Hyper Masculinity in Youth

Hyper Masculinity may be a term that I have just learned, bit when thinking back on it, it has been an idea instilled in my life since the time I was a child. The first example I can remember from my childhood was my superman underwear. From the time I was in 1^st grade I loved Superman and thought I needed to be just like him. Looking back now Superman wasn’t just masculine when he had his cap on, he was also masculine when he was in his “disguise” of Clark Kent. Clark had a cool job, was still large in stature, and got the girl. Why the creators of superman may have not intended it they were my first childhood memory of hyper masculinity. My second memory of hyper masculinity that I can remember form my childhood is also the one that sticks out most to me. Men are supposed to be tough and not afraid to fight so what would be better for young boys to learn that then box gloves for children?  Sockem Boppers is what I am referring to. According to their ad from 1997 “they’re more fun than a pillow fight”, this sounds perfect for boys, since boys aren’t supposed to have pillow fights anyways right? Those are two examples of hyper masculinity that I can remember from my childhood. Today I believe there are even more examples in he media than when I was a child. Some of those examples would include the recent rise in super hero movies and the recent popularity in sports like MMA.