An Australian publishing resource
* Home * News * Resources * Research * Leisure * About us * Jobs * Dates * Return to main index
| Guidomedia.com An Australian publishing resource * Home * News * Resources * Research * Leisure * About us * Jobs * Dates * Return to main index |
Our
other mags |
By Rebecca Thomson (2005) This paper will examine whether or not one can get a realistic insight into Australian men by looking at Australian men's lifestyle magazines. It will determine whether or not these magazines realistically represent the men who read them, it will pay specific attention to Men's Health, GQ and Ralph magazines. It will take into consideration the content including the covers, advertising and editorials, the way these magazines portray masculinity and what has happened in order for these magazines to become so popular. The history of men's magazines will be looked at and as well as what has changed within society for men's magazines to become as accepted as they now. It will look at the way masculinity is represented in these magazines and whether or not this is an accurate representation and what caused such an interest in men's lifestyle magazines. A great deal can be said about the reader of particular magazines by looking at the content of the magazine. This is not to say that all men who read a particular magazine are the same or that the magazine is a direct representation of them; however it does create insight into a man's interests and spending habits, which our capitalist society places a significant amount of emphasis on. The three magazines to be looked closely at here have been chosen because they are popular and seem to be directed at different types of men. Just as women's magazines can all be said to target different types of women, it too can be said of men's magazines. Ralph describes itself as providing men with “adventure, sport, fashion, travel, music, boy's toys, beautiful women or life's essential how tos, Ralph provides an environment that is purely Australian. Ralph packages together a special blend of must-know Secret Men's Business that provides an insight into the Australian male” . Ralph says its readers compare their magazine like “a conversation with one of their mates” . GQ describes its magazine as being “the essential style guide for modern men. From grooming tips to fashion details, seductive menus to great travel ideas and the latest bars in which to drink and be seen.” According to them, GQ is 'indispensable' to the modern man. While the motto for the Men's Health magazine is “Heaps of useful stuff” . It seems that even before looking at the content, a great deal can be said about these three magazines by looking at how they try to appeal to their readers. Ralph approaches its readers as the magazine for good Aussie blokes who enjoy sport, drinking, women, sex and looking after their appearance. GQ seems to attract its readers by using a more sophisticated approach, it is for successful men who care about their appearance, are interested in women, they can afford to travel and have a good time at the trendiest bars with their mates because they are so stylish (after having read the magazine!). Finally, Men's Health aims to appeal to men who not only care about their appearance but take pride in their bodies as well. They are interested in working out, sex, women, traveling and enjoying time with their mates. If we look to some of the latest covers of these three magazines, it can be seen that the brief summaries above are correct. The May 2005 issue of Ralph has headlines that imply the issue is filled with sex, sport, travel, humour, idiotic behaviour, women, it contains features on firefighters and Carmen Electra. It would seem from this cover that the males reading this particular magazine are typical young 'Aussie blokes' who are interested in what it is this magazine has to offer. It is clearly for the young, heterosexual male, there is no mistaking that, as the cover girl is dressed in underwear with what the cover describes as her wearing a 'bra made by NASA'. This magazine poses no threat to men, they can buy for the women and stay for the fashion and grooming tips, they have no reason to feel less of a man for buying it, yet they can still say to their girlfriends, sisters, mothers that they buy it for the fashion. Mark Dapin, who was once the editor-in-chief at Ralph magazine and who wrote 'Sex and Money: How I lived, breathed, read, wrote, loved, hated, dreamed and drank men's magazines' says of this: “Men's lifestyle magazines have to be fashionable, and they have to contain fashion - whether the readers like it or not. The fashion in men's magazines legitimises the glamour. It allows men to say to their girlfriends, 'My magazine's the same as yours. I only buy it for the, er, clothes'. It also forces the magazine to look good, to look trendy, to look young, because fashion changes every season. Without fashion editorial, there is no fashion advertising, and without fashion advertising, there is no fragrance advertising, and without fashion and fragrance advertising, there is not much left for men's magazines apart from tinea creams and escort services” . Dapin sums up Ralph magazine so well, whatever reason the readers are interested in this magazine Ralph allows them to be 'manly' about it. This manliness will be considered later, as the construction of masculinity is explored further. The winter issue of GQ is marketed as the 'sports issue', its cover suggests it will contain winter fashion, plenty of sport, travel, women, sex and a fashion spread using some of the biggest names in Australian sport. This cover differs from the cover of Ralph as there is a man on the cover, AFL 'legend' as they introduce him, Paul Licuria. It is interesting that there is a man on the cover of this magazine; it does suggest quite an amount of information about its readers, especially if we compare GQ to Ralph. There is absolutely nothing sexual about the cover of GQ; however Ralph's cover was indeed very sexual. The cover man of GQ is looking and facing directly at the camera and is fully clothed in highly fashionable gear. This portrays GQ's image, it is a fashionable magazine, that offers men tips on how to be a modern man, this includes being able to look at other men in an asexual way. It suggests that the men reading GQ are comfortable with their sexuality and do not need a half naked woman on the cover of a magazine in order for them to buy it. It is indeed for the modern man, as what GQ is trying to emphasis is that modern men are allowed and should be confident to look at other men, and say, 'nice shirt', just as women do with their magazines. The majority of women's magazines have women on the covers and women do not seem to feel ashamed or embarrassed about this, GQ is saying that neither should men. Tim Edwards, the author of 'Men in the Mirror: Men's fashion, masculinity and consumer society', acknowledges this in his book and says: “At least some male narcissism is now socially approved” .No longer is it unacceptable for men to take great pride in their appearance and look to other men for inspiration, society is leveling out the sexes and it was once thought that caring for one's appearance was once considered feminine, now it is socially accepted for men to buy and read men's magazines and be consumers in their own right. By looking at the cover of the May 2005 issue of Men's Health magazine you can get a good impression of the content of the magazine and what and who it represents. It is a magazine targeted for men who care about their body and its physical condition as well as style. Five of the eight cover headlines are connected with body image, Get Big Arms, as well as Drop 5 Kilos Fast, while the others are concerned with sex, dealing with hangovers, and a holiday competition, this all gives one the idea that the men who buy and read Men's Health are interested in their bodies, looking good, drinking with their mates, traveling and sex. This all sounds like a modern man, and what's more is the cover of this magazine also has a male, this male being Hollywood movie star Matthew McConaughey, who among other things is famous for his body, he is however fully clothed for this cover shoot. It is very fitting that a magazine that has so much to do with men's physical appearance more so than his fashion or style sense has a well off, popular, heterosexual male on its cover. This, like GQ allows men to look and appreciate men, one factor that seems to constitute a modern man. The issue is not as concerned with style and fashion as GQ but instead has a vast amount of articles on fitness, sport and physical appearance and has articles on women, not only does this magazine contain images of women half naked and trying to look appealing to men, but it also has articles on how to understand and please women. This magazine not only contains women to make men feel 'manly' about reading it, it contains women so that men can understand them better, a very modern way of thinking. These three magazines that have been looked at are different from each other but at the same time, similar. They are appealing to different types of male readers, they may each have something different that they focus on but primarily they are doing similar things when it comes to masculinity and consumerism. Although magazines aimed at men have been around for some time, it is the way men's magazines have changed that is of interest. The content of today's men's magazines is of particular interest and the way masculinity is represented in the different types of men's magazines There have been sports and car magazines around for a long time, even men's lifestyle magazines, but today these magazines represent men in a different way, it represents a different man, a modern man. Having looked at Ralph, GQ and Men's Health an idea of what it is this man entails has been explored. This man is interested in women, looking at them, pleasing them and appealing to them, he is interested in his career, fashion, going out, drinking, sport, travel, sex, his body, but what is of most interest is; he is not afraid of these things, he can look at men and admire men without feeling threatened or feeling embarrassed about it. He is confident in looking at fashion without feeling like less of a man, these magazines encourage men that these activities are what make the modern man, and it is no surprise then, that what makes the modern man so is consumerism. For if Ralph, GQ and Men's Health encourage men to be interested in fashion, style, their bodies, they are going to be spending their money looking good, be that in their clothes, shoes, car, or having a good body or the latest technology, these magazines encourage this type of behaviour, as women's have for years. It is no surprise that this has happened as we live in a capitalist society. What is interesting is how there became this market for men, as it previously it didn't exist to the extent it currently does. There is evidence and arguments claiming that the women's rights movement changed the way men live. This is interesting and to a degree correct, as it forced men to change the way they thought about women, no longer did women allow men to be the most important and valued sex, women now are as equal as men and men needed to adjust. Not only this, but by evening out the value of the sexes it had made room for masculinity to change along with femininity. Ross Laurie who wrote 'Fantasy Worlds: The Depiction of Women and the Mating Game in Men's Magazines in the 1950s', says in regard to masculinity changing due to the women's movements that: “Changes in both gender politics and media production since the 1950s have been far-reaching and profound. The insights of 'second-wave' feminism, gay liberation and even the nascent 'men's liberation' movement have brought questions of gender and sexuality to the forefront of public discussion and academic scrutiny. Such questioning has led to what Raymond Evans in the following article on rock 'n' roll and masculinity refers to as a 'softening in the hard-edged profile of the Australian male'” . It is true that in Australia emphasis is put on males being males, or 'blokes', and for so long it has been the 'Aussie' way for men to love hanging out with their mates, enjoying a barbeque and a beer while watching the footy. There was no room or care for looking good or worrying about wearing the right shoes with the right pants, something did change in order for men to be comfortable and confident in breaking away from this stereotype and allowing themselves, whilst still being able to enjoy all those things, but still allowing themselves to be men and have other interests as well. Tim Edwards believes that the women's movements and gay movements have had a great impact on men as it has allowed them to look at themselves and has 'encouraged self-awareness' and he says that these movements “have equally challenged hegemonic notions of heterosexual masculinity… It has become more socially acceptable for men to be consumers per se and, more importantly, to be consumers of their own masculinity or, in short, to look at themselves and other men as objects of desire to be bought and sold or imitated and copied” , and therefore break away from any stereotype that didn't allow men to be consumers or feel comfortable releasing a different type of masculinity. In order to look at the way masculinity is represented through men's magazines we have to understand that society has changed, and men are now considered an equal partner to women when it comes to consumerism. Men are now aware of fashion, grooming techniques, brands and so on. It can be said that it was evident that there was a market missing in consumerism in the past and it was realized that men were not a huge part of this. Men's magazines are a great way to get men interested in consuming, not only do they get to read and see women in these magazines, they also learn what is in fashion. Once again Edwards clearly acknowledges masculinity as a commodity and says of this: “Masculinity became a lifestyle commodity to be bought, sold, admired through retailers' windows and aspired to in style magazines” What also needs to be looked at when considering the portrayal of masculinity through these magazines is the way they each deal with women. Clearly these particular three magazines, Ralph, GQ and Men's Health, are targeted at heterosexual males. However, they do seem to consider women in different ways. Ralph clearly identifies with its male readers by exposing them to women in a light that can be considered soft porn. The cover always boasts a semi-dressed woman and throughout the magazine there are plenty of images of women throughout. No doubt the majority of men do enjoy this magazine because of this, but this magazine also contains fashion, and all the other features of a lifestyle magazine. It can be suspected then that Ralph is appealing to a particular group of men that feel comfortable with being a modern man though still need that extra bit of encouragement, and the semi-naked women help them along. Edwards says that features on women and or soft pornographic features within men's magazines “set up[a] defensive opposition to the endlessly homoerotic displays of men's fashion, style and accessories” . The women give them the confidence to be the modern man, who is a consumer and cares for his appearance, and perhaps in hope that by doing and consuming as Ralph says, they may one day get a women somewhat like those contained within the pages. GQ is a magazine for men who are comfortable with their sexuality and masculinity and feel confident buying a magazine that firstly has a man on the cover and secondly places more emphasis on fashion and style than a magazine like Ralph. GQ has a lot of fashion, style, food, travel and sport as its content; however it also has a feature on sex and quite a few pages dedicated to women in their underwear. Needless to say, this magazine boasts a new type of masculinity, it is one that is comfortable looking at clothing and learning new grooming habits or recipes, or the right places to be seen and which shoes to be seen in. It is a masculinity that consists solely of consuming, it focuses on fashion and style and is targeting men who are successful or at least men who want to look successful and with the help of GQ they will be sophisticated too. GQ understands the space in the market and it allows men to feel comfortable in caring about their appearance, it is as has been said a way of constructing masculinity through consumption, however, in the society that we live in it is no surprise that after many years of women being the main target, a space has opened up for men to be consumers as well. As Tim Edwards says in his book: “Consumption itself as a socially acceptable leisure activity for men and as a symbolic part of a successful lifestyle” . Ones material possessions now seem to be the way to gage success, therefore if a man wears a great suit and drives a nice car, society says that he is successful, GQ understands this and aims its magazine at those men that want a sophisticated and successful lifestyle. Edwards hits the nail on the head saying that men's magazines allow for “the increasing construction of masculinity according to commodities, you are the man you are due to the cut of your suit, the cost of your hi-fi or the car you own” . Men's Health magazine taps into the man who is comfortable looking after himself, he is confident in looking after his body, keeping it in good shape, eating right, he likes to look good, treat women respectfully and have a good time. Because this particular magazine focuses on men's bodies, it is interesting to note that there is a particular body type that is favoured to represent men's bodies throughout all these magazines, it is that of the lean but muscular man, a very difficult body type to obtain. Like women's magazines, men's magazines seem to be focusing on a body type that is not as common as they seem to project. Imogen Edeson who of 'Masculinity Embodied: Essays in Masculinities Studies' believes that it is the muscular, buff male physique which is preferred, she also discusses the ramifications of this body type being projected as normal, that it will give men body issues, these are much the same issues that have been spoken of in images of women in magazines and advertisements for years” . Women have had to deal with looking at tall, long legged, thin women in their magazines for years and it seems to be the case that men's magazines are following in the footsteps of women' magazines, this type of body should then be seen as desirable, not normal, magazines are all about desire after all. Ross Laurie who wrote on magazines of the past says of this: “During the 1950s, popular magazines were widely read and strongly gendered. Men's magazines in this period were far less explicit than contemporary equivalents with 'girlie' photos and cartoons the main visual media employed. Such images conveyed clear messages about the prevailing gender and sexual status quo in Menzies' Australia. Avowedly and exclusively heterosexual, these representations portrayed a fantasy world, far removed from suburban reality” . Each of these three magazines addressed a different type of modern day masculinity and Men's Health has tapped into masculinity slightly different from Ralph and GQ. It like GQ has a man on the cover and it also contains, like the other two, a feature on sex and a spread dedicated to women in their underwear, in order not to threaten anyone's masculinity. It is interesting that although these magazines are all for modern men who are comfortable with their sexuality and masculinity that they still all contain pictures of half naked women throughout them. It could be said that although masculinity has changed and men are comfortable being consumers and looking at men in an asexual way, there is always a picture of a beautiful women in her underwear just in case anyone is starting to waver in his confidence. Ross Laurie believes that at the core of men's magazines is the need to make men consumers, and that contemporary masculinity is based around consumerism: “Nevertheless, contemporary men's magazines continue to favour an acquisitive and competitive masculinity oriented towards essentially mindless consumerism” . The three magazines that were looked at here were different in how they represented men and masculinity, though at the heart of it they all had similar intentions, to sell. These magazines target men in different ways, however they all have the goal to make commodities appealing in different ways, be it a naked women, making the man feel less successful and sophisticated unless he is a part of GQ's culture, they each represent modern men, as modern men are consumers. This is not to make men out to be 'mindless consumers' but as a society it is true that a lot of emphasis is placed on commodities to gage success. They give satisfying representations of the way men look at women. Therefore men's magazines do give a good representation of their readers, as there are most definitely different types of men who have different types of interests and are at the end of the day, all consumers. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, Lucy, Are magazines for young men likely to reinforce stereotypical 'macho' and sexist attitudes in their readers? Edited by David Gauntlett, Media, Gender, Identity Resources, theory.org.uk, http://www.theory.org.uk/mensmags.htm Cook,
Jackie, Men's Magazines at the Millennium: new spaces, new shelves, University
of South Australia, Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, Vol. 14.
No. 2, 2000. Dapin, Mark, 'Sex and Money: How I lived, breathed, read, wrote, loved, hated, dreamed and drank men's magazines', NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2004 Edeson,
Imogen, 'Masculinity Embodied', Essays in Masculinities Studies', Edwards, Tim, 'Men in the Mirror: Men's fashion, masculinity and consumer society', Cassell, 1997, electronic resource: www.library.monash.edu.au FPC Magazines, GQ Australia, http://www.fpc.com.au/page/magssite.php?pageid=28 Gauntlett, David, Media, Gender and Indentity, London: Routledge, 2002. GQ Australia Magazine, Spring 2004. GQ Australia Magazine, Winter 2005. GQ Australia Website, www.vogue.com.au Jackson, Peter, Nick Stevenson, Kate Brooks, 'Making Sense of Men's Magazines' Oxford: Polity Press, 2001. Kingma, Daphne Rose, 'The Men We Never Knew: Women's Role in the Evolution of a Gender', Millenium Books, Sydney, 1993. Laurie,
Ross, 'Fantasy Worlds: The Depiction of Women and the Mating Game in Men's Magazines
in the 1950's', Victorian Historical Association 1998, Men's Health magazine, May 2005 Media Awareness Network, Media Issues, Men's magazines and the construction of masculinity,http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/men_and_masculinity/masculinity_magazines.cfm Nixon, Sean, 'Distinguishing Looks: Masculinities, the visual and Men's Magazines', in Pleasure Principles: Politics, Sexuality and Ethics, Edited by Victoria Harwood, David Oswell, Kay Parkinson and Anna Ward. London: Lawrence & Wishart Limited, 1993 Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines, edited by Bethan Benwell, Oxford, U.K; Malden, MA: Blackwell, c2003. Ralph Magazine, May 2005. Ralph Webite, www.ninemsn.com.au/ralph Werkmeister, Meike, Men's Magazines in Germany, Media, Gender and Identity http://theoryhead.com/gender/germany.htm Use this tool to search our site or the web. | Free
Newsletter Movers
& shakers Spin
City |
| Guidomedia.com An Australian publishing resource * Home * News * Resources * Research * Leisure * About us * Jobs * Dates * Return to main index |
Return
to top