bryant Museum in 1988 celebrated this history. The museum houses an extensive archive of visual and written material on football. In addition, there is a collection of football uniforms, equipment, and related materials that document the history of football from its beginnings in the l9th century to the present. As seen in these collections, the Alabama experience of football encapsulates the national experience. …