Macho media: unapologetic hypermasculinity in Vancouver's "talk radio for guys".

On August 6, 2002, "MOJO Radio--Talk Radio for Guys" was launched in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The station's format was designed with the explicit aim of "delivering the male" audience to advertisers (Sparks, 1992), a strategy confirmed in a launch-day press release from Corus Entertainment (MOJO Radio's owners) that described how the new station "fills a void in the Vancouver market by providing a forum for men to discuss and debate issues that matter to them, from health and fitness to cars, careers, beers, business, women and sports" (Corus Entertainment, 2002). In this way, MOJO Radio was tactically positioned to reflect men's apparent interests and buying habits, and to disseminate messages linked to portrayals of a type of masculinity (believed to be) most appealing to their target audience.

The station, and its Toronto-based affiliate (also called MOJO Radio and launched in 2001), emerge at a time when numerous commentators are engaging questions about the state of masculinity in the 21st century (Beynon, 2002; Holt & Thompson, 2004). Underlying expositions on the topic is an assumption that many North American men are experiencing a "crisis of masculinity." This crisis, according to authors like White and Gillett (1994) and Dworkin and Wachs (2000), is based on the notion that men are confused about the roles and identities to which they should aspire at a time when social and cultural definitions of manhood are ambiguous and in transition. In contrast, the prototypical male of the 1950s, for example, was more clearly positioned to strive to be a breadwinner for a family, a role that impacted the goals and expectations of men in private and public spheres. With the subsequent movement toward gender equality both at work and at home, so this argument goes, men became perplexed about the constitutive aspects of their gendered social roles, concerned about their apparent loss of traditional forms of power, and thus reacted with fear to an increasingly "feminized" culture and society. (1) The apparent responses to this crisis have taken a number of forms, including an increased emphasis on hypermasculine pursuits (e.g., high-risk sport participation, bodybuilding) that are presumed to aid men in their attempts to recuperate a clearly defined sense of what it means to be a man (White & Gillett, 1994).

Corporate entities like Corus Entertainment would appear to be capitalizing on the apparent destabilization of contemporary masculinity by offering a radio-based escape to manhood. On a broader social level, however, the messages offered by MOJO would seem to contribute--intentionally or unintentionally--to a mass-mediated backlash against threats to the tradition-based social advantages experienced by some men (a suggestion investigated in depth as part of the study reported in this article). According to Brayton (2005), Savran (1998), and others, this backlash initially emerged as a reaction to the social- and policy-related changes that resulted from feminist and civil rights challenges to a status quo that favored wealthy, White men. (2) Although this backlash has taken various forms, including semiorganized men's rights movements, it is within popular culture that the most pronounced and visible versions of a "return to manhood" motif can be found. This observation is particularly compelling in relation to Whannel's (2002) argument that "forms of popular culture are revealing sites in which to examine unstable attempts to deal with crisis" (p. 8; cf. Brayton, 2005). Brayton pointed to the relatively recent launch of MTV's Spike Network--the self-proclaimed "first network for men," a channel that features hypermasculine, made-for-TV sports and entertainment programming like American Gladiators and Slamball--as a stark example of this kind of popular cultural backlash. Another illustration is the cover of a recent MacLean's Magazine (a publication recognized as "Canada's news magazine") titled "Age of the Wuss," which includes a story under the headline "He's Come Undone" lamenting the loss of the confident, assertive, powerful, hypermasculine man in contemporary North American society (Gillis, 2005, p. 28).

According to scholars like Messner (2002), this sort of mass-mediated narrative reinforces and reproduces dangerous cultural norms around relationships and health. Those working and researching in these areas have argued for years that males are socialized by the media (and other influential institutions and individuals) to strive for an idealized, prototypically masculine identity that requires the suppression of emotions and the development of a powerful and intimidating persona and physique (White & Young, 1999). Messner and Stevens (2002) and Gannon, Glover, and Abel (2004) similarly argued that mass-mediated celebrations of hypermasculinity are detrimental because males who conform to such an ideal are implicitly or explicitly supporting a culture that is rife with systemic social problems such as violence against women by men, violence against men by men, reckless participation by men in leisure activities that results in injury and sometimes death, and an inability or unwillingness among men to admit vulnerability (leading to anxiety and depression; cf. Poon, 1993; Sabo, 2004; White & Young, 1999). It is this argument that guides much of the critique offered in this article.

Still, it is important to note that while constituting a compelling case for critically analyzing the programming contents of MOJO radio, the suggestion that programming for men is inherently or unconditionally detrimental to the social health of men (and women) does not account for the often subtle contradictions embedded in media depictions of masculinity. For example, researchers have identified instances where the prototypical "macho" male is satirized and parodied within programming that targets the "guys' guys" demographic, leaving space for progressive and critical readings of masculinity by audience members (Messner, Dunbar, & Hunt, 2000).

With sensitivity to this more nuanced position as well as the knowledge that images of macho masculinity are both pervasive and might have negative social consequences, a textual study of MOJO radio contents and texts was conducted. The research was guided by the following set of questions: In what way(s) is masculinity promoted in the content of the station's programming? What forms does this promotion take? What ideologies are reinforced or reproduced? Are there spaces where alternative understandings of what it means to be a man are made available? What do these spaces look like?

This study contributes to an area of research focused on masculinity and media that has been scarcely studied in the Canadian context. That this study is about Canadian-based radio is especially relevant considering that radio airwaves in Canada are subject to guidelines devised by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)--guidelines that are especially oriented around the protection of "Canadian content," but also toward equity in representation. There is a relevant history of CRTC policy development around gender that forms the backdrop for this study, in particular a decision made by the Commission on April 2, 1984, to grant a license to The Sports Network (TSN), a Canadian-based sports channel seeking to target a largely male audience and demographic. Sparks's (1992) study "'Delivering the Male': Sports, Canadian Television, and the Making of TSN" is instructive here, especially his summary of negotiations between the CRTC and TSN, where he illustrated how the Commission's decision "provided a framework of guidelines and restrictions that in many respects amounted to a laissez-faire endorsement of current market practices, particularly with regard to the network's preferred audience(s) and programming contents [i.e., boys and men]." Sparks also showed that "standards of objectivity and balance were not well specified, particularly with respect to the equitable representation of women and men in event coverage, news, and information," a point of particular relevance to this study of MOJO radio if one considers the approval of TSN as a precedent-setting case in CRTC guideline development.

Of course, developments in both the CRTC and MOJO take place in a social and cultural context where neoliberal policies--such as deregulation of media ownership--currently proliferate. Until recently, for example, CRTC regulations prevented the monopolizing of radio stations by media conglomerates (Belanger, 2006). However, according to Stuparyk (2004), in 1998, pressure from large corporations led to the CRTC's decision to relax regulations about ownership. Since this decision, "three media giants have swallowed up almost all of the high profile stations, and a significant chunk--22 percent--of the 668 independent commercial radio stations in Canada: Corus Entertainment owns 52, Standard Broadcasting 51, and Rogers Media Inc. 43" (Stuparyk, 2004). Nylund (2004) linked these sorts of developments with the rise of conservative talk radio formats that "contain public expression within corporate, capitalist ideologies that reinforce dominant social relations" (p. 138). In a similar way, the corporatization of radio is linked to the increased tendency among media producers to engage in niche marketing, creating programming targeted at specific demographics within audiences. In the case of (sport) talk radio stations like MOJO, the White middle-class man between 24 and 55 years of age, an extremely desirable audience niche, is the target. With this in mind, the following discussion of MOJO-produced radio messages should be understood in a social and cultural context where conservative definitions of what it means to be a man are offered as part of a corporate project to sell an audience to advertisers.

Additionally, this study's focus on messages contained in Canadian radio for men is unique in a research context where images of masculinity on television and in film are predominantly studied. The research is also intended to contribute to a continually evolving understanding of the ways in which conventions around media production in radio and television are both similar and distinct across various formats and within national contexts. Further, attention is paid to the theoretical and substantive implications of broadcasting messages that are produced in the United States (messages initially intended for a U.S. audience) and subsequently broadcast over Canadian airwaves.

Hegemony, Masculinity, and Media: A Review of Theory and Research

This examination of MOJO radio is informed by a range of studies in the field of gender and media that demonstrate how decision makers in the media industry--both subtly and overtly--contribute to dominant cultural understandings of what it means to be a man. The assumption underlying much of this research, and a premise of this article, is that mass media portrayals of males and females are constructed in ways that privilege a hegemonic version of masculinity, one that is associated with the traits of men who possess power because of their imposing physical presence, their success in occupational settings, their power over women, their obvious and emphasized heterosexuality, or their independence (Kimmel, 1994). This hegemonic masculinity is constructed in relation to other forms of masculinity as part of a "gender order" or hierarchy, according to Connell (1995) and others. In this framework, nonhegemonic forms of masculinity include "marginalized masculinities" and "subordinate masculinities" (Connell, 1995, pp. 78-81). (3)

Mass media are important in the reproduction of these understandings of masculinity (and the structure of power these understandings support) because they include images or offer commentary that would lead many viewers to assume that the "gender order" described earlier is natural and unchangeable (Wilson, 2007). Douglas (2002), for example, discussed the role that talk radio--specifically programs featuring outspoken conservative hosts (Rush Limbaugh) or shock-jocks (Howard Stern)--play in reinforcing traditional gender hierarchies and relations. Nylund (2004), extending an argument made by Farred (2000) about backlash and a crisis of White masculinity, went so far as to suggest:

With White masculinity being challenged and decentered by feminism,

affirmative action, gay and lesbian movements, and other groups'

quest for social equality, sports talk shows, similar to talk radio

in general, have become an attractive venue for embattled White men

seeking recreational repose and a nostalgic return to a prefeminist

ideal. (p. 139)

Nylund (2004) and Douglas (2002) acknowledged in this context that although there is a range of masculine performances enacted on mainstream talk radio (i.e., Limbaugh compared to Stern), these performances work together, collectively challenging "the most revolutionary of social movements, feminism" (Douglas, 2002, p. 485).

Outside of radio, a key study that demonstrates both the extent to which, and ways in which traditional masculine values are promoted in televised hypermasculine sports programming was conducted by Messner et al. (2000). Their findings illustrated that White males are the "voices of authority" regarding sports (especially on sports highlight and talk shows), that "women are sexy props or prizes for men's successful sport performances or consumption choices," "that aggressive players get the prize; nice guys finish last," that "boys will be violent boys," and that real men will give up their bodies "for the team" (Messner et al., 2000, pp. 385, 387, 389).

Although Messner et al.'s (2000) empirical confirmation of a "televised sports manhood formula" is a crucial contribution to the body of work on masculinity and media, what is also notable is their recognition of "discontinuities" within their findings (p. 393). Specifically, Messner et al. referred to the television commercials that accompany sports programming, arguing:

Although the dominant tendency in commercials is to either erase

women or present them as stereotypical support or sex objects, a

significant minority of commercials present themes that set up men

and boys as insecure and/or obnoxious shmucks and women as secure,

knowledgeable, and authoritative. (p. 393)

Findings from Nylund's (2004) research into messages about masculinity within a U.S.-based sports talk radio show were strikingly similar to Messner et al.'s (2000) in this regard. Nylund found that although the contents of the radio show hosted by celebrity fast-talker Jim Rome generally reproduced and reinforced traditional understandings of masculinity through commentary and discussion that made light of, and implicitly tolerated, misogyny, violence, and heterosexual dominance, periodically the show included commentary that endorsed and advocated a liberal stance on homophobia--a stance sometimes taken by Rome in on-air discussions about gender issues and sport. In related research focused on popular television sitcoms like Coach and Home Improvement, Craig (1993) and Hanke (1998) described the existence of, potential of, and contradictions within (as well as humor at the expense of) traditional portrayals of hypermasculinity. With respect to the analysis of MOJO radio, the key point is that programming decisions, such as those made by producers of the prime-time sitcoms just referred to, can be viewed as both progressive insofar as they allow space for dialogue about the absurdity of some norms associated with "real men," and regressive in the sense of letting men off the hook for bad behavior because they are just "boys being boys."

With these contradictions in mind, a research protocol was developed to enable an analysis of the content of MOJO radio that attended to dominant constructions of gender (as well as its intersections with race, social class, and sexuality) within the station's on-air content, and remained sensitive to moments where nontraditional and self-reflexive understandings of manhood were privileged.

Research Method

Data collection for this project took place between October 25 and December 9, 2002. Using a programmable videocassette recorder connected to an AM radio receiver, on-air audio programming was recorded onto VHS tapes. Six hours of programming was recorded each day over 15 separate days, totaling 90 hours of radio programming, which constituted the initial sample size. The 6 hours of programming recorded each day captured the initial hour of six separate daily programs featured on the MOJO network. Thus, the complete sample consisted of 90 hours of programming (15 hours from each show) from six different shows over 15 days. The regular programs included The Jesse Dylan Show, Scruff Connors-Nationwide, Bill Courage, Tom Leykis, Loveline, and The Phil Hendrie Show.

Of these six regular programs, two were locally produced and originated in Vancouver (The Jesse Dylan Show and Bill Courage), one was a national program originating in Toronto (Scruff Connors-Nationwide), and three were U.S. programs rebroadcast through MOJO as an affiliate (Tom Leykis, Loveline, and The Phil Hendrie Show). In three separate instances over the 15 days, regular programs were preempted for play-by-play coverage of the Vancouver Giants and the Western Hockey League All-Star Game, and in one case, the broadcast schedule was changed to facilitate Women on Men, a locally broadcast program featuring women's perspectives on male-female relationships.

The data were analyzed by a primary coder who (a) listened to the first 30 minutes of each hour of recorded programming, and (b) coded the results as they related to specific themes. Thus, the sample of programming used in the data analysis was 3 hours each day over 15 days for a total of 45 hours. The initial themes used in the coding and analysis, developed jointly with a secondary analyst, were purposely broad to reflect the major topics relevant to the analysis. At the same time, however, the primary coder remained open to unanticipated themes that emerged throughout the analytic process. The initial themes were sex, sports, violence, consumerism, and masculinity. In the initial phase of analysis notes were taken as they related to these themes. The counter times on the VCR of each thematic instance were recorded so that the researcher could revisit specific examples and reconsider emergent themes where necessary. Reading and rereading the analysis transcripts and grouping together similar types of data led to the creation of the seven themes discussed later, in the Results section.

This methodological approach was guided by an interpretive and critical understanding of media messages as texts. The study of messages recorded from MOJO would be considered both a textual analysis (Leiss, Kline, & Jhally, 1990) and contextual or ideological analysis (Fiske, 1990; Kellner, 1995). The textual analysis was conducted with particular sensitivity to contradictions and unanticipated themes embedded in the (radio) contents (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996). An ideological or contextual analysis of the media focuses on the ways in which dominant power relations are reproduced and reinforced. Doing contextual analysis in this framework means conducting not only a microlevel analysis (like the coding referred to earlier), but also attending to the ways in which cultural practices or texts are "articulated into a particular set of complex historical, economic and political relationships (Howell, Andrews, & Jackson, 2002, pp. 154-155). With this in mind, MOJO-produced radio messages were considered against a history and politics of gender relations and within an increasingly neoliberal, deregulation-oriented economic system.

Results

The data described next include three types of on-air content: the radio shows that constituted MOJO programming, the self-promotional advertisements that aired regularly between scheduled programs, and the commercial advertisements that ran on MOJO. The results illustrate how the complementarity of programming, promotional material, and commercial advertising served to construct a celebratory sense of traditional masculinity, and, in turn, to construct the station's airwaves as a representational, if not tangible, social arena in which men could revel in hypermasculine rhetoric.

Theme 1: Unapologetic Hypermasculinity

The content of MOJO radio constituted, and was constitutive of, a social reclamation project characterized by men's reassertion of traditional masculinity and the demarcation of specific gender boundaries. MOJO radio was a site at which men could unabashedly express (hyper) manhood in an environment free from guilt or social constraints. MOJO radio ran regular self-promoting spots during commercial breaks that reflected and reinforced the self-constructed cultural identity of the station. This collective identity was defined by the triumphant return of males, communicated through tag lines such as "MOJO 730, Talk Radio for Guys," and "Guys Are Back," and jingles that included lyrics like "I am a man, I am what I am, I am a man." These types of promotional statements served to establish the appropriate gender norms in which to comfortably situate the men-first focus of MOJO programming. At the same time, the content of MOJO radio begged an important question regarding the focus and format of the station: If guys had indeed come "back" to reclaim their dominant position with in the gender structure of Canadian (or Western) culture, from where had they returned? The political implications of this question and its instigating statement are markedly increased given that the return of men was never questioned or discussed meaningfully as part of MOJO radio content. Moreover, promotional statements like "Guys Are Back" created an adversarial gender stance, positioning, and perhaps uniting, men against "the Others" (women, politics, society, etc.) that had previously driven them away.

An important distinction emerged through the analysis of MOJO radio, one that became central to the formation and representation of unapologetic masculinity--namely, the difference between men and guys. Promotional material used the terms man or men on occasion, but much more regularly and actively employed the terms guy or guys as, presumably, a more appropriately descriptive term of the typical MOJO listener, the station's targeted demographic, and the culture of the station's content. The understanding of guys as a regressive term appeared to be intentional, serving not only to reduce the formality of MOJO content, but to suggest a return to the essentially pleasurable, and previously denied activities of masculinity, as this regular promotional piece showed:

Male narrator: Ah, there's women, there's sports. I could give you lots of reasons. But isn't it just great being a guy? And you have beer, and you're sitting around on a Sunday in your gotch [sic]. I could go on and on. It's just great being a guy.

Female voice: [Exasperated tone] Oh brother!

Female announcer: This is talk radio for guys. MOJO radio.

This example illustrates the type of masculine revelry constructed through MOJO culture, specifically, the masculinity of being a guy, not a man. Whereas traditional manhood may include notions of social responsibility or breadwinning--stereotypical constructions in their own right--"guy-ness" or the act of being a guy, appeared to abdicate males from social obligations so they could return to traditional male pleasures, such as drinking beer and lounging. The disapproving female gaze and her rejection of "the guy" and his masculine revelry provides less than subtle irony in this promotional piece. As further analysis will demonstrate, this recurring, ubiquitous, and often anonymous female character has implications for the social construction of a gender binary within MOJO culture, in addition to representing the dilemma faced by men in their quest to simultaneously celebrate manhood while negotiating social and sexual relations with women.

The gender dynamic of men negotiating or aggressively asserting their masculine space in the face of social constraints was regularly played out during live radio broadcasts on MOJO as well. Male broadcasters often used the format and the supportive male culture of the on-air broadcast to reassert their masculine and sexualized focus, often leaving female broadcasters with a difficult choice: either play along with the joke (and be welcomed as one who was hip to the male culture) or endure relegation as a woman who did not understand traditional masculinity and was attempting to force her constraining disapproval on men. In other cases, such as the following example from The Jesse Dylan Show, female broadcasters were sexualized and in turn (sarcastically) criticized for both demonstrating and protecting their sexual identities.

Jesse Dylan: Claudine [female cohost] is not here today. She's gone down to Los Angeles to be with her love. Apparently, the man of her life left her for a career in L.A., she's gone to see if they can't put it back on the rails and we wish her all the best, we really do. Because God knows, it's difficult trying to--as handsome as Chris and I are ...

Chris [cohost]: One day, I'm gonna snap! I'm gonna lose it!

This male--female DJ dynamic was also present on Bill Courage although not played out in such an adversarial fashion when compared to The Jesse Dylan Show. On Bill Courage, the male host and his female cohost engaged in more egalitarian dialogue or friendly banter, often covering 10 minutes or more of live radio. Often, the topics of conversation and the relations between the two personalities suggested a genuine fondness and a mutual respect. At the same time, however, during all of the coverage analyzed in this study, the cohost of Bill Courage was referred to on five separate occasions in terms of her heterosexual attractiveness (i.e., a hot blond) whereas Courage himself was never described in reference to his physical attractiveness.

The only other female broadcaster who enjoyed significant air time during the course of the study was also a journalist for a local commercial newspaper for whom she penned a social column well known for its often titillating descriptions of the social exploits of young people around town. In a clearly related manner, her work on MOJO, both as a guest host and as the host of Women on Men, engaged a voyeuristic sensibility wherein men could acquire dating tips to improve their own social and sexual performance, phone the station to talk to women about relationships and sex, or, as the name of the program suggested, simply be aroused by listening to women talk about dating and sex.

Theme 2: Men, Women, and the Gender Binary

Closely tied to the unapologetic masculinity of the MOJO radio culture was the way in which programming consistently worked to position traditional masculinity in opposition to femininity. The hypermasculine form constructed through the MOJO experience was reinforced not only through the celebration of the quintessential qualities of manhood, but also through consistent and socially structured reminders of what men are not.

For example, a MOJO promotional spot entitled "Guys What Sound Like Chicks [sic]" aired 11 times during the study and employed gender- and race-based humor to claim and reinforce differences between men and women based on the sound of their voices. In the spot, a male narrator employing a thick working-class, European immigrant accent comments, in an unbelievable fashion, that the feminine voice heard singing "O Holy Night" is that of a male, or more accurately, a guy.

Man: And now MOJO radio presents "Guys What Sound Like Chicks." OK, let's roll the tape.

[Voice singing "O Holy Night."]

Man: That's a guy! Yeah, that's a guy! Anyways, talk radio for guys, MOJO radio. Can you believe that's a guy!? OK, he's a kid, but he's a guy kid! What?

Female announcer: Talk radio for guys. MOJO radio. The all new AM 730.

Clearly, this piece was intended to be humorous (discussed further later both in terms of the narrator's ignorant surprise to an operatic falsetto as well as the gender-bending quality of a male singing in a high voice. However, in terms of gender construction, the promo also serves to create a baseline of normativity. The promo is only funny and meaningful if one understands that men possess low voices and women high voices. It is the creation of a gender binary that provides the ingredients for this juxtaposition and, more generally, serves as the gendered backdrop for much of MOJO's on-air content.

Theme 3: Commercial Manhood

This study also considered how the advertising and marketing of products and services influenced, or were influenced by, the declaration of masculine airspace on MOJO radio. Not surprisingly, the results showed that, with few notable exceptions, commercial advertising on MOJO aligned with the hypermasculinity celebrated in the station's promotions and programs. For example, an advertisement for a brand of chicken ran seven times during the study with the tag line "When not just any cock'll do." This style of overt sexual innuendo fit within the cultural understandings of the station content and seemingly served two purposes: One, to celebrate the loosening of political correctness required to make this type of advertisement appropriate, and two, to position the product as hip, evidenced by its acceptance and support of the "rebirth" of masculine culture.

Another example of the mixing of gender and sex in advertising on MOJO featured a cable hockey network. In this advertisement, the male narrator of the commercial speaks to a woman on the phone to make plans for a date. Eventually, after several failed attempts to agree on a time, it becomes obvious that the man is unable to meet the woman given the overwhelming number of hockey games that are available on cable television. Eventually, the woman (whose voice is never heard during the spot) becomes frustrated and hangs up the phone, leaving the man to wallow in the consequences of his decision:

[Phone rings.]

Man: Hello? Oh, hi Natasha. Dinner? Your place? You know I'm there, baby. Ha! Next Thursday? Let me check, oh sorry, I can't. The following Wednesday? Nah, I got something on. Friday? Yeah, yeah Fri--no, I'm busy Friday.

Narrator: If you're a Canucks fan, consider your calendar filled. With 46 Canucks game, Rogers SportsNet Pacific is the home of hockey that matters.

Man: Wait, let me check December. Natasha? Hello?

This example also illustrates the continued celebration of oppositional masculinity in that the man is unwilling, or perhaps unable, to modify his relationship with hockey to cultivate a relationship with a woman. At the same time, the man's bewildered tone at the conclusion of the spot implies that he wishes to be with the woman--his incompetence is not a lack of desire--but hockey has to come first. This commercial not only aligned with MOJO sensibilities but also engaged other important themes in this analysis, namely the relation between traditional masculinity and sports, and the male pursuit of women.

Other regular commercial content on MOJO was less obtuse in its reproduction of hypermasculinity--such as advertisements for products like wedding engagement rings, tires, auto dealerships, financial management, sports gambling, and stereo equipment:

Narrator: Ever wonder what it would be like to have a real home theatre system? No, not one of those pathetic systems with tiny cubes for speakers and wimpy, weigh nothing amplifiers. I mean, a high-performance, killer system. Head into Speaker City and get into a truly great home theatre system. Speaker City. Expensive sound without the expense.

In another ad aimed at the typical male consumer, a local professional hockey player seemingly clears the way for a quick and easy automobile purchase.

Matt Cooke: Hi, I'm Matt Cooke from the Vancouver Canucks. With all the clutching and grabbing out of the way, it makes my job a lot easier. If you're looking for a new car or truck, and don't want to deal with the clutching and grabbing, go see my friends at Metro Motors.

Narrator: Metro Motors has year-end prices on all 2002 models.

Matt Cooke: Metro Motors. Three Blocks East of Coquitlam Centre in beautiful Port Coquitlam.

Jingle: Metro Motors! Our reputation rides with you!

Although not overt in their celebration of typical masculine behavior, these types of ads nonetheless implied traditional male activities based on the normative understandings of masculinity.

Still, there were notable exceptions to the celebratory masculine forms of advertising on MOJO radio. Several regular advertisements supported a position of social responsibility. For example, regular public service announcements ran on MOJO that encouraged listeners to donate blood, suggested regular eye exams to detect preventable eye conditions, and in one particularly self-reflexive message, MOJO radio identified itself as a member of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and invited listeners to write to the station to express their reactions, positive or negative, to the station's content. Overall, the message of social responsibility that aired most regularly on MOJO centered on the importance of responsible alcohol consumption:

Man: Excuse me. I'd like to make a toast, to my wife. Joyce, ahhh, it's hard to believe. Twenty years! In fact, when I look at you seated here amongst all our family and friends, I have to say you look as beautiful now as you did on our wedding day.

Woman: Martin! I'm over here.

Narrator: A little alcohol can affect you more than you think. Remember, plan a safe ride home before you go out. Drinking Driving Counterattack. A message from the broadcasters of BC.

It is important to note that advertisements that could be described as socially responsible ran, on average, one to two times during a half-hour segment, a small component of the 10 to 12 ads that typically ran during that time. Still, this example demonstrates some measure of social responsibility within the commercial format and cultural sensitivities of MOJO radio.

Theme 4: Masculinity and Spectator Sports

Not surprisingly, MOJO cultivated a strong link between traditional masculinity and spectator sports. This relation was manifest in several forms. First, during local newscasts, which took place on an hourly basis during The Jesse Dylan Show and Bill Courage, nearly half of the time dedicated to the total newscast was devoted to sports coverage. Sports that regularly and repeatedly received coverage included male professional North American sports, specifically "the big four" of the National Hockey League, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball. Local sports were reported first--an indication of newsworthiness--only if the story focused on the Vancouver Canucks, the local NHL team that generally dominates commercial sports media coverage in Vancouver.

However, beyond the presence of sport on MOJO and the implied linkages between masculinity and sport culture, there was also clear evidence that sport coverage on MOJO served to support traditional notions of masculinity. For example, during Giants hockey broadcasts, MOJO would hold a contest during power plays (the instance during a hockey game when one team is penalized and the other team has more skaters on the ice) in which a fan drawn at random was eligible to win a cash prize if the Giants scored. Although not an uncommon activity during hockey broadcasts, MOJO's power play contest was named the Kal Tire Man Advantage, illustrating not only the commercial links among masculinity, hockey, and traditional male products, but also subtly reinforcing the unapologetic celebration of patriarchy that defined the MOJO format. Although the extent to which the naming of the contest was intentionally used as a tool to assert hegemonic masculinity is open to debate, the fact remains that of all the names available for this contest, MOJO chose one that actively celebrated male dominance.

Although it is impossible to know for certain, it is reasonable to suggest that sports that did not align with traditionally male meanings and understandings of sport would not have been afforded significant coverage on MOJO. The results do indicate that nearly every instance of sports reporting captured within this study featured men playing sports; men broadcasting and analyzing sports; and the coverage of sports, such as hockey, that represented traditional, aggressive, invasive team sports. The exceptions occurred on 12 occasions, when a female newsreader either reported sports scores or provided sports updates as part of a news broadcast. There appeared to be no legitimate social space for nontraditional sport or sport for, or played by, women.

Theme 5: Sex and the Pursuit of Women

The pursuit of women by men--a theme underlying much of MOJO's programming--ranged from the voyeuristic, characterized by men listening in on female conversations or analyzing female psychology, to the instructive, in which information was offered by "experts" to better prepare men for the successful pursuit of women and sex. Inherent in this theme was the reproduction of a gender binary in which the male MOJO listener was understood to be detached from women, to such an extent that further information was required for him to understand and better relate to females. In other words, these types of promotional tools assumed an inability of men to "understand" women, which presented a serious problem for MOJO listeners, not in terms of establishing a mutual respect with women, but to satisfy their sexual desires.

An example of this theme was discerned from a promotional segment, one that recurred on a daily basis throughout the analysis, entitled "Ask a MOJO Model." This spot involved female voices, assumed to be the voices of attractive MOJO models, answering questions provided by a male voiceover. However, it is important to note that the male voice had clearly been overdubbed after the recording of the models' responses, to provide a humorous cooptation of the women's answers, often based on sexual innuendoes and suggestive references.

Female narrator: It's time to ask a MOJO model, brought to you by Diva's Den, the salon.

Male: OK, so what do you fantasize about, hmmm? Y' know, when you're not the subject of a fantasy, er, yourself. What would that be?

Model 1 : I'll say absolute romance.

Male: [Sarcastic tone] Romance!

Model 1 : Something out of Blue Lagoon.

In this example, and each instance of "Ask a MOJO Model," the male narrator was clearly excited to gain insight into the models' psyche and desires, even though the "dialogue" was simply his reaction to the model's monologue. Further, this spot created an antagonistic dynamic through which the narrator could celebrate his good fortune in being close to attractive women but could not participate in an actual dialogue, leaving him with limited social tools, such as sarcasm, with which to engage the models. Thus, although the spot was portrayed as a vehicle to provide men with useful information about women, the sarcastic humor injected into the promo served to construct attractive (in heterosexually normative terms) women as socially distant or, with respect to sexual pursuit, unattainable, to the extent that the male narrator was left to hijack the conversations to fulfill his voyeuristic desires.

These types of promotional spots were often contradictory or illogical when considered as a whole. On the one hand, the culture of MOJO appeared to promote an unapologetic reveling in traditional masculinity and the need to reclaim cultural space presumably lost through women's successful rejections of patriarchal structures. At the same time, these statements were often juxtaposed with the constant male desire to attract women, or, in some cases, to conquer or be conquered by them. The following promotional spot, in which a male narrator claims his defiance in the face of pressure to relinquish patriarchal control, only to end up submitting (or humiliated) before a dominatrix, ran almost daily.

Man: When it comes to women, their demands, their needs, the things they say and do, a guy will never sacrifice his pride or dignity. Integrity, that's everything. Compromise our guyness? Play the role of subservient? Never.

[Music interrupts.]

Woman: Shut up and bark like a dog!

Man: Ruff.

Woman: Bark, bark!

Man: Ruff, ruff.

Woman: A big dog!

Man: RUFF!

Female announcer: Vancouver's only talk radio for guys. MOJO Radio. The all new AM 730.

The result of this promo is a muddied male character who seemingly cannot make up his mind about whether to dominate or be dominated by women, further implying that a partnership with a woman based on respect is not a viable alternative.

At the same time, the pursuit of women was also manifest in a more straightforward manner. In these instances, MOJO programming included attempts to provide men with the required tools to meet and have successful (sexual) relationships with women. One promotional piece provided men with tips on how to meet women, including when to approach a woman for the first time, appropriate language to use, and positive grooming techniques. Although this seemed to imply the possibility of more meaningful or progressive relationships with women as compared to "Ask a MOJO Model," it is important to note that this promotional spot ran just once over the course of the study whereas "Ask a MOJO Model" ran on a daily basis and on most days, several times a day.

The male pursuit of women featured prominently in regular MOJO programming as well. Although the topic was discussed occasionally on both The Jesse Dylan Show and Bill Courage, this pursuit theme was the primary focus of Women on Men, a program aimed at meeting the needs of men in their pursuit role. Interestingly, the host of Women on Men spent one of the weeks in the study as the guest host of Bill Courage and often her pursuit topic would carry over to the show as she hosted. For example, in the week that this personality sat in as the host of Bill Courage, her question of the day--a tool used to frame the daily discussion topic and to motivate listeners to phone in to the show--ranged from the best way "to melt a woman's heart" to the biggest turn-ons and turn-offs during a romantic relationship.

The most overt example of the pursuit theme, however, occurred during Tom Leykis, which took the male drive for sex, and the female relations embedded therein, to its misogynistic extreme. Loyal listeners of Tom Leykis claimed to follow "Leykis 101," the host's "rules" for encounters with women, anchored in overtly sexist and patriarchal social interpretations. In the culture of Tom Leykis, women were tolerated if they were willing to engage in sex, but with the understanding that they each had an "expiry date," presumably linked to age (i.e., older women lose their sex appeal) or tied to the pressure to commit that "forces" a man to leave the relationship. In this sense, Tom Leykis represented a paradox of masculinity by condemning but also celebrating or deriving pleasure from the traditional notion of the male as socially dysfunctional, incapable of meaningful relationships, and consistently suspicious of women as predators of men's personal space and social authority.

Theme 6: Marginalizing Masculinities: Sexuality and Race

The construction and celebration of hegemonic masculinity produced through MOJO Radio included exclusive notions of sexuality and race that, although not clearly constructed in terms of a binary, were nonetheless present in promotional material and program content. One example was a promotional spot that aired regularly (six times) on MOJO over the course of the study entitled "Scary Facts" in which a male voice described "things that are kind of scary." The voice was clearly male but feminized in such a way as to denote a stereotypically gay identity. It is important to note that this was not a regular occurring spot on MOJO over the span of the study and did not recur with near the same frequency as, for example, "Ask a MOJO Model." However, it was an important promotional tool in that it served to reinforce and reconstruct the oppositional nature of masculinity, this time with respect to femininity, homosexuality, or alternative social understandings of manhood.

Although the oppositional nature of masculinity and homosexuality was clear, if not frequently projected through MOJO content, even further below the cultural surface of the radio station were notions of race. The Jesse Dylan Show employed a regular ethnic character, Ramesh, to pose as a dissatisfied retail customer and make phone calls complaining to customer service agents while the rest of The Jesse Dylan Show on-air crew, and MOJO listeners, followed along. Key to Ramesh's character was his thick Indo-Canadian accent and his relentless tirades against the people and products that failed to meet his expectations.

Another more malicious use of ethnic humor took place during the news and sportscast of The Jesse Dylan Show. In this bit, the coanchors discussed the merits of using Western constructs of gender to embarrass and subsequently expose potential terrorists and supporters of the Taliban, an idea based on an Australian model. Although this antiterrorist tirade was not representative of regular MOJO content, it does show how race was embedded or intertwined with notions of gender to contribute to a racialized sense of hegemonic masculinity within the culture of MOJO. Notions of sexuality, and the oppositional positioning of gay identity in pieces like "Scary Facts" also worked to constrain and normalize the social construction of the MOJO guy.

Theme 7: Contradictions Within MOJO Culture

The gender codes generally promoted on MOJO were, on occasion, contradicted by content or programming that displayed a heightened sense of critical awareness or cultural sensitivity. This type of sensitivity was not a critical self-reflexivity in which the practices of MOJO Radio were analyzed or opposed, but rather manifest in the discussion of social issues that ranged beyond the celebration of hypermasculinity. For example, one week of Scruff Connors-Nationwide featured a guest host whose topics for discussion strayed from the traditional MOJO format toward content including national politics, environmental responsibility and activism, and philosophical discussions of Canadian identity. Guests included a Canadian actor and playwright, and an author and journalist who had covered environmental issues surrounding natural gas extraction in Alberta. Still, even within this more sensitive culture of talk radio, there was evidence of gender boundaries being demarcated. For example, when signing off or leading to commercial breaks the host would remind listeners to return to the program by using the phrase "Come back to me brothers." Sexual double entendres were a popular gender tool for this host as well.

The Phil Hendrie Show also provided an interesting example of the contradictory messages found within MOJO Radio content. This popular U.S. talk show rebroadcast by MOJO combined an odd mix of low-brow comedy and mockumentary impressionism as well as satiric discussions of the social issues of the day. Hendrie, a host of impressive vocal talents, would consistently create characters to draw attention to, and ultimately satirize a range of important issues, including the U.S. War on Terror.

When considered against the results of the study as a whole, The Phil Hendrie Show was difficult to reconcile. On the one hand, his critical sensibilities and independence from the male-female binary provided a fresh perspective within the MOJO culture of patriarchy. At the same time, the content of his program often relied on the types of sexual innuendoes and voyeuristic pursuits regularly featured in other MOJO programming, which seemingly served to confirm a place for The Phil Hendrie Show within the cultural confines of the station's format.

Discussion and Conclusion

The overarching finding of this study is that messages embedded in MOJO's on-air broadcasts reinforced and reproduced a hegemonic masculine power structure. This aligns with findings from previous studies regarding the production of masculinity in media targeting a young adult, heterosexual, and male demographic. More specifically, that a "return to traditional forms of manhood" was celebrated in a variety of ways on MOJO is consistent with work by authors like Messner et al. (2000), who described a televised manhood formula. For example, the findings reinforced the notion that (White) men were understood as voices of authority, and that hypermasculine sports (prioritizing aggression, violence, and sacrifice), combined with talk-show commentary about these sports, received a wealth of air time. This study also revealed that women are either absent, sexualized, or used as a template against which men can assert antifeminist or antifeminine rhetoric--a finding akin to those described in Messner et al.'s (2000) and Nylund's (2004) work. The focus on sex and the pursuit of women that was the basis for so many of MOJO's on-air discussions confirm what Hare-Mustin (1994) referred to as the "heterosexual male sexual drive discourse" (p. 24) and what Nylund (2004) referred to as an ideological justification for media contents that reinforce "women's subjugation as they become defined as existing solely for men's pleasure" (p. 146). The use of humor and parody around stereotypes associated with gay men and Indo-Canadian men found in this study is comparable to findings by authors like Dworkin and Wachs (1998), who, in their work of media, race, and sexuality, described how the identities of gay athletes and African American athletes were commonly marginalized and presumed "deviant" (i.e., deviating from a taken-for-granted set of societal and social norms). That is to say, in both cases, media messages were identified that reinforced a marginalized positioning for these social groups.

At the same time, a key finding of this study was not highlighted in previous research. Traditional masculinity, as it was promoted on MOJO, often focused on and portrayed pleasure-seeking, beer-consuming, couch-sitting, sports-watching guys as opposed to men who may more closely represent traditional notions of hegemonic masculinity mentioned earlier (power, success, independence). This celebration of an excess and pleasure-driven masculinity is not unexpected, however, given that MOJO sought to create a young, heterosexual male "audience commodity." In essence then, the promotion of a "consuming guy" serves the purposes of the most powerful men in media--the owners of the corporations that control radio stations. With this in mind, it is reasonable to suggest that the creation and maintenance of a radio station based on the celebration of masculine culture was, in many respects, a means to a profitable end. However, as Sparks (1992) argued in his study of masculinity and TSN referred to earlier, this sort of analysis, although likely accurate, is overly simplistic:

TSN's emphasis on a masculine network image and traditional men's

sports should not be idly dismissed as yet another instance of the

crass pursuit of media profits or the naive celebration of

masculinity, even though this may be tempting. Both explanations

fail to engage the political and economic issues which surround the

case.

Sparks's suggestion is even more incisive now, 14 years later. The production decisions of the commercial media not only hinge on the strategic importance of the audience commodity in terms of decision making, but the focus on building audiences tends to narrow the range of acceptable interpretations and production choices available to media producers (Darnell & Sparks, 2005; Sparks, 1992). In other words, when presented with an array of format options, media producers and managers tend to choose traditional and proven formats that present greater financial security and less risk. Further, the increasingly deregulated radio industry in Canada has not only paved the way for niche stations like MOJO Radio, but has also allowed a select few media conglomerates to begin monopolizing ownership of Canadian stations. It is not a stretch to argue that these developments reflect changes made in countries like the United States, where deregulation and other neoliberal-inspired developments have led to a slackening of content regulations and media ownership guidelines, creating a political economy in which a small number of media owners produce relatively homogenous programming--programming that increasingly features "politically incorrect" talk and sport radio formats that cater to White, middle-class men between 24 and 55 years of age (Nylund, 2004, p. 138; cf. Cook, 2001).

Similarly, it is notable that MOJO radio included a wealth of content produced in the United States, a finding that raises the issue of the Americanization of talk radio content (an issue discussed in depth by authors like Winter & Goldman, 1995), and also the need to account for how local context impacts the ways in which this U.S.-based content might be received in Canada. Although this specific issue is beyond the scope of this study's findings, it is suggested that Canada, although having a deserved reputation as being socially progressive on a number of levels, does possess a sport media culture that reveres, for example, the hypermasculinity of men's hockey--a sport with a long history of violent and abusive behavior clearly tied to hegemonic masculine power structures (Wilson, 2006). Dangerous hazing rituals and violence in nonsport settings by hockey players are part of a "boys will be boys" culture that exists around minor hockey, and sexual abuse of minor players by coaches, and violence against women by some hockey players--abuses that often go unreported, or result in a stigmatized accuser when reports are publicized--are but some examples that have been extensively examined in the work of Robinson (1998). Gillett, White, and Young (1999) similarly discussed the widespread popularity of politically incorrect Canadian hockey icon Don Cherry who coached the 1970s Boston Bruins NHL team (known for their tough and aggressive style of play). Cherry is featured as a hockey celebrity through his line of Rock'em, Sock'em videos that include extended segments with "best hockey fights" and "best bodychecks," and for years has been featured on a between-periods segment during CBC broadcasts of NHL games called Coach's Corner. It is reasonable to suggest that U.S.-based talk radio reaches some Canadian audiences who are seasoned by broadcasts of men's hockey, audiences potentially receptive to hypermasculine themes in the same way that Nylund (2004) found audiences to be receptive to The Jim Rome Show. In a similar way, Vancouver would be a receptive environment for the talk radio genre given the existence of long-running and popular talk and sports radio on CKNW, although there is no research that speaks to the gender-related messages offered on this particular station. It is worth noting in this context that MOJO has recently altered its format from a more broad-based "for men" programming model to one that is a largely sports talk (which also targets middle-class men aged 25-54, a demographic identified in a 2002 press release by Corus Entertainment). (4)

Two other points should be made regarding the potentially subversive utility of MOJO for audiences, potential that may or may not have impacted production decisions. First, as with Nylund's (2004) and Messner et al.'s (2000) work, there were moments in this research where traditional masculine codes were subverted through discussions about prosocial issues and through discussions with guests that would not be generally associated with a hypermasculine talk show format. Similarly, humor was sometimes used to challenge and satirize conservative understandings of social issues, akin in some respects to the progressive uses of humor identified in sitcoms like Coach and Home Improvement (see Hanke, 1998).

Second, the production of MOJO Radio speaks to the importance of social class in terms of understanding cultural productions and the ways in which individuals, and classes of individuals, engage with cultural forms in meaningful and pleasurable ways. That is to say, MOJO Radio may not have only represented a male escape from the social constraints of gendered political correctness, but may have also represented a form of class identity construction that is in opposition to the elitist dispositions associated with Canadian high culture and the traditional ruling class tastes. This point is akin to one made by British sociologist Paul Willis (1990) in his book Common Culture, who argued that common cultural activities (referring to everyday cultural activities of many lower and middle-class males, which may include spectator sports), although conventionally dismissed as nonlegitimate forms of cultures, should be taken as seriously (i.e., as legitimately) as high cultural activities. Other research has similarly suggested that these associations between class, taste, and culture--and the cultural struggles inherent to them--need to be accounted for when critiquing and interpreting activities like the "consumption" of radio messages (cf. Holt & Thompson, 2004).

in concluding this study, it is important to acknowledge that without research that focuses on what MOJO's audience members do within these moments of contradiction, or how they understand more traditional messages about masculinity, it is difficult to assertively speak about media impacts. However, it is reasonable to argue, based on the analysis of MOJO's content across various genres of programming--and given the preponderance of similar messages in television media described in studies referred to throughout this article--that messages supporting the need for a return to traditional manhood are offered to audiences intertextually, and for this reason are extremely powerful (Dewhirst & Sparks, 2003). This area of research would benefit from studies focused specifically on the ways in which texts about masculinity are interpreted--studies that are sensitive to the local and national contexts in which the messages are transmitted, and the social positioning of audiences. In conducting such future research, it would be crucial to acknowledge that definitions of dominant and marginal forms of masculinity will vary from country to country, and within national contexts, and that these labels are only guides for understanding masculine archetypes that exist, in the life worlds of men and boys, in complex and contradictory forms (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Moreover, and following the progressive work of media researcher and theorist Sut Jhally (1999) and antiviolence educator Jackson Katz, who designed the acclaimed teaching video and education guide entitled Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity, information about audience interpretations should be used to (a) inform media literacy programming aimed at young males and females; and (b) inform activist work by organizations like Canada's MediaWatch that aims to influence CRTC policy by promoting existing knowledge about relations among gender, violence, health, and media contents. The hope is that such work could play a role in inspiring critical thinking about the taken-for-granted production practices among those who disseminate images of hypermasculinity, and, in turn, aid in minimizing the potentially negative impacts of media messages that play a part in defining and reinforcing traditionally narrow codes of acceptable masculinity.

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Notes

(1) It is important to note, following the work of Beynon (2002) and Nylund (2004), that the "crisis of masculinity" should not be viewed as an exclusively contemporary phenomenon. In fact, and as Nylund stated (drawing on Beynon, 2002), "there are many historical periods when masculinity appeared to be in crisis" and that it could be argued that "crisis is constitutive of masculinity itself" (p. 164).

(2) Although some men have claimed a marginalized status because of changes in societal structures (e.g., affirmative action programs), this status would seem absurd to anyone perusing research on power relationships in the workplace (that tend to show White men inhabiting the upper rungs in employment hierarchies), or studies that compare incomes among men and women (cf. McKay, 1999).

(3) African American athletes are an example of a marginalized masculine identity because the successes of some of these athletes do not "trickle down" to other African American men; therefore, the relations of power are not interrupted despite the powerful and revered masculine personas of many celebrity sport stars (Connell, 1995).

(4) Shortly before this article went to press, MOJO radio again changed its format (on June 5, 2006) to one that emphasizes talk, traffic, and weather. Apparently, MOJO had difficulty competing with Vancouver station TEAM 1040, its more established rival in the all-sports genre in the Vancouver area.

Simon C. Darnell (M.A., University of British Columbia) is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Physical Education and Health at the University of Toronto. His research interests include sports media and marketing practices in Canada, as well as Canada's role in international sport development projects.

Brian Wilson (Ph.D., McMaster University) is an Associate Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia. His research interests include social inequality and media, and youth cultural studies.