Magazines: Men's Health Representation

1) Why is Men's Health defined as a 'lifestyle magazine'?

 

It i defined as a lifestyle magazine because they ensure that they include things other than healthy topics for readers and include more topics concerning men.  

 

2) Why is advertising significant in helping to shape masculine identity?

 

Advertising helps inform the audience as to what they should wear, what they should buy and how they should look which helps shape the masculine identity. The magazine features high end products which the male readers see and perceive as masculine therefore they would go out  




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?

Joseph Gelfer looked at the Changing masculinity in advertising and Suggested that the way masculinity is represented in advertising is changing and he defined this through the 5 stages of masculinity.

Stuart Hall looked at the idea of media construction & constructing our own identity. The media has an extremely important role in constructing masculinity and what is expected of a man. However, new technology has allowed individuals to create and share their own content, meaning they are able to construct their own identities and subvert traditional stereotypes. For example, there are now many male makeup artists on YouTube and Instagram.

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?

Men's Health encourages it's readers to be active consumers who they have identified as a profitable target. An illustrative example of this trend is men’s increasing interest in fashion and personal products, as proved in a research conducted by Euromonitor International which shows that “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?

Men's Health uses any figures of shirtless men who have great physiques that helps endorse the importance of values linked to external beauty. And this is believed to contribute to the narcissistic culture. Men's Health try to encourage people to be healthy by doing so but at the same time unknowingly contributes to creating anxieties about their body in terms of age, strength, sexual performance and weight maintenance.   

6) What does the article suggest regarding the objectification of men?

The male body instrumentalized and it is also objectified and exposed to the reader’s gaze. “Men are increasingly and unapologetic-ally objectified, both in terms of erotic spectacle and as targets of advertising for products beyond cars and beer, including many items once thought to be marketed for women alone” (MacKinnon, 2003: 99).

 

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. The idea of meterosexuality was first defined by Mark Simpson, where he offered the idea that the meterosexual male is typically young, lives in an urban space and has a fairly high income. Meterosexual males are also considered to be more vain, and embrace the idea of narcissism and focusing on their appearance.

 

8) What representation of men in Men's Health is discussed in the section 'Homogenous bodies'?

This section highlights the fact that men are portrayed in Men's Health as males who have strength and power and strong physical feature to ensure the hetrosexuality of the readers. This reinforces dominant ideologies of masculinity in terms of physicality.

 

9) What are the conclusions drawn by the article with regards to the representation of masculinity in Men's Health?


Men's Health provide different representations of masculinity (new man, new lad, metrosexual). Also, compared to other magazines Men's Health provides better defines it's philosophy, and it's orientation towards health and fitness. The magazine provides reliable information and advice just like a Doctor would based on scientific and technical support.



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 Men's Health reinforces the idea of hyper masculinity because of the way the male models are represented however, they do subvert the idea by featuring older men which suggests that they are trying to reach a wider audience as well as trying to show the readers that they accepting and supportive of any aged male and no matter how they look.