Masculinity describes the traditional attributes that a man should have. Courage, pride and strength are all commonly terms that come to mind when masculinity is brought up. As far as history dates back, men have been the bread winner in all cultures, and by being the provider of the family, he is respected and recognized as a man. . However, in modern society, the term masculinity means less as females are seen as equals to men and the traditional image of men is beginning to fade away.
From the novel 1984, several points seem to indicate that Orwell had the thought of masculinity in mind. Seen how the main character is a male, the main figure head of the government is masculine and it seems that most of all the other important characters are male, we can see that during the time that the book was written masculines had a superior role as to females. In the novel, Julia, the female protagonist of the story is displayed as a female that relies on men in order to fulfill her needs. Winston however is demonstrated as the provider towards Julia, he is also given a superior position career wise and affects the storyline the most.
In modern media, masculinity can also be seen as a marketing technique. In commercials, often a handsome successful man in a suit is shown driving that car. By display such a commercial to a male audience the viewer may feel a need to purchase such a vehicle for himself in order to be as masculine as the model displayed in the commercial is. In most action movies (excluding films such as Tomb Raider Lara Croft and where it's just hot girls and guns in order to capture male audience), the male protagonist comes saves the day, defeat the bad guys and save the female protagonist from an ill fate.
Masculinity was a very important aspect of the past, for if a man lacked masculinity he was frowned upon by others. However in modern society, it is acceptable for a man to be less capable than a female. Over time, mainly after WWI where females showed their strength in supporting the men in the battlefield by working in factories, the whole masculinity idea had begin to fade away.
