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How do Magazines Portray the Male Gender?

Introduction

Throughout space and time individuals across the world seek to identify gender, mainly

between the men and women. Gender is an idea that puts a label on a specific set of

characteristics in which societies define on their own terms. However, gender characteristics and

its social construction vary depending on where the individual is brought up along with what

specific social factors influence the individuals understanding of it. I would like to look further

into what sorts of magazines provide ideas of what it looks like to be a masculine individual

within society. Gender identity is not affiliated with a person’s biological “attributes” however

they are linked to that person’s own perception of themselves (Peck 1984: 16).

In this paper I will be analyzing the content of magazines to determine how they portray

men and whether that appeals sexually to the target audience. I will be looking specifically at

whether the audience’s gender and lifestyle interests between fashion and health influences the

way men are represented. I will be analyzing how gender display varies between health

magazines and fashion. Since fashion is a lifestyle interest where appearance is the main focus

and is typically associated with the feminine, I would like to further understand how these

magazines interpret gender as compared to magazines more specifically focused on the

individual’s health. Health magazines could be associated with the masculine as they often focus

on weight lifting which is a predominately male domain, however health magazines are also

much more concerned about its readers overall well-being. In this sense, I am predicting that

fashion magazines will objectify the male body more so as well as the magazines geared towards

women in order to provide an appeal for the audience. As a framework for this paper I will use

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certain theories such as the male gaze, masculinity theory, symbolic interaction, doing gender,

hegemonic masculinity, dramaturgy, and more to elaborate on the issues at hand.

Content analysis seems fairly common as it is used in a multitude of studies to find out

what the media portrays as reality. Since technology has provided us with new mediums of

entertainment there is likely a large sum of people who use these tools to gain insight into the

world based from what they see presented through the media. In my attempt to fully realize the

portrayal of men in both men and woman’s lifestyle magazines, I will gather data through a

comparative process in which I will look for specific indicators that coincide with masculinity

such as the feminine touch, ritualization of subordination, licensed withdrawal, infantilization,

and relative size all of which are based off of Goffman’s work in Gender Advertisements

between the magazines being analyzed. Mainly, I will concentrate solely on the images within

the different magazines which display a male body.

As a theoretical framework of this research study, I will be utilizing Laura Mulvey’s

analysis of cinema which she concluded is manipulated by a patriarchal male gaze which the

camera depicts women as an object rather than a subject (Sassatelli 2011: 124). She found

evidence through observing the works of Alfred Hitchcock which generally depended on the

image of the castrated woman where the female actor served as a way to emphasize the male

hero actor in a way where she was only just seen or shown (Sassatelli 2011: 124). In this sense,

the female actor is there only to evoke certain emotions or eroticism for a male audience despite

the films inviting both men and women to view the display of gender identities through a

hierarchal configuration (Sassatelli 2011: 124). More recently, Mulvey’s thoughts on how film is

manipulated describe how the dynamics of the male look can be reversed by showing men as

objects as well (Sassatelli 2011: 141). From this line of thinking, I would like to apply the male

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gaze to the way male actors in magazines coincide with the fluidity of gender identity in modern

day culture. Ultimately, based from this theoretical frame work, both genders have a certain idea

of what is viewed as erotic through the dialogue produced by a camera, actors, and spectators

regardless of gender.

The ways that men are displayed in magazines are a part of a symbolic interaction.

Through certain expressions, a man engages in a sort of conversation with the audience

communicating his identity, social role, mood, intent, and expectations with other actors in the

portrait as well as the person’s perspective of that image (Goffman 1979: 1).The purpose of

photos in magazines is to express a sort of natural element to the scenario in which displays these

actors in reflection to our idealized beliefs about gender. Erving Goffman argues that gender

display is a way to characterize sex-class members and that gender expressions are so deeply

rooted in the way our society is organized that there is a considerable amount of content which

which engages in the staging of gender portrayal (Goffman 1979: 8).

As stated above, I will be utilizing certain themes that were presented from Erving

Goffman’s Gender Advertisements in relation to how gender is portrayed in media images. One

way that power, authority, rank, office, and renown is reinforced in social situations is relative

size which basically shows one person as being taller or larger overall (Goffman 1979: 28). The

feminine touch is a way that displays a hand as barely touching or caressing a surface which

contrasts a sort of utilitarian form of grasping or manipulating the surroundings which are more

generally associated with males (Goffman 1979: 29). To infantilize a person is to portray them as

unserious, childlike, playful, or clowning which is generally represented along with wearing a

certain kind of costume (Goffman 1979: 51). Along with this, the ritualization of subordination

diminishes the status of an individual through the idea that lowering oneself physically is an act

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of inferiority which is typically represented by people siting or laying on floors, beds, and chairs

or in some cases such as lying on a bed could be interpreted as being sexually available

(Goffman 1979: 41). Lastly, licensed withdrawal displays the actor as being psychologically

absent from the scene which suggests that they are in need of someone who is prepared for any

sort of threat as their gaze is directed elsewhere (Goffman 1979: 57).

Our society is emerging into a new era of what it means to be masculine. Roughly thirty

years ago we were recovering from our embarrassing defeat in Vietnam as well as the emerging

feminist movements which reconstructed the concept of what a man is (Messner 2007: 464).

More recently, our culture has taken a new path in allowing the LGBTQI community that have

long been socially oppressed or considered to be not as masculine, or effeminate, to their straight

male counterparts to be allowed certain rights here in America, such as marriage. This is a result

of hegemonic masculinity which describes a dominant or ideal form of what a man should be

(Kosetzi and Polyzou 2010: 145). Gender identity is often studied since it is so stigmatized in

some cultures and even considered taboo in areas of the world such as Russia where aggressive

behavior is very common towards any person who blurs the line between what is considered

masculine and feminine.

Throughout time we have observed many attempts at redefining the male role. We can

observe this through the feminist and gay rights movements in the past, and now into the present.

Also, it wasn’t too long ago that men dominated the workforce entirely where women stayed

home to fulfill a traditional role as a housewife in order to please her husband. Women have

since fought for more freedom comparable to the amount that is given to men which leaves men

in an increasingly dynamic and changing social world.

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Women Viewing Men

The widespread understanding of sexual objectification has to deal with men as subjects

and women as objects where men take on the role as the status quo. Men are stereotypically

sexual beings which is reinforced through the social construction of masculinity because the

more women you sleep with the more of a man you are. To treat someone as a sexual object or to

look at them as means to an end in the case of sexual gratification by simply identifying what

parts of their body can do what for you sexually, is a concept that women are more able to take

on as a result of these movements.

Along with what is being showed by popular media, sexual freedom and empowerment

among women is in large part a dominant theme associated with the third wave feminist

movement here in the U.S (Williams and Jovanovic 2015:158). This is especially apparent when

analyzing the personal narratives brought forth from third wave feminists themselves (Williams

and Jovanovic 2015:158). Third wave feminists acknowledge that women should not be

inhibited by what is considered to be the traditional norms of sexuality which results in

allowance for sexual agency among women as well as a rejection of the stigmatization associated

with it (Williams and Jovanovic 2015:158). With the new found freedom to experiment and

become familiar with their sexuality women are increasingly the ones who are using the

culturally identified weapons of oppression that have previously been used against them in the

past as identified by second wave feminists (Williams and Jovanovic 2015:159).

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The way that women objectify men is very similar to the way men objectify women.

Women have learned what is considered sexy from the male gaze as pointed out above.

Objectification theory states that in Western culture women are trained to view other women and

themselves as objects through repeated exposure of objectifying experiences which is evaluated

from the male gaze (Goodin, Denburg, Murnen, and Smolak 2011:1). These experiences can

happen at any place at any time. We are consumers of the media which for the most part is easily

accessible to even the youngest of people and the messages they send are often the ones that we

internalize. After many years of oppression women are now more likely to self-objectify for the

patriarchal gaze however further research has been done which shows that women are more

likely to objectify other women compared to women objectifying men in this way. However, it

should be noted that the difference is not significant (Strelan and Hargreaves 2005:710). In this

sense we are seeing that women are in fact sexually objectifying men which was not common a

couple of decades ago.

Although this study will affect mostly men, I believe that it will also impact women as

well. Society often defines certain roles or behaviors for us depending on our sex. Identifying the

source of what influences individuals to think a certain way about themselves and others can be a

powerful thing which reflects the values of society.

Literature Review

In an increasingly materialistic world we find that society utilizes the media as a way to

communicate, entertain, and to inform its audience through a variety of mediums. Some of the

ways that the media seeks to reach out to the public may be either tangible or intangible. On any

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given day, the average person is likely to come across some form of the media whether it is

through television, internet websites, radio broadcasts, and more. What I seek to elaborate on is

how the specific media form of lifestyle magazines may reinforce ideas about the male gender in

society. Through their advertisements they create a dialogue between the readers which reflect

certain gender values. Traditional roles of men and women are currently a bit more fluid as men

are expected to take on certain characteristics of the opposite sex like sensitivity while women

are now driven to be strong or independent. Hegemonic masculinity is one of the main

contributors to the long standing masculine identity. A large amount of literature delves deep

into the different ways men’s lifestyle magazines discuss the content in which this form of media

encourages what society has defined as a real man.

Labeling Masculinity as a Sexuality

Since the introduction of men’s lifestyle magazines such as GQ and Arena in the 1980’s

there has been a steady rise in the consumption of this particular media (Hall and Gough 2011:

68). This suggests that there is a large demand in which many people are reading the material

being conveyed. Based on Hall and Gough’s research, they had used an online magazine called

AskMen.com where they analyzed specific articles related to metrosexual activities such as

fashion or grooming (Hall and Gough 2011: 72). After analyzing the content of the articles they

then proceeded to observe the comments along with the individuals making them (Hall and

Gough 2011: 72). They also followed criteria based on the individual person’s ability to clarify

as well as the comments level of depth and length among other posts (Hall and Gough 2011: 72).

They found that within a specific article, which they chose for its popularity and number of

readers per month, that the population was diverse with those who identify as metrosexual,

rugged men, gay, or a woman (Hall and Gough 2011:72). Metrosexual men are typically

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associated with having more feminine-like characteristics especially involving the way they care

about their appearance while rugged men are generally the ones associated with being tough or

having manly characteristics. By gaining perspective from both sides of the spectrum, this study

provides a variety of insight in how masculinity is socially constructed. This research is different

from others as it uses the internet as a way to observe how individuals think about a particular

topic such as metro sexuality. The researchers only used the AskMen.com website which could

have been expanded upon. The main point of the article was to convey a new masculine image of

David Beckham by labeling him with the term metrosexual, however, the individual avoids the

stereotype that men should not care about their appearance to the point that he does (Hall and

Gough 2011: 83). Ultimately the findings of this study is that most readers that identify as non-

metrosexual tend to label the term as unmanly and superficial (Hall and Gough 2011: 83).

One issue that people create is that we seek to connect different sexualities with a certain

set of characteristics. We live in an era where masculinity may be defined differently among

generations. Generally, older men are associated as being more traditional and younger men

being more open to new things. While this may seem like the case, it is much more complicated

than that. Within American culture there is conflicting ideas of masculinity. For instance, in a

qualitative study a young Cuban man discusses how Hispanic women are into more body hair

than women of American culture (Pompper 2010: 692). This coincides with the notion that

growing out body hair is the equivalent to not caring, which is often associated with masculinity.

An older black male describes feminine men as being muscular and having shirts fit to their

personal body physique using terms such as “muscular fag” (Pompper 2010: 692). These

metrosexual men that the older African American man describes as being “fags” are what are

being generated through Medias such as magazines. A pattern in today’s young men show that

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they will do whatever they can to appeal to women which often is influenced by the images that

are portrayed in magazines (Pompper 2010: 692).

Being masculine is often identified as being heterosexual because often homosexuals are

associated as being feminine. This method of subordinating one’s identity to a lower level is part

of the concept where sexual power is related to different levels of social life (Kimmel and

Aronson 2008: 108). In other words, sexuality is part of our everyday social interaction which is

often seen as a way of displaying our social status in different areas in our life from work,

school, at home, or anywhere else in between. In this sense, throughout our daily activities men

are attempting to prove themselves as masculine in order to avoid ridicule. Furthermore, the term

fag is often seen as a failure at achieving the masculine status in which society deems as a threat

that constitutes the American adolescent masculinity (Kimmel and Aronson 2008: 109).

Since traditional culture will see someone as unacceptable for being homosexual they

will seek to maintain specific measures to control the way we act socially. This is influenced by

the way our peers treat us as well as certain policies enacted by our government which teaches us

what is acceptable. Simply put, being called a fag by someone means that you are not a man but

not necessarily a homosexual (Kimmel and Aronson 2008: 117). Despite the way friends or

bullies treat each other influencing the way one might act in order to avoid being stigmatized,

there are other influences that may be of greater impact to explain why kids see being gay as a

bad thing.

Social Factors

Here in America around the year 1973, the idea of homosexuality as an illness became a

dominant stance within certain Christian Right movements with collaboration from ex-gay

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ministries attempting to heal through religious conversion (Robinson and Spivey 2007: 651)

They believed that homosexuality was a disorder that caused men to sin through the acts of sex

with another man. In their eyes, this needed to change so as a result they had created a multitude

of texts, programs, and organizations which attempted to create a society that was based upon

their beliefs (Robinson and Spivey 2007: 654). These groups consisted of Exodus International;

Focus on Family, as well as NARTH or otherwise known as the National Association for

Research and Therapy of Homosexuals (Robinson and Spivey 2007: 654). Through content

analysis of what kinds of texts these highly influential groups put out towards their audiences

researchers were able to identify their main arguments. A man named Irving Beiber who was one

of the head experts of these groups argued that through his clinical observations of 106

homosexual men that heterosexuality was a biological norm (Robinson and Spivey 2007: 656).

Overall, their main points were that the relationship that a homosexual had with his mother must

have been an overbearing one, gender ultimately determines sexuality, and their fathers were

under protective or uncaring (Robinson and Spivey 2007: 656).

The fear of homosexuals has allowed for a construction of heterosexuality to be

associated with masculinity. Repressing homosexuality is a result of many men refusing to

identify as homosexual because it seems abhorrent to the individual (Kimmel and Messner 1998:

11). Homophobia results from the idea that since there is no model central to our society then its

concept serves no purpose (Kimmel and Messner 1998: 11). Psychoanalysis suggests that at a

young age the emotional attachment to a father or friends can lead to passive feelings which are

ultimately sacrificed through the emerging danger of what we were taught is to be normal

(Kimmel and Messner 1998: 11). At a young age we are taught through the church, schools, and

media that a man should be with a woman so that a family can be created. To deviate from this

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norm is to create castration anxiety which is the sense that one’s sexuality is in danger (Kimmel

and Messner: 11). From the start, the young boy is conditioned to the social hierarchy of

sexuality where the process is both conscious and unconscious (Kimmel and Messner 1998: 11).

Examples of this process taking place can be associated with the idea that girls have cooties and

the only thing as bad as being a girl is to be a wussy. Ultimately, the social construction of

homophobia is a way to maintain the masculine way that stems from the anxiety that men

experience from trying to cope with unsuccessful passive sexual desires (Kimmel and Messner

1998: 12).

Masculinity in Magazines

Shifting beliefs and values among our culture have made it difficult for individuals to

maintain a solid gender identity (Ricciardelli, Clow, and White 2010: 77). Men look to the media

to determine what sort of example they should follow to attract women. These images are often

extreme examples to help promote advertising that also receive a lot of praise from women for

caring about their appearance. With the male body becoming increasingly prevalent in

magazines, awareness emerges from within each individual that identifies as masculine to strive

for a muscular physique based off of the pressures from society (Ricciardelli, Clow, and white

2010:77). These images send messages to its audience that if you don’t look like this then you

are less than the desirable and you need to keep coming back to read our magazines so we can

share some tips on how to look like these celebrities.

Young teens feel pressure from certain media images to lift weights just to fit in or

achieve a higher status among their social group. Large muscles are symbolic in nature as

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muscles represent masculinity as a whole. Gender role intensification theory states that during

adolescence, pressure to achieve certain gender roles is increased dramatically leading to

conformity, commitment, and investment into a specific gender direction (Smolak & Stein 2010:

739). In a longitudinal study a researcher found a correlation between investments in media

ideals of muscularity and investments in muscle building techniques (Smolak & Stein 2010:

744). This is problematic for young children as proper body building technique may not be

known at that age which could cause injury on top of there being no known health benefits for

weight lifting for those ages 11 and 12 (Smolak & Stein 2010: 738).

In contrast to traditional concepts of what a man should be arises a template of what has

been defined as the “new man” which has arrived as a result of feminist movements during the

1970’s (Prusank 2007: 165). During this time period a new conceptualization of how men should

be was displayed in a large amount of magazines where this new idea of what it means to be a

man involves showing sensitivity and other feminized qualities (Prusank 2007: 165). While these

images were abundant during the 1970’s these perceptions of men have decreased in quantity

over time (Prusank 2007: 165). One explanation for this decline is that hegemonic masculinity

has the ability to counteract the leveling of gender differences (Prusank 2007: 165).

Men’s lifestyle magazines promote production instead of consumption which is a

generalized concept in women’s magazines where they assumedly encourage women to shop

(Hall and Gough 2011: 68). Part of the reason they call them men’s magazines is to specify a

target audience in which case men are the target. Their goal is to produce material that caters to

possible manly interests such as fitness, sports, hunting, sex, and more. To include any other sort

of interest such as shopping would mean to challenge the masculine identity (Hall and Gough

2011: 68). In other words, some magazines portray a certain kind of hegemonic masculinity

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which is to display the dominant form which is associated as normal (Kosetzi and Polyzou 2010:

145). Within a content analysis of a Greek magazine called Nitro the main stereotype of

hegemonic masculinity was drawn throughout by emphasizing that a man will do unmanly things

like getting married or ironing his clothes but only if there is a need for it (Kosetzi and Polyzou

2010: 165). The way this magazine is portraying masculinity is by strongly presenting the

hegemonic stereotype while misinterpreting other forms of masculinity with a larger

representation of the ideal form within its culture (Kosetzi and Polyzou 2010: 165). This notion

of how hegemonic masculinity perseveres within Nitro contradicts the current situation in Greece

where gender relations are increasingly becoming more balanced (Kosetzi and Polyzou 2010:

165). Despite the direction Greece is headed as a society the media still portrays hegemonic

masculinity.

As consumers we often invest our time into different types of media in order to satisfy

our specific interests. We may not completely think about the material we buy into, however at a

young age the ideas portrayed by media such as magazines influence our own behaviors in the

real world. These behaviors may impact our relationships with women, friends, and family in

ways that we may never have intended. We begin to take on these roles as men only because it’s

all we have ever known. As a result of conforming, men are continuing a cycle of oppression

against others who do not fit the masculine role.

Currently, we are only at the half way point between the shifting cultural ideals of what it

means to be masculine. Masculinity has reached a high point in its fluidity as portrayals of well-

groomed men with big muscles in magazines are scrutinized by older more traditional men as

being gay which is associated with being less masculine. On the other hand, these same

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portrayals are influencing younger men to look more like them. In the end masculinity varies

between space, time, and culture.

Since the rise of feminism and the reconstruction of the traditional gender concepts that

men seek to fulfill in society there has been a disconnection within the brotherhood of man as

they are unable to differentiate between the “new man” and the traditional notion. What men are

ultimately searching for in today’s society is a way to reconnect with their fellow members of

manhood and to be accepted (Tragos 2009: 547). With men constantly seeking approval of other

men there may be some desire to go back to the traditional dominance which men have grown to

love because of the received privilege. Knowing this, perhaps magazines could truly strive for a

well-balanced representation for men as currently there is quite a bit of variety among how men

are represented in magazines in particular.

Methods

As a researcher I conducted a study on the relationship between the target audience of a

gendered specific magazine and its content across the realms of fashion and health. I looked over

what is provided in different sorts of magazines such as health magazines and fashion magazines

which vary depending on the audience the publishers are trying to reach. Since I did not utilize a

random sampling method the results will not be able to be generalized to the larger portion of

magazines out there in the public.

First, I would like to define what sort of traditional masculinity might be associated with

being a male. Defining what masculinity is to specific traits can be difficult as cultures vary in

the way they are socially constructed. So what is it that reinforces or determines how a man

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should be in situations in regards to their relationships, line of work, and specific interests? One

theoretical approach to explain the construct of masculinity has to do with something called

“doing gender.” Doing gender explains that the behavior that specific gender identities which

they identify with will act upon the behaviors associated with that gender depending on society’s

idea of what that individual should be doing (Deutsch 2007: 108). For example, the idea that men

are the ones who should be in control such as the example of the feminine touch in Goffman’s

Gender Advertisements stems from the idea of doing gender. Traditionally, men were expected

to take on all of the heavy duty work while women would stay at home taking care of the house

and kids. As time has gone on we have seen a shift in the roles that contrast traditional beliefs.

Masculinity theory argues that the masculine identity has specific definitions to what is

making it more easily threatened and also valued higher in society making it more desirable to

maintain and recover (Willer, Rogalin, Conlon, and Wojnowicz 2013: 982). This theory further

describes hegemonic masculinity as the highest rank of masculinity based on a specific set of

traits across society’s definition of the purist masculine form (Willer, Rogalin, Conlon, and

Wojnowicz 2013: 983). The higher up in ranking an individual is the more respect he earns from

his fellow masculine brothers. Masculinity theorists further emphasize that these traits that are

defined as the most masculine are nearly impossible to attain which in turn generates more

insecurities for men (Willer, Rogalin, Conlon, and Wojnowicz 2013: 983). Ultimately,

masculinity theory demonstrates how important the masculine identity is with most males and

how they value and maintain an unrealistic identity for fear of being emasculated.

Identity control theory explains how an individual maintains and enacts control over his

identity through social interaction (Willer, Rogalin, Conlon, and Wojnowicz 2013: 985). This

theory balances a model where self-concept, behavior, and situational feedback are the relative

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components that construct this theory (Willer, Rogalin, Conlon, and Wojnowicz 2013: 985). In

other words, an individual will base his behavior from what sort of feedback he receives from

someone else based on his own self-concept. Magazines typically have advertisements which

create a dialogue with the reader that may provide some form of feedback for the individual to

digest in relevance to his self-concept. In situations when an individual receives feedback that is

not in line with how he views himself he will then behave in a way that in general would be

considered extreme acts of that specific identity (Willer, Rogalin, Conlon, and Wojnowicz 2013:

985). For example a masculine man would not want to be caught with a magazine that displays

alcohol that is much fruitier than a magazine which advertises more expensive alcohol with

higher alcohol content in fear of being labeled a sissy. If he is caught in a situation such as this

the theory states that the man will feel the need to compensate in some way to prove he is in fact

not a sissy.

Masculinity is a projection of society which labeling theory suggests is defined by

institutions and individuals in power to decide what is deviant from the category (Ashforth and

Humphrey 1997: 46). The theory suggests that as we observe our environment we then give

meaning to what we are attempting to comprehend in order to control it (Ashforth and Humphrey

1997: 46). For instance an executive high up in the business of publishing magazines may have a

set of ideal traits which he favors over others. This person may have some motive to portray

these sets of characteristics in favor over others where he would seek out people and content that

praise these certain characteristics. For example, in a fashion magazine the publishers may

decide to have an ad for cologne that displays a man surrounded by four half-naked women

instead of having a picture of a rustic forest that caters to not just one specific group but for

everyone. Combined with the concept of hegemonic masculinity where men put value in a

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hierarchy of characteristics that define their specific identity, the labeling theory would suggest

that those males would look for masculine characteristics in magazines. The idea here is that they

have respect for those sorts of qualities in other males which would lead to them focusing their

attention on it.

Variables and Hypotheses

Men are often thought of as being tough individuals with self-control and having

leadership qualities more so over women. Especially in men’s health magazines I would expect

to see men displaying more dominate male stereotypes to help promote a new kind of protein

shake or cologne. Along with this, in other magazines stereotypical men might be used to portray

an upcoming item that relates with masculine identities. Muscles display a sense of power which

many men strive for so that they can be dominant over others. When analyzing the women’s

magazines I expect to see men represented in a way that would appear to have more feminine

like qualities in order to appeal to their audience. Secondly, I expect to witness more femininely

portrayed men in the fashion magazines over the fitness magazines because in a general sense,

fashion is considered to be a more feminine domain.

Based on the concept that the masculine is the opposite of the feminine I used Erving

Goffman’s work as a way of analyzing gender representation. Goffman states there are a few

ways in which magazines reflect the codes of masculinity which include the way men use their

hands to touch, the relative size of the man to other actors, whether they pose in a submissive

way, licensed withdrawal, and infantilization. His theoretical framework should allow me to

navigate throughout the content analysis procedure.

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H1: I am predicting that in terms of gender, women’s magazines will be more likely to

sexually objectify men and the way they are displayed.

H2: I am also predicting that fashion magazines in comparison to health magazines will

be more likely to sexually objectify men in the way they are represented.

Sample

Since I do not have the time and money to travel to various businesses to attain a set of

magazines, the most convenient option was to use the local public library in Edwardsville,

Illinois as well as the public library in St. Louis, Missouri. My method of going about this was

purposive because the observations I made were based on what I thought would be most useful.

This is also appropriate since I compared two different kinds of publications such as men’s

health and fashion magazines. I looked at a total of 400 images all together with 100 images for

Health, Men’s Health, Vogue, and GQ respectively. All of the editions were within the year

2014. For GQ I used the editions from October, September, August, and July. From Men’s

Health I used editions from the months of July, June, May, April, March, and January. For the

magazine Health I used magazines for the months of November, October, September, July, June,

May, April, March, and January. Lastly, for the magazine Vogue I used editions from the months

of May, April, February, and January. The women’s magazines had fewer images displaying

males, especially in the case of the women’s health magazine which I utilized nearly the entire

years’ worth of magazines. As a result, I resorted to systematic random sampling. In order to get

equal representations from every dimension, skipping to every third image in the men’s

magazines allowed me to balance this especially since there was an abundance of images for that

audience.

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Content Analysis

I chose content analysis as a method for collecting data because it allows for a more

objective way of evaluating the data which in this research will be magazine images. By

narrowing down specific themes and indicators I was able to isolate certain images for the rest

and collect it for the data set. In my attempt to collect about a year’s worth of GQ magazines I

was unable to find the adequate amount of this portion of the sample between Lovejoy library,

Edwardsville Public library, and Glenn Carbon Public library. Altogether, I was able to gather

the magazines from both the Edwardsville public library as well as the library in downtown St.

Louis with half being men’s health and fashion magazines and the others would be the same but

for women’s magazines. By analyzing 100 images for each of the four magazines I was able to

look at magazine editions within the year 2014. I conducted a content analysis where I counted

how many indicators for each magazine and how often they appeared overall. As I looked

through each magazine I kept a record of the type of magazine, issue date, and a description of

what I saw within the magazine.

This strategy was most convenient for me as well as less time consuming. By doing this I

did not spend any money towards magazines and was able to go through an entire edition with

ease. My main concern is that images of men were scarce in the women’s magazine Health. In

order to get a better representation of the time period overall, I resorted to systematic random

sampling for the men’s magazines where I used every third image that had an image of a male.

Generally speaking, the men’s magazines had an abundance of the images I was looking for in

comparison to the women’s.

Ruszkowski 20

Results

Table 1: Gender and Licensed Withdrawal Bivariate Contingency Results (Total N=200)

Licensed Withdrawal Male Female Total

Absent

63%

(126)

80%

(160)

71.5%

(286)

Present 37%

(74)

20%

(40)

28.5%

(114)

Total 100%

(200)

100%

(200)

100%

(400)

With a chi-square value of 14.182 and a p-value of .000 there appears to be a correlation between

the genders of the magazine along with the number of times licensed withdrawal appeared

throughout magazine images leading me to reject the null hypothesis. This correlation does not

match up with my original hypothesis which stated that women’s magazines would be more

likely to display the sexually objectifying themes.

Ruszkowski 21

Table 2A: Interest and Licensed Withdrawal Bivariate Contingency Results (Total N=200)

Licensed Withdrawal Fashion Health Total

Absent

64%

(128)

79%

(158)

71.5%

(286)

Present 36%

(72)

21%

(42)

28.5%

(114)

Total 100%

(200)

100%

(200)

100%

(400)

With a chi-square value of 11.042 and a p-value of .001 there does appear to be a correlation

between the lifestyle interest of the magazine with the number of times licensed withdrawal

appeared throughout the images within those magazines which led me to reject the null

hypothesis.

Ruszkowski 22

Table 2B: Interest and Subordination Bivariate Contingency Results (Total N=200)

Subordination Fashion Health Total

Absent

79%

(150)

88%

(176)

83.5%

(334)

Present 21%

(42)

12%

(24)

16.5%

(66)

Total 100%

(200)

100%

(200)

100%

(400)

With a chi-square of 5.879 and a p-value of .015 there does appear to be a correlation between

lifestyle interests with ritualization of subordination in the amount of times it appeared

throughout these magazines images which led me to reject the null hypothesis.

Ruszkowski 23

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine in large how gender is portrayed. Since we

live in a society where film has previously been identified as being manipulated by a patriarchal

male gaze I wanted to further understand how far we have come as a society in the effort to make

gender less isolated and oppressed based on feminist movements. Another objective of this study

was to examine how men are being sexually objectified in magazines by identifying the themes

brought forward from Erving Goffman’s Gender Advertisements. These themes dealt with the

subconscious ritualized understandings of what is dominate and what is subordinate in the realm

of gender. These included concepts such as infantilization where a person would be shown as

being unserious, playful, or their bodies contorted in some fashion while generally wearing some

sort of costume. Also, the ritualization of subordination displays a person as bashful typically

presented with a knee bend or lying down on a bed which could be interpreted as being sexually

available. Dominance is also displayed in the way men are using their hands in these images

whether they are grazing the surface of something or manipulating his surroundings with a firm

grip which is known as the feminine touch. The relative size of an individual to others is a basic

portrayal of who has power in a picture based on who is portrayed as larger or taller. Lastly,

licensed withdrawal displays a person as being psychologically absent where their attention is

turned away from the camera which demonstrates a lack of preparedness (Goffman 1979).

After analyzing the data collected through a bivariate analysis, it has been determined

that the men’s magazines appear to be more likely to sexually objectify the male body, however

the magazines only did so through licensed withdrawal. In this sense, there is some evidence

which shows that men are being sexually objectified to a certain extent, however with the

absence of most themes it would suggest that the male gaze is still in power. There does appear

Ruszkowski 24

to be a relationship between licensed withdrawal and the gender of the audience which the

magazines are geared toward. In the men’s magazines 37% of the images presented a male who

appeared to be psychologically absent while the women’s magazines only displayed them at a

rate of 20%. Ritualization of subordination did appear more often in men’s magazines as well but

the result shows no drastic difference with men’s magazines displaying this theme at a rate of

18% while women’s were at 15%. Overall, men’s magazines displayed more themes on the

whole with men’s magazines showing any themes at a rate of 54% versus 40% for women’s

magazines.

In relation to how men were portrayed within lifestyle interest magazines more themes

were present in the realm of fashion, however only licensed withdrawal and ritualization of

subordination appeared to have a correlation. Ritualization of subordination appeared more often

in the fashion magazines with a percentage of 21% to 12% for health. The fashion magazines

were also more likely to display men as being psychologically absent with 36% of the 200

fashion magazine images being present. In the health magazines only 21% of the 200 images

observed were shown appearing to be psychologically absent on the whole. Overall, more

themes were present in the fashion magazines with 55.5% of the images having at least one of

the themes, while the health magazines only showed themes 38.5% of the time.

As far as how often other themes appeared overall, feminine touch appeared the least

with a rate of only 1.5%. Infantilization showed up second to last in that it only appeared with a

total of 3.5%. Relative size was only seen 5.5% of the time. Ritualization of subordination

showed up at a rate of 16.5% while licensed withdrawal showed up the most with a rate of

28.5%. With these results we can infer that there is in general not much of a shift in the way that

men are being portrayed since Erving Goffman’s original work in Gender Advertisements.

Ruszkowski 25

Similar findings were reported in Umiker-Sebeok’s study using the same principles coined by

Erving Goffman in that there is little progress towards the display of power and gender. Men are

still shown as being less fluid in gender portrayal (Umiker-Sebeok 1996:402).

Conclusion

Ultimately I was led to reject my first hypothesis which originally stated that women’s

magazines would sexually objectify the male body more so over the men’s in an attempt to

appeal to the audience that women’s magazines are geared to. The reason for this result may be

that the men’s magazines are attempting to appeal to a homosexual audience as other studies

have stated before, such as in the film The Codes of Gender. On the other hand it could have

something to do with the way the actors are presented by directing their attention away from the

camera. By doing so this could initiate a kind of voyeuristic impulse in men that allows for the

reader to view the actor as sexual because nobody is looking. Whether those marketing GQ

towards a specific group of people are aware of their target audience is unclear. If this was the

case it would make sense that the men are displayed in this manner. More consideration of GQ’s

marketing strategies could determine a firmer understanding of this result.

In relation to why the women’s magazines are not sexually objectifying men could have

to do with how the living conditions in a patriarchal society simply do not allow for women to

take that sort of power in heterosexual relationships. The people in charge of determining the

images being shown in their magazines may very well be male, however this particular study is

limited in the data that could be collected in relation to which gender is in charge. This however

would make sense knowing that there is an active pursuit to keep the feminine from being

dominate in the way society is projected. Hegemonic masculinity is particularly prevalent in

Ruszkowski 26

today’s society which could offer some insight into why women’s magazines opt out of sexually

objectifying the male body.

To best explain why health magazines were less likely to sexually objectify males might

have to do with the purpose of the magazines themselves. Fashion magazines are concerned

primarily with appearance alone. While health magazines are inclined to inform readers on how

to get in shape, it does not necessarily have a main focus in appearance. Health itself goes

beyond the way you look to the condition you are in terms of your overall well-being. Fashion

has become increasingly more expressive in recent years with pop stars revealing more and more

of their bodies to audiences sexually.

Overall, there was a considerable amount of themes lacking a presence. The feminine

touch rarely showed up throughout my data collection. This reflects the ideology that men are to

be firm and strong with the way they interact with their environment. Career choices among men

are commonly associated with jobs such as construction or a mechanical work which deals a lot

with being very hands on. We might associate women with jobs that require a gentler physical

interaction involving jobs such as nursing or counseling. This reflects how doing gender is

incorporated in magazine images. Rarely did infantilization ever show up in the sample. This

correlates with society’s expectations for men in how they should be independent and career

oriented. Men are supposed to be serious and to take care of business which in no way matches

up with being playful or child-like. The absence of relative size mirrors the concept that men are

given authority because they are bigger. While we are born with a set of certain physical

characteristics the size of males has been socially constructed to be the dominant form of power

in social relationships. Ritualization of subordination was one of the themes that showed more of

a shift, however the lack of its presence still demonstrates how the posture that men take on

Ruszkowski 27

means that they do not lower themselves to others and are the ones with power. Lastly, licensed

withdrawal showed up the most; however its presence was not abundant by any means which

shows that men are still displayed as being aware of any threats that might come their way.

The main purpose of this study was to bring awareness to the current state of gender

fluidity in popular media. After all is said and done I conclude that from this sample of 400

images that there is not a whole lot of change in the way men are being displayed despite the

prevalence of relevant social movements such as feminism. The codes which are used as ways to

oppress women through media images are not apparent in the treatment towards the male body.

This mirrors our understanding of what men should or should not be in society which places

limitations on the way that individuals can choose to live their lives. Even after a similar study

was published in 1996 by Umiker-Sebeok the results from this study still show that in general

men are displayed on the whole as showing dominant features that are considered to be male

characteristics. The only correlation between male gender display and sexual objectification has

to deal with a shift in the males being shown as either psychologically absent or as being

subordinate to a lesser degree. While some progress towards the shift in the way gender is

portrayed is better than none, we still have a long ways to go in terms of recognizing that we

label genders differently based on idealized concepts of what should be or not. This sample does

not however represent the larger variety of magazines out there and was limited to my time and

resources. Regardless, this sample does suggest that within the evidence provided in the sample

that there are still characteristics that reinforce the male stereotype. Our perceptions of each other

largely influences the way we treat one another and understand social relationships. This study

has pointed out that there exists an imbalance in the way gender is treated and ultimately brings

Ruszkowski 28

to light that what is considered natural may actually be a way to give privilege to a specific set of

people while keeping others down.

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