Commercial advertising often employs stereotyping in order to connect with the intended audience and appeal to the widest possible demographic. The gender binary of male and female is one of the most popular audience segmentations, therefore gender provides an excellent example for the study of stereotypes. This study focuses on the portrayal of male stereotypes in advertising, and seeks to explore how stereotypes of masculinity are represented in androcentric advertising, and understand how these stereotypes are perceived by men. It uses a reception study and Stuart Hall’s (1996) theory of encoding/decoding to discuss the use of stereotypes with male University of Ottawa students, aged 18-25. Participants in the study suggest that the stereotypes portrayed in commercial advertising influence their masculinity in numerous ways, including, but not limited to, the way they dress and the way they act.

Thesis advisor: C. Patrick Proctor / Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / The increasing diversity of school-aged learners in the United States and the whiteness of the teacher demographic have contributed to renewed calls for the diversification of the K-12 teacher workforce, especially in recent years. Although some attention has been paid to similar issues in teacher education, the weightiness of this imperative is yet to be robustly addressed in the faculty composition and culture of teacher education programs at historically white institutions. More importantly, the pervasiveness of whiteness (not merely white bodies), and the normalcy of anti-Black misandry, have rendered Black males all but absent from teacher education classrooms—as both students and faculty. In many ways, Black males’ trajectory through the social, educational, and professional spheres of US society is replete with perceptions that they are fungible. This is evident in policies, actions, and everyday practices, including murder. Against this background, this practitioner research inquired into the experiences of five Black male doctoral student-instructors in teacher education at historically white institutions, using critical race methodology. Specifically, a BlackCrit Cultural Wealth Framework is used to gain insights into how these five Black male doctoral student-instructors navigated their experiences at the nexus of being Black, male, student, and instructor. Insights from this study reflect three themes evident in their experiences: 1) Tests: Spirit murder and the endemicity of anti-Blackness; 2) Tensions: Body, spirit, and soul work against neoliberal multiculturalism; and 3) Triumphs: Liberatory fantasy, futurities, and survivance. Together, these experiences had various meanings and messages for the Black male doctoral student-instructors to “Get Out.” There are multiple implications for Black males, teacher education, and higher education writ large, particularly regarding recruitment, retention, and persistence. Therefore, this dissertation has the potential to uniquely contribute to research, practice, and policy in various ways. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.