The definition of ‘masculinity’ can be said to have changed a great deal in recent times. This is mostly because of how both men and women’s roles have changed within society due to feminism, particularly in the 1970s. Before traditional masculinity could have even been described as hegemonic, today it is believed that men have more options over which category of masculinity they fall under. However is this really a true representation of the modern man? Or has this ‘change in masculinity’ just been constructed by the media?
Magazines such as Men’s Health and Esquire have helped form definitions of different types of men according to their ‘type’ of masculinity. For example there is the metro sexual male, who, with a heterosexual orientation rejects many macho attributes often linked to masculinity and adopts many traits often associated with heterosexual females and homosexual males. Celebrity men who are often associated with being a metro sexual man are David Beckham and Gavin Henson, because they take a lot of care of their appearance.
‘Booze birds and footie’ are described as the main interests of the lad. Traditionally associated magazines with this type of male are Loaded, FHM and Nuts. However as the circulation for these magazines have dropped in the last few years, is this sign of a decline in this type of masculinity? Or are magazines such as Esquire and Mens Health simply taking on more of these features in their magazines, thus incorporating on a whole new demographic of readers.
The Ubersexual male is mainly a man who displays all the good qualities associated with gender without any of the negative stereotypes. For example he is all about ruggedness, confidence, and having an unselfish passion for causes and principles. He is usually an older man with class, such as George Clooney: he is also a family man.
The Hetropolitain man is described as a well rounded combination of attributes of lad culture, metrosexual and ubersexual. Hetropolitains, according to the Guardian in October 2005 say that “Hetropolitains enjoy both the pub and the grooming parlour, and are surprisingly committed to relationships and family life.”
Esquire magazine, in the past has been seen as a more upmarket magazine. However several articles and advertising spreads on www.esquire.com paint a slightly different picture.
Esquire showed a surprising emphasis on attractive women wearing little clothing. For example on the copy ‘Women We Love’ celebrity women can be chosen by picture under the bar ‘Search by Name: Choose a woman’. A woman can be chosen under the drop down menu and are also organised alphabetically. I found this particularly interesting that a similar article about alcohol was laid out in the same style, entitled ‘Drinks Database’, where the drinks could also be found in alphabetical order. This shows that women are on equal par with alcohol, and are there to be ‘chosen’ and ‘enjoyed’. In one particular article a female cheerleader named ‘Tanya’ is being interviewed about her job as a ‘Charger Girl’. The article discusses sport, her figure, and the weather in LA: with a large photograph of her in her cheerleader uniform. These articles in particular are quite down market and even trashy. So why are Esquire employing these tactics to attract a laddish male?
However Esquire does also have a heavy focus on the metrosexual male. For example an article entitled ’10 Style Resolutions You Should Make for 2010’ combines detailed advertising with copy. Giving very specific suggestions in fashion that one would expect to find more in a women’s magazine such as ‘Cosmopolitan’ or ‘Glamour’. There is a heavy emphasis on appearance with lines such as “Because a man can’t survive on two pairs of dress shoes alone” and related articles entitled “Eight Quick Style Upgrades for Work”. With such a dramatic shift in content is Esquire just confusing its readers into which types of masculinity are acceptable or just trying to cater to all tastes?
Contradictory to this, within Esquires advertising campaign there are many up market brands, delivering a variety of messages. With emphasis on flashy looking gadgets and accessories such as ROLEX and LG TVs, iPhones and INFINITI cars of which prices start at around £30,000. This shows that the reader would need to be doing very well financially, or advertisers would not invest so much money if it weren’t the right demographic.
Esquire’s cover gallery starting from 1933 all the way through to early 2010 clearly shows how Esquire has represented both men and women differently depending on the changing of the times. For example a general conclusion of the covers in the 1960s and 70s is that they emphasize on comedy, politics, and the family. Whereas in the 1980s the focus is more on fitness and politics. In the 1990s covers there are lots of model shots of women in provocative poses and not wearing much, however no similar shots of men. This theme is then translated into the 2000+ covers, as the photos become increasingly explicit. One particular example of this is how two similar actors of a different gender are represented in the covers of August and June 2009. Gerard Butler is shown wearing a grey suit and sitting back in a relaxed posture. Whereas Megan Fox is wearing a grey trench coat with her physical assets on display. This is a blatant example of how a man and woman of similar status in the same career can be portrayed totally differently in Esquire within an issue of each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment