How Men Clawed into Consumerism

Kenon Breazeale reveals the emergence of the male consumer with the birth of Esquire magazine. Women had been long targeted in the advertising world as the main consumer for the house hold and referred to as the educated shopper. With men facing the frightening possibility of losing their jobs and the chance they might see their wives become the ones bringing home the bacon, a loss of “masculine self respect” began to cloud over the male population. Seizing this opportunity, Esquire was created so men could cope with this new leisure time and become empowered with all the misogynistic articles in the magazine. Esquire articles consisted of bashing how women were consumers of fads rather than resourcefulness, and men were the more sensible gender when it came to purchasing all things from furniture to liquor. It’s rather smart actually; the magazine actually motivated men to become more dominate in consumerism as a means to prove their masculinity. Not only did they rant about feminine incompetence, but Esquire also managed to sexually exploit women as well. Yay for multitasking. Pin ups were often displayed within the pages. Although I see the benefits of male consumerism becoming more important, I think the way Esquire pushed it ignited the flames of sexism we see today.