Constructing Masculinity through Images: Content Analysis of Lifestyle Magazines in Croatia

Authors: Marija Lončar, Zorana Šuljug Vučica, Magdalena Nigoević

Abstract:

Diverse social, cultural and economic trends and changes in contemporary societies influence the ways masculinity is represented in a variety of media. Masculinity is constructed within media images as a dynamic process that changes slowly over time and is shaped by various social factors. In many societies, dominant masculinity is still associated with authority, heterosexuality, marriage, professional and financial success, ethnic dominance and physical strength. But contemporary media depict men in ways that suggest a change in the approach to media images. The number of media images of men, which promote men’s identity through their body, have increased. With the male body more scrutinized and commodified, it is necessary to highlight how the body is represented and which visual elements are crucial since the body has an important role in the construction of masculinities. The study includes content analysis of male body images in the advertisements of different men’s and women’s lifestyle magazines available in Croatia. The main aim was to explore how masculinities are currently being portrayed through body regarding age, physical appearance, fashion, touch and gaze. The findings are also discussed in relation to female images since women are central in many of the processes constructing masculinities and according to the recent conceptualization of masculinity. Although the construction of male images varies through body features, almost all of them convey the message that men’s identity could be managed through manipulation and by enhancing the appearance. Furthermore, they suggest that men should engage in “bodywork” through advertised products, activities and/or practices, in order to achieve their preferred social image.

Keywords: Body images, content analysis, lifestyle magazines, masculinity.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1127052

References:

[1] R. W. Connell and J. W. Messerschmidt, ‟Hegemonic Masculinity. Rethinking the Concept,” Gender & Society, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 829−859, 2005.
[2] R. Ricciardelli, K. Clow and P. White, ‟Investigating Hegemonic Masculinity: Portrayals of Masculinity in Men’s Lifestyle Magazines,” Sex Roles, vol. 63, pp. 64−78, 2010.
[3] M. del Mar Rubio-Hernández, ‟The Representations of Men Depicted In Men’s Health Magazine,” Revista Comunicación, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 57−70, 2010.
[4] D. A. Rohlinger, ‟Eroticizing Men: Cultural Influences on Advertising and Male Objectification,” Sex Roles, vol. 46, no. 3/4, pp. 61−74, 2002.
[5] S. M. Alexander, ‟Stylish Hard Bodies: Branded Masculinity in Men’s Health Magazine,” Sociological Perspective, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 535−554, 2003.
[6] D. Gauntlett, Media, gender and identity: an introduction, 2nd ed., London-New York: Routledge, 2008.
[7] J. J. Gray and R. L. Ginsberg, ‟Muscle Dissatisfaction: An Overview of Psychological and Cultural Research and Theory,” in The Muscular Ideal: Psychological, Social, and Medical Perspectives, J. K. Thompson and G. Cafri, Eds., Washington DC: American, 2007, pp. 15−39.
[8] K. MacKinnon, Representing men: maleness and masculinity in the media, London: Arnold, 2003.
[9] G. U. Skelly and W. J. Lindstrom, ‟Male sex roles in magazine advertising, 1959-1979,” Journal of Communication, vol. 31, pp. 52−57, 1981.
[10] R. H. Kolbe and P. J. Albanese, ‟The functional integration of sole-male images into magazine advertisements,” Sex Roles, vol. 36, pp. 813−836, 1997.
[11] A. J. Cortese, Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising, Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham/Boulder/ New York / Oxford, 2004.
[12] Z. Šuljug Vučica, M. Lončar and M. Nigoević, ‟Representation of Feminity in Advertising Images: A Visual Analysis,” in Proc. SGEM, International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts, Psychology and Psychiatry, Sociology and Education, Sofia, Bulgaria, vol. 3, 2015, pp. 761−768.
[13] E. Goffman, Gender Advertisements, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1979.
[14] P. Messaris, Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising, London: Sage, 1997.
[15] R. Dyer, ‟Don’t Look Now: The Male Pin-Up,” Screen, vol. 23, no. 3/4, pp. 61−73, 1982.