The magazine I have chosen for analysis is an issue of Men’s Magazine for March 2010. The magazine conveys health tips and suggestions on one cover and on the other cover has tips for men’s style. 33 pages of the magazine cover style and 136 pages cover health, sex, relationships, fitness, and nutrition with about half the magazine having advertisements for a variety of products including cars, cologne, clothes, alcohol, and healthy foods. The audience that Men’s Health portrays to is straight men above 18 years old who can afford to purchase the products advertised and have enough free time to try the health and fitness tips given. The purpose of Men’s Health is to be a well rounded men’s magazine that covers what most women’s magazines are expected to cover like health, relationships, sex, and lifestyle. Men’s Health may be the best of the men’s magazines but it still has some hidden complexities including sexism and bias.
Looking through the magazine I see many advertisements for products and toiletries that show men as manly in either their poses or their appearance. An ad for Dove Men + Care body wash on page 33 shows a man wearing a cyclist’s outfit with the tagline “Be comfortable in your own skin.” Kirkham and Weller state in their case study of Clinique, “…colour plays an important role in gender differentiation…Those for men are mostly packaged in grey bottle or tubes, with the occasional muted blue”(GRCM, 268). In the Dove advertisement it shows the bottle in a dark blue tube with the word “men” in bold lettering so that it is distinguished from the women’s bottle of Dove. What is interesting is that the distinction is made so Dove can get sales towards men but most likely they use the same formula as they do for thei...
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...he March 2010 issue of Men’s Health and see a magazine about fitness, health, romance, and style directed towards men. After further inspection I have witnessed that there are further complexities that connect this magazine with still showing the hegemony of straight white men over women and minorities. Though it is less apparent like other magazines, for example Maxim and FHM, the complexities are still there with examples of gay window advertising, men versions of toiletries, and the complementary copy typically used by women’s magazines. This magazine looks to be a great example of how the modern has improved over what it used to be in the early 20th century but still lacks a complete look at all men’s lifestyles. It does improve over the magazines of that time but shows that we still have to do more to remove the sexism and minority bias that still exists today.
Before men’s magazines became a part of popular culture, this realm was dedicated to the female consumer, but in 1933 Esquire set out to change that stereotype. Kenon Breazeale’s purpose in writing ‘In Spire of Women’ is to make people understand that men’s magazines, specifically Esquire, promote a sexualized image of women solely for a man’s satisfaction. In doing so, Brezeale argues that Esquire contributed to the growth of the male consumer by making women an object of the male fetish that serves as only an annoyance to society. Breazeale is able to argue that Esquire is a rejection to the power of femininity by explaining how Esquire adapts to a consumer-based culture where it emphasizes the difference between masculinity and femininity and focuses on pin-ups of women.
Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the negative effects it has had on the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. What negative effects do the media have on male body image? When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience both physical insecurities and emotional issues related to body image. This paper will address these facets of the media’s negative
When Americans think of masculinity, they often see an unemotional, assertive, and muscular man. This identity is broadcast all over America and young boys and men are soaking it up like sponges. During the Super Bowl every year, companies display commercials that are intended to subconsciously show men how they’re supposed to carry themselves. For instance, in the Miller Lite commercial “Man card”, four friends are at a club when they see their friend sweet talking to a girl in the corner and they proceed to tell him to “Man up”. Also in the next clip the same 3 guys are playing football when they see the other guy riding a scooter and they proceed to tell him what he’s doing is “unmanly”.
... black packaging that depicts a man ever so chivalrously allowing a women to enter the protection of his manbrella. These products, while seemingly innocent, are constant reinforces of gender stereotypes. A choice between the Dude Wipes brand and the Playtex Wipe is not just about splitting consumers into male and female buyers. This process bears implications of what it means to fall under the category of the male box and the female box. These products reinforce the gender related characteristics that our society has labeled as masculine and feminine. Men are not to show compassion or empathy, and women are not to be tough, or in charge. Beyond the inappropriate societal reinforcement of gender norms, the products targeted at women are often more expensive then similar products aimed at a male consumer. In a world of blue and pink packaging, women loose every time.
Early feminist studies of gender often depicted the expression of masculinity as solely meant to subordinate women. Upon further research and understanding of gender and its role in society, gender theorists have realized that masculinity is not only a patriarchal regulation against women, but that it also has negative effects against men. Masculinity has different characteristics in different cultures, but masculinity in general presents a hierarchy of traits, with femininity as the lowest, least desirable trait. In American culture, masculinity is defined within multiple structures, such as race, class, and sexuality, where a man’s masculinity can be lessened by his traits as well as these identities. Often, normative expressions of masculinity
It clearly depicts characteristics of Craig’s men’s men and men’s women. Firstly, the commercial was aired during sports related shows, which a lot of men tend to watch. The lead male in the commercial was muscular and handsome, radiating clear masculinity. He is also has unchallenged freedom since he is not portrayed as being tied down to any responsibility. In addition, Craig states that, “On the other hand, the absence of women must not suggest homosexuality. Men’s men are clearly heterosexual.” His point is that even if there are no women in the commercial, there has to be a clear indicator that the men are not homosexuals. Indicators include that men in ads are heterosexuals are that more than two males are present and the men are introduced as brothers.
Throughout history, time has created and shaped the ideal type of men, while society chooses what it means to be a real man..The ideal real men needed to be strong, provider of his family, decision maker, economically, educationally, physically, and politically dominant (Myers). The difference between the masculinity of the 20th century and the 21st has changed significantly. The ideal men status in 1900’s was rich, educated, powerful, and successful. In today’s perspectives, men needs to be strong, tall, handsome, capable, and unemotional. The contrast of these two centuries are mostly about men’s social status and appearances. Before, it was all about what a man is capable of doing and how powerful he could be compared to today’s ideal,
Over time, the image of men has changed. This is due mostly to the relaxation of rigid stereotypical roles of the two genders. In different pieces of literature, however, men have been presented as the traditional dominate figure, the provider and rule maker or non-traditional figure that is almost useless and unimportant unless needed for sexual intercourse. This dramatic difference can either perpetuate the already existing stereotype or challenge it. Regardless of the differences, both seem to put men into a negative connotation.
What is it that makes a man a man? Is it testes, firm handshakes, the ability grow facial hair, physical strength, and being sports-minded?Hegemonic masculinity can be defined as the social and cultural expectation of what a male should be and how their power and dominance is sustained over women. Aside from hegemonic femininity, this standard places the focus more on a patriarchal social order but does pertain some focus into what a man’s appearance should consist of (Connell,
Men are feeling the malaise and unhappiness frequently, which means that a change will come in which men can feel as they belong to something that defines them as masculine, and are accepted for it. Evidence from our own history in America with both men and women changing the perceptions on the roles of their own gender have proven that in time progression will be made. The real question that is yet to be answered is; what new types of masculinities will arise, and when will they come?
In the essay “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body,” author and philosopher Susan Bordo discusses the history and current state of male representation in advertisements. While using her feminist background, Bordo compares and contrasts the aspects of how men and women are portrayed in the public eye. She claims that there has been a paradigm shift the media with the theory that not just women are being objectified in the public eye, but also men too. Since the mid-1970s, with the introduction of Calvin Klein commercials, men have started to become more dehumanized and regarded as sex symbols. In a similar fashion to how Bordo describes gender, race plays a similar role in the media. People of all different ethnicities and cultures are being categorized into an oversimplified and usually unfair image by the media over basic characteristics.
The portrayals of men in advertising began shifting towards a focus on sexual appeal in the 1980s, which is around the same that women in advertising were making this shift as well. According to Amy-Chinn, advertisements from 1985 conveyed the message that “men no longer just looked, they were also to be looked at” as seen in advertisements with men who were stripped down to their briefs (2). Additionally, advertisements like these were influencing society to view the male body “as an objectified commodity” (Mager and Helgeson 240). This shows how advertisements made an impact on societal views towards gender roles by portraying men as sex objects, similarly to women. By showcasing men and women in little clothing and provocative poses, advertisements influenced society to perceive men and women with more sexual
Who cares what people think about my body? For years, these words were almost exclusively uttered by men and self-secure people alike. However, with increasing societal pressures and expectations, abdominal muscles seem to be getting more attention than ever and male models seem to be just as highly coveted as women in the modeling industry. It seems that, the rise in men’s desire for a more masculine, defined body, in conjunction with the women’s desire for a man that has comparable beauty to the men they see in advertisements, come together to create revolutionized shift in the male body image. All these things seem to be true due to the exposure they get from social media. However, this is mere exposure; while in actuality male modeling advertisements has not significantly changed since the 1990s nor has societies view of the male body.
Men of the millennial age are trying to change the stereotype of men, and what better way of spreading the change then through the internet. Some popular posts on the internet regarding men are pictures of them wearing flower crowns, dressed in floral/pastel clothes or writing about their favorite Lush Bath bomb. These men are trying to change the way we associate hyper masculinity with being a real man, they’re letting other males know it’s okay to embrace their femininity. Although with all the articles and facts out there it still won’t change the minds of what a man is to most people. Keohane says, “Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change our minds…In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs” (1). The facts are the...
Most photos and titles draw in the male gaze, with female bodies half-naked paired with ‘Ladies love this!’. Pairing these particular items together creates an atmosphere which reinforces male expectations and norms to their audience. GQ, while appearing as a harmless fashion magazine, sends out a number of subconscious messages to their viewers of what it means to be a well-respected, successful male in today’s world. Gentlemen Quarterly, like many other magazines, implements the gender binary into its readers through its advertisements and articles.