Masculinity of Spies in Pop Culture

Hollywood/Pop Culture has created an image of what the life of an international spy is like through the ideals that a show or movie will present about masculinity. Many of the spies in these media outlets are men, usually found to be attractive by women, these men often engage in sexual activity with women who are associated with the antagonist of the story that they are a part of. Also, a stereotype of the international spy is that they are very savvy in the way they speak and the way they accomplish missions, they are very flashy and often take the dramatic route when accomplishing missions.

Arguably the most famous international spy is James Bond (portrayed here by Sean Connery) and Bond is widely known for his speak, cunning, and clever persona that allows him to finesse his way through conversation in order to gain an advantage and to also attract women and ultimately have sex with them. There have been multiple actors that have played the role of Bond in these movies and they all share the same characteristics of being attractive, British, and exceptional tacticians in action scenes.

Although James Bond is perceived as a realistic presentation of what a spy does, there are shows and other movies that take these stereotypes associated with spies and parody them. For example, the FX show Archer features super spy Sterling Archer that is a former college lacrosse player who is very smooth when it comes to dealing with women and also very good at being a spy while also consuming immense amounts of alcohol on and off the job. Archer appears to be very masculine because of his athletic background, top notch spy work, and his attractiveness perceived by women. The catch of the show is that Archer is the best spy in the world, at the most dysfunctional agency in the world that happens to be ran by his alcoholic mother. Archer is arrogant and knows that he is the best so he does not feel that he requires the work ethic other spies possess. This combination of arrogance and relaxed temperament leaves Archer in situations where he has to perform elaborate actions in order to bail him and other spies out of sticky situations. There are an infinite amount of instances where Archer puts his need to consume alcohol or have sex ahead of completing a mission and almost always results in his demise. Here is a trailer of Archer that accurately depicts who Sterling Archer is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnxP6NKavtg

As a result of spies being depicted as men who are outrageously promiscuous and unbelievably comfortable at being in high pressure situations these shows send a couple elements of masculinity. Men could watch these shows and get the impression that in order to get the best looking women you have to have some sort of occupation where there is an element of mystery and your life has to be put at risk. Also, it sets a standard of women that is almost unattainable for women to reach. Spies end up having sex with women who are seen to be exotic and foreign but also incredibly beautiful, sometimes even royalty. Overall, masculinity is fed with the ideas that one may have to live a very risky life, be good looking, and even play sports in order to achieve success or have sex with the most beautiful women in the world, setting unreasonable standards for the average man and woman alike.