Professor Angela Smith has contributed an entry on
male stereotypes to the International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication. It explores how
fatherhood can be articulated as both an opportunity for men to demonstrate
their caring, nurturing side, while also being a site for sexual desirability,
popularly referred to as the “DILF.” Angela shows how the “new man” masculinity
that emerged in the 1990s came to be linked with the popularizing of female‐directed pornography
around the same time, finally merging in the 21st century as the “sexy dad.” By
drawing on various media texts relating to fatherhood, she shows how there is a
self‐presentation of
fatherhood that is largely in line with the caring, emotional “new man,” but at
times wittily espousing a playful form of macho masculinity linked with gym
culture. This is contrasted with the media interpretation of such fatherhood
that seeks to sexualize the male body in the popular press. The discussion
finds that the act of carrying or holding a child becomes a site for these two
discourses to meet, both in the visual images used to illustrate stories and in
the associated text.
Smith, A. 2020. Male Stereotypes: The Sexy Dad and
Caring Father. In Ross, K. et al. (eds) The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
