Citizen watches have been advertised for years, and are notoriously a "male" brand. Their ad campaigns tended to be simplistic; there was the high adrenaline risk taker with the sports brand, or the James-Bond-larger-than-life gentleman with a classic wristwatch. But opening up the latest issue of Men's Health, I was surprised to see the latest angle on the campaign. Four words : Courage, Bravery, Determination......... and Sensitivity? The last statement may have seemed like the odd one out 20 or 30 years ago, yet it somehow fits in rather neatly in today's changing environment. Though it advertises watches, it captures perfectly the current metamorphosis of masculinity. More and more we see signs all around us that the notion of masculinity is changing. Powered by the drive of the 60's feminist movements, men have had to re-evaluate the female- role. However, re-evaluating femininity meant that they also had to reconsider their roles in society. It is only recently that men are finally starting to discover that it is not only women who are gendered. Feminism saw women consciously trying to come to terms with their own bodies and their gender roles. Male movements (Hommenism? Malenism?) are now trying to catch up their female counterparts in an effort to understand their new roles in society. Existing "hegemonic" models of masculinity are outdated and, as Connell points out, it is neither the most representative model, nor the most comfortable.

Indeed, when looking for a "comfortable" discourse of masculinity, most of the theoretical literature emphasises that we need to speak of "masculinities", rather than a singular masculinity (Connell, Mort). This comes about because you cannot make general assumptions based on sex differences alone. Having a penis is not the only criteria for being "masculine". Other characteristics that shape who we are and how we are represented include race, age, socio-economic background, education and sexual orientation. Connell goes on to argues that there is every reason to think men's gender identities and practices are likely to be internally divided because of these individual characteristics between males. For example, Poyting, Noble and Tabar point out the role of ethnicity as a determinant factor of masculinity. Ethnicity is not an add on to masculinity, and neither is masculinity an add on to ethnicity. Rather they are inseparable partners that determine gender construct.

Also important in understanding masculine discourse is that it is an ever changing tool for dealing with the male role. Masculinities are neither innate nor guided by social structure, and they can be modified to suit specific environments and social climates. The permeability of masculinity can be daunting to many. Not only is it possible for masculinity to change, it is changing, and men have to come to terms with this change. In the Rockport shoe ad campaign, Ru Paul claims he is comfortable being a man. He is not referring to the old notion of the "bread-winning, beer slugging, womanizing" male. The man he is referring to is the current changing notion of masculinity, one that encompasses many people's individual differences.

Feminist theory recognised the role of the body as a central part of our engendering. So too, men are slowly becoming aware of their own bodies. Male bodies are now consciously being trained, sculpted and pleasured. The media reflects these –if changes in their advertising and in their publications, such as fitness and lifestyle magazines, that are specifically targeted to a male audience. The media is starting to focus on the male body independent of the identity of the male. In this way, the male body is now becoming the object ofBerger's "gaze". And to meet up to this expectation, men are becoming more and more concerned about their bodies. Being "strong" doesn't cut it anymore. A man these days must be "sculpted" or "chiselled", with a slim waist and well defined "abs" and "pecs". Fitness equipment advertisement use this kind of language to promote males to create their own bodies to the accepted images.

This new awareness of the body has also lead to what Schofield identifies as men's health. This notion differentiates between male and female health problems. Males claim that men's health issues are not only in crisis, but are largely ignored. However, it is being counter-acted by making males aware of sex-specific health factors. The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is running a dramatic campaign for prostate cancer awareness, aimed very specifically at male readers (for obvious reasons). Male sentiments are played on very clearly; the ad proceeds to mention the seriousness of the illness, while making a point of telling the viewer that it is largely ignored and under-funded, compared to women's breast cancer (it does fail to mention that the Garvan institute is one of the leading breast cancer researchers in Australia). Obviously it is trying to appeal to an audience who is starting to become aware of their own sex related issues.

Publications like Men's Health also appeal to this new trend for males to create their bodies. This month's issue includes self awareness articles such as self analysis of the thyroid gland, while having it's monthly barrage of dietary and lifestyle health tips. No longer do we feel that we have to "feed the man meat", there is an analysis of what type of salads we should be picking from the salad bar ("rabbit food", in Schofield's terms).

Reforms on the notion of the male are also being pushed by individualism and commercialisation. Now that the young male is conscious of the representation of his own body, there is a vibrant new market being directed towards the consumption of this representation. Business is dying to know what it is that males want to buy, and specific market research is now common (there is as questionnaire in the middle of Men's Health, trying to deduce what lifestyles men are leading). Gone are the days of the three piece suit as the uniform for all males. Men no longer want to be part of the crowd, and they are willing to pay for their emancipation. Shopping is now just as much male territory as it is female territory. Men are starting to adopt those values that were considered feminine, such as leisure and pleasure and appearances. But they have only embarrassed these "feminine" points with hesitance, and within a male structure.

Let's examine one product that has only recently been widely acceptable to be used by males, moisturiser. Men's Health has got at least two articles that inform their viewers of the wonders of moisturiser for the skin. But to make it acceptable to the male readership, the cream must have "FOR MEN" put on it. It doesn't matter that the Nivea cream for men advertised on television is only a slight variation to the normal version.

There is a trend in beauty products that they must be specifically marked for men, so that they are enticed to buy. Looking through Coles last week, I noticed that there were two promotions for Palmolive body soap. There was the regular Palmolive product and there was one specifically for males. The former was peach colored and had Palmolive written in gentle calligraphy. The latter was army blue, with a block stencil "FOR MEN". The offer was that you also received an exfolliator with every purchase. Now, the exfolliator was identical in both packets, but the normal packet was labelled "with free loofah", while the men's bottle came with a "scrubbing glove". It seems that males have had to change the language of products to make them acceptable in the new discourse for masculinity.

Another male characteristic that is slowly starting to change is the ability for self disclosure. Mort states that "There's a sort of unspoken contract - a gentleman's agreement - to respect the niceties, not to break the rules. Sex and the personal are breaking the rules". In the Men's Health magazine, we see two examples where males are trying to break this barrier, with the "Ask Dave" and "Ask Men's Health" columns, both which are equivalents to Dolly-Doctor type columns. However, once again we see that there is a clear difference in the style when these things are addressed to a male audience. While the magazine maintains a very serious tone when speaking on how to tone up different muscle types, it turns personal situations into quasi comical. It isn't that the questions aren't answered, it is just that they are answered with a comical tone, or with jokes peppered between the "serious" stuff. The clearest example of this is the Dave column, were all the problems are reduced in one way or another to a certain type of drink. A man who is dating a younger woman (15 years younger) gets his situation compared to a gin martini. It seems as though certain emotive conversations and disclosure are yet unavailable in masculine discourse, and only slowly is it going to come into place. Masculinity doesn't allow for these subjects to be expressed, and must turn to humour to protect itself.

This is slowly changing. Television shows are now proposing male models that can speak a little more openly about their feelings. Ally McBeal's Billy spends some time in a "male counselling group", to try and unleash his "sensitive" side. Other masculine role models include Angel, Dawson from Dawson's Creek and Reilley from Buffy. While keeping their traditional "masculine" qualities, they are also embracing new sides, making their masculinity more rounded, rather than the unrealistic hegemonic ideal.

Another positive change in the male discourse is the role of the father in child rearing, and of single father issues. Going to "male rights" web sites, such a www.vix.com/menmag/ or www.manweb.com. one of the main points made is that there is a real need for men to come together and try to redefine their role as fathers. The sterile image of the male being purely the bread winner and leaving the kids to the wife is being smudged. Men's Health gives articles on how to "hold a baby like a pro". Also, there are more and more examples in the media of single fathers, or fathers taking traditional "mother" jobs. The latest Whiskas add shows a father preparing breakfast for his 3 children (and his cat!). The kids enter, eat and go to school, leaving the father alone with the cat. This change which seems so natural is nothing like the 50's nuclear family image, were the mother saw the kids and the husband off to work/school and was left to her own devices at home. Car advertising, a traditional masculine domain, is also changing. Instead of fast cars and women, the Volvo V7D5 is a people mover. The ad shows the father cheering his son in the pool, then driving off to his daughters football game just in time to watch her save a goal. Then he rushes off again to the pool. There is no mother proposed in this scenario. The message that this ad gives is that society is finally coming to grips with the father taking a more active role in his fatherhood. Father's are embracing this new challenge, and there are help groups being set up, such as fathersworld.com.

Masculinity and male discourse are morphing, though not in bounds and leaps, rather in tentative reaches to new unexplored territory. However, even though these changes is prompted by feminism, it doesn't herald that the new masculinity will help the feminine cause. Connell poses this question, and states that "Freedom of the new man may be the freedom to stand outside conventional masculinity, but it is the freedom to be without/above women, to go it alone like in the standard male romance. So it doesn't follow that the move now being made by young men are necessarily progressive for women". Yet it is vital for males to deal with their issues in their own terms.