I am going to answer the question "How Far Do Magazines Rely On Stereotypes In The Representation Of Gender" by referring to m

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Kenneth Tse                                

Media Studies – 2735 Media Issues & Debates

I am going to discuss the question “How Far Do Magazines Rely On Stereotypes In The Representation Of Gender” by referring to magazines I have studied which are Cosmopolitan & Men’s Health (August 2004 issue), and I will also briefly look at Zoo (men’s lifestyle magazine, Issue 86) and Pride (woman’s lifestyle magazine, December 2001 Issue). Cosmopolitan is a woman’s lifestyle magazine, its target audience is mainly women aged 18 – 35, social class category C2, C1 + B, and according to “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” women satisfied by esteem needs as they aspire to look good and stay attractive while having a young and fun personality. Men’s Health is a men’s lifestyle magazine targeting men of age 18 – 35, of social class categories C2, C1 and B and “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, men who need security needs, as they need to satisfy their partners to make sure they stay with them, and also of esteem needs are they aspire to look good, attractive, young and being outgoing. I will also briefly be discussing Zoo and Pride, Zoo being a men’s lifestyle magazine, targeting those aged 18-30, of social class categories D, C2 and C1, with “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, men who require esteem needs, as Zoo is a young man’s lifestyle magazine they will want to have a young, fun and outgoing personality, look good and attract lots of girls. Pride is a specialized black woman’s lifestyle magazine aimed at older more mature women aged 25+, with a social class category C2, C1 and B,  with a life style of matured, strong independent with psychographics of aspirers/achievers and with “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, they require self esteem, the option to choose. Key words I will be using will be gate keeping – where media producers such as magazine editors control and alter the content and messages of magazines, socialization - being an active member of society, the myth of femininity/masculinity – where the magazine provides an ideal image/lifestyle and stereotypes – where a single idealized model represents all those of the same sex, such as cosmo’s glamour look, makes women look the way they should to satisfy the male glaze.

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        Each magazine has their own individual stereotype, which are created through the myth of femininity/masculinity such as cosmo’s myth, which its target audience aspire to be “The Strong independent woman, who is good looking and attractive and who also has a fun, outgoing personality”. This can be reinforced by advertorials such as a Breil Milano (Watch) advert where a woman is pictured holding a gun and posed in a sexy James Bond girl style pose and costume shows that the woman is strong, powerful and that she takes on an element of masculinity, and this shows that the women who ...

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