How Wrong Are Researchers Getting Men?

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By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

The role of a man is seems to be changing greatly in our society. Pew Research reports that fewer men are not only going to college than women, but fewer men are seeing the value of a college education. And with women outnumbering males in population overall, and the past economic recession dealing a major blow to men in the workplace, advertisers and researchers are feverishly trying to feel the pulse in what's going on with today's dude. For some, the results are mixed.

Media Post's George Simpson believes that retailers taking the pulse of today's man are completely off. He still claims that men are not hard to figure out, and that questions that try to find out how and why men do the things they do are silly and over-analyzing. The points made are logical; we all know guys who pick one store over another not because they're going to be judged by their peers, but because the store on the way to Best Buy. We all know that man who refuses to buy something until what he's using is totally unusable or unacceptable to wear in public. But are those male principles still the norm?

It's debatable. There are pockets of groups trying to get in touch with the male psyche. On Twitter, there's the @GoodMenProject, which tries to show other men good examples of being the ideal man. The Art of Manliness blog is, well, pretty self-explanatory. AoM talks about typical male archetypes, to how to build your own wooden oar — you know, manly stuff. But these principles shouldn't take the place of the norm, either.

Earlier this year, AskMen.com came out with its Great Male Survey of 2011, which may or may not be the originator of Mr. Simpson's angst. The questions and answers reveal that there are remnants of both philosophies in the male culture. Yes, a plurality stated that they would dump their girlfriend if she got fat, but an overwhelming majority considered "sexting" as cheating, and that getting fitted for a custom-made suit is one thing every man should do at least once in their life.

So what's the point? It's true that advertisers and researchers do not have to search too deep into the male psyche. But for effective advertising and marketing, you would be worse off not searching at all.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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