Representation: notes
Applying media theories: Gauntlett, van Zoonen and bell hooks
Gauntlett: “Views of gender and sexuality, masculinity and femininity, identity and selfhood, are all in slow but steady processes of change and transformation.”
bell hooks: “normalised traumatisation”
She builds on Judith Butler’s work, agreeing that gender roles are constructed, not ‘natural’. In fact, she suggests that patriarchy (a male dominated society) indoctrinates people from an early age so “gender becomes a set of connotations that have become naturalised”.
This then results in “normalised traumatisation” – meaning the damage caused by these representations is simply accepted as part of society.
Van Zoonen: “sex role stereotypes”
She accepts that the media sexualises both men’s and women’s bodies but highlights key differences. The representation of women’s sexuality is generally submissive and disempowering. In contrast, representations of male sexuality are based on strength and power. This is particularly evident in Men’s Health magazine.
Representation in Men's Health: an academic analysis
‘The Representations Of Men Depicted In Men’s Health Magazine’ is an academic journal article by María del Mar Rubio-Hernández of the University of Sevilla.
It focuses on the American edition of the magazine but its findings also apply to the UK and other international editions.
- Advertising and consumerism is critical to masculine identity. The products advertised in Men’s Health say a huge amount about the representation of men – “men as consumers”.
- Masculinity is not fixed or natural but socially constructed and “subject to constant change”. It discusses the idea of the “metrosexual” male comfortable with grooming products, fashion and appearance.
- The magazine focuses on the male body and suggests it is one of the few aspects of masculinity still under men’s control. However, it does say that the representation of the male bodies featured in the magazine is largely fixed: “…young, muscular, healthy, sporty, successful, virile…”
1) Write an analysis of the media language choices on the cover of Men's Health - e.g. colour scheme, typography, language, photographic codes etc.
- Colour scheme- the blue is stereotypically connoted to be a masculine colour's which shows that the magazine is for targeted at men. The theme is mostly black, some hints of white and blue. on the front page.
- Typography is very bold on the front page.
- The language on the front page '#slay winter blue', the magazine on the front cover is highlighting that the magazine also talks about mental health issues.
- On the front page there is 'Gut Gone in 60 seconds' this could nee an intertextual reference to Vin Diesel's film.
- On the content page, the paragraph at the bottom right corner seems to suggest a sense of personal indentity, representation of the lifestyle is shown through 'greek island beach'. There is direct address, 'Sounds familiar?', 'Am I being hypocritical?'. They show the target audience which is educational middle class men 'Greek King'. There is a sense of non-traditional idea of masculinity which focuses on mental health not physical appearance.
2) Identify three specific aspects/conventions/important points (e.g. cover lines, colour scheme, use of text, image etc.) from each page of the CSP that you could refer to in a future exam. Explain why that particular aspect of the CSP is important - think about connotations, representations, audience pleasures, reception theory etc.
Front cover:
- The magazine is structured to help the male audience.
- Vin Diesel, the way he is dresses is very casual. He is presented in a way to make the audience feel like that they can look like that.This could mean there is insecurity created. Although it may seem positive.
- Cover line-self improvement as the audience may want to look like that so they have to have a diet plan.
- 'LOSE 8KG FAST!' these are very aggressive words.
- No reference to female. Men are seen to look goof for their own self.
- Magazine is a donor to help lifestyle. The hero is the reader. The villain supposedly is the unhealthy lifestyle.
Editor's Letter and contents page:
- There is a sense of fashion style that the magazine gives to the men.
- The website of the men's health is on the left bottom corner so this can help the audience research more about the magazine if they want to.
- They are highlighting why he is standing like that is because of his figure.
Feature - True Grit - 'The Marathon Man':
- The man in the big picture is the element of a father figure.
- The magazine is highlighting that magazine readers are here becoming much older audience.
3) Apply narrative theories to Men's Health - Todorov's equilibrium, Propp's character types, Barthes' action or enigma codes.
There is props theory used for this magazine. this magazine suggests that he men's health magazine is a donor to help the lifestyle of the audience. The hero is the reader the person who physically has a copy of the magazine. Th villain is supposedly the unhealthy lifestyle which the audience is trying to get rid off.
4) Read the cover lines and the Editor's Letter. Does Men's Health offer a cure for male insecurities or does it create male insecurity?
Men's health does suggest that there is a connotation of the cure for men's health this is connoted through the cover line, 'SLAY WINTER BLUES','Why social's going mental'. There is also a sense of male insecurities that are created in the cover line 'LOSE 8KGS FAST1', these are very harsh and it sounds like the magazine is demanding the audience to lose the weight.
5) How does the 'Marathon Man' feature page offer an example of Steve Neale's genre theory concerning 'repetition and difference'?
The difference could be that they are not using a stereotypical big muscular man but a fit older man. The similarity could be that they are both making more positive idea towards men about staying fit and healthy.
Representations
We have already covered many relevant theories in our work on Advertising and Marketing (for example, David Gauntlett's writing on Media, Gender and Identity). We now need to apply these theories and ideas to Men's Health and specifically the three pages from the Jan/Feb 2017 issue identified as our Close-Study Product.
Representations: applying theory
1) How can Gauntlett's ideas on masculinity, gender and identity be applied to the Men's Health CSP we have analysed?
Gauntlett's thoughts on manliness refers to the possibility that masculinity is changing. This hypothesis applies to the CSP, the Men's wellbeing magazine because of the way that the spread line , ' Slay winter blues' alludes to emotional well-being.
2) How could van Zoonen's work on feminist and gender theory be applied to Men's Health?
Liesbet Van Zoonen proposes that the media strengthens sex job generalizations, building sexual orientation jobs. She gives models fortifying sex-fitting practices and the utilization of digitally embellishing to change appearances.
3) How could bell hooks's work on 'corrosive masculinity' apply to Men's Health?
Women's activist essayist, Bell Hooks has featured the destructive, harming impact of dangerous manliness on the two people. She expands on Judith Butler's work, concurring that sex jobs are developed, not ' normal'.
Representations: academic analysis
Read these extracts from the journal article exploring the representation of masculinity in Men's Health magazine and answer the following questions:
1) Why is Men's Health defined as a 'lifestyle magazine'?
This ‘lifestyle’ term was conceived as a marketing strategy to grab men’s attention, since the magazines, which were not ‘lifestyle’ in the past.
2) Why is advertising significant in helping to shape masculine identity?
Advertisements perform as the perfect complement for the philosophy proposed by the magazine; while men are encouraged to work in private, they are expected to show the results of the time and money invested in their appearance in public. In Stevenson, Jackson and Brooks’ words, “men are encouraged to ‘work the body’ (in private) in order to be able to succeed in the (public) world of relationships and work”.
3) The article suggests that the representation of masculinity in Men's Health is not fixed or natural and is subject to constant change. What media theorists that we have studied previously can be linked to these ideas?
David Gauntlett's, 'masculinity is not in crisis'. Masculinity is not fixed nor natural,
but rather socially constructed, multiple, and, consequently, different depending on the culture,
time and place.
4) What does the article suggest Men's Health encourages its readers to be? What examples and statistics are provided to develop the idea of men as consumers?
The article is giving the suggestion that they want their audience to be active.“The global market for male grooming products grew by an impressive average annual rate of 5.7% between 1997-2005”5.
5) What representations of the male body can be found in Men's Health?
Exposure of the male anatomy, since it is openly exposed to the readers from front page to the back cover in order to be observed, admired, and consumed.
6) What does the article suggest regarding the objectification of men?
The article is objectifying the male body as an instrument and should be treated well.
7) What is 'metrosexuality' and how can it be applied to Men's Health?
The term "meterosexuality" refers to the idea of men being more aware of their physical appearance and also being extremely devoted to buying cosmetics and fashion products that will improve his appearance.
8) What representation of men in Men's Health is discussed in the section 'Homogenous bodies'?
Representation of men in the magazine can be analyzed in three different aspects: his physical appearance, his external look (in terms of style), and his lifestyle.
9) What are the conclusions drawn by the article with regards to the representation of masculinity in Men's Health?
Men's Health reinforces certain ideologies that are conventional of men's lifestyle magazines.
10) What is your own view of the representation of masculinity in Men's Health? Is it a positive representation that encourages men to the best they can be or is it a hypermasculine, consumer-driven representation designed to undermine men's confidence and objectify their bodies?
I think that masculinity in men's health is presented very traditional like some of the older magazines used to be.
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