Nabeel Solehdin

Solehdin 1

Professor Corri Ditch

English 144A
6 November 2014
Do You Smell Like a Man?
In an Old Spice commercial, it advertises deodorant specified for men but behind the
product is a man attempting to conform male gender roles. The Old Spice commercial starts off
with a man named Isaiah Mustafa speaking out to the ladies of the world attempting to tell them
that men should not use their deodorant. Mustafa then ends up on a fancy boat with diamonds
and tickets that symbolize wealth. According to Mustafa, if a man is not smelling like he does,
then he is not a man. Mustafa believes that he is a perfect example of how a man is supposed to
perform in gender. Although the Old Spice commercials intent is to sell mens deodorant, it
could possibly tell the men of society to conform to Mustafas gender performance, which can
lead to depression, steroid usage, and unrealistic expectations to teenagers.
Isaiah Mustafa is the main figure that represents the message of gender conformity. The
commercial first starts as Mustafa speaking to the female audiences. Throughout the commercial
his shirt is off and he is showing a muscular body with a six pack. He states that old spice is a
mens deodorant and any other type of deodorant is considered to be lady scented. The scene
then transitions on Mustafas boat which shows his wealth. Then he holds up the deodorant and
concert tickets and diamonds spout out of his hands until the Old Spice deodorant is there. He
also states that any man could be a man instead of a lady if he smells like Old Spice. Finally the

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commercial ends with him on a horse showing his power just like Napoleon Bonaparte from
France.
Teenagers are heavily influenced by media because it portrays an ideal look for
acceptance in society. For example, teenage boys can look at this old spice commercial and think
that they have to look like Mustafa. Mustafa portrays an immense amount of masculine
performance in the commercial because of his muscular and lean body, emphasizing his
manhood, and his. A teenage boy can look at this and change his perspective on how he looks at
himself. Teenage boys that compare their looks to the Mustafa looks could create a negative
mind sets in their heads because their masculine performance is being questioned. If a teenage
boy were to look at how society portrays men, it could possibly lead to low self-esteem and
depression.
Teenage boys have their self-esteem lowered because the media shows men as muscular
and dominant. For example, the ideal body image is represented in the Old Spice commercial
with Mustafa as the prime individual to represent societys gender performance. Mustafa is a
muscular man so a teenage boys can look at Mustafa and get inspired to be him because he
depicts the ideal man. This causes the teenage boys to take into steroids and drugs which can
then cause them to feel isolated from society. (Mazur) Steroids are used for athletes who endure
intense training and a teenage boy who spends most of their time not doing intense training are
only being harmed by the effects of steroids. Some side effects to steroids are weakened bones
and ligaments, internal bleeding, and rage, which is over excessive anger. The negative effects
on the steroids can lower the self-esteem of a teenage boy but also harm him. He may see all the
athletes change in size but the important aspect of steroids is intense training which the teenage

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boy isnt doing. The results of Mustafa arent being portrayed to the teenager because they are
unrealistic expectations.
Body image is too played out in society because media, such as Mustafa, portrays
unrealistic body types that not everyone can have. Every person in the world is different and no
one is identically alike because of genes, but teenage boys try to recreate the image that are being
shown in media. The usage of steroids are a major part of changing a body type from being
skinny to muscular and lean. In an article from Pharmacy Times, 2.4% of teenage boys use
steroids as a way to coup with their lack of masculine performance. (Pharmacy Times) That
means 2.4% of teenage boys are abusing their bodies because the media has a type of body
image and they expect everyone to recreate it.
In a way Mustafa can possibly be looked at as a criminal because his gender performance
is creating a base for everyone to follow which then leads into abuse in teenage boys. Teenage
boys look at Mustafas body image and have their self-esteem lowered because they dont have
the same body type as him which led to eating disorders. In the article, Mens Health: teen boys
worry about body image, too, it shows that 31% of teenage boys have eating disorders. Eating
disorders are a major part of teenage abuse because their bodies are being abused by the lack of
food and vitamins. The body image that Mustafa creates is based on traditional gender
performances of male which have been outplayed for centuries.
The traditional gender performance of a male is considered to be strong, independent,
dominant, and powerful in a societal view which causes men to try and conform to fit into
society. (Lorber) In the Old Spice commercial, the traditional gender roles are being highly

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enforced by Mustafa because he asserts his dominance with the boat and the diamonds because it
shows that he is rich. Rich people tend to be very powerful in society and Mustafa having,
luxurious items, shows that he is powerful. Mustafas body type is represented to teenage boys as
an inspiration to get muscles like him and become an ideal male of society.
Mustafas ideal body image and masculine performance cannot simply be recreated by a
teenage boy because it has unrealistic expectations. In an article, Dying to Be Strong, a boy by
the name of Taylor Hooton committed suicide because he could not handle the expectations of
societies view on a correct gender performance. He took anabolic steroids because he wanted the
Mustafa look but eventually did not achieve his goal.
Although the Old Spice commercial uses Mustafa as a spokesperson for men to buy
deodorant, Mustafa is actually a pawn of society to conform men to portray traditional gender
roles which then lead to depression, steroid usage, and abuse to teenage bodies. The media could
possibly use an average man instead of an unrealistic muscular man such as Mustafa. The
message of selling deodorant could be expressed to society with an average man using the
product just as effectively without an unrealistic man. An average man could possibly reassure
teenage boys that not every can look like each other because an average man does not emphasis
his masculinity to the audience but instead has realistic expectations. Instead of the commercial
being all about masculinity and dominance of a male, it could simply be about an average man
using deodorant to smell good a long with putting himself in the same situations of other males
in the world.

Works Cited

Larsen, Elizabeth Foy. "Dying to Be Strong."Scholastic Scope, 62.2 (2013): 4.

"Men's health: teen boys worry about body image, too." Pharmacy Times Jan. 2014:
78.Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
"Men's Health: Teen Boys Worry About Body Image, Too." Pharmacy Times, 80.1
(2014): 78.
Groner, Rachel, and John O'Hara. Composing Gender. Boston/New York: Bedford/ St.
Martin, 2014. Print.
Lorber, Judith. ""Night to His Day": The Social Construction of Gender." Composing
Gender. 19-33. Print.