The article addresses the representation of the formation of the male gender as a stereotype, through an analysis of documentaries and official newscasts of the Franco regime (1939-1975) contrasted with the images and discourses disseminated in magazines and manuals. Through an analysis of visual content, three of the axes that conditioned the normality of learning to be a man are presented: vigorous obedience, hypermasculinity as a physical utopia to be achieved, and self-control and vigilant care of the partner as the only behavior accepted. By visualizing how these axes were shown, a vital formative project is outlined that remained as the structural foundation of the Spanish theme.