men's health work/hw 3

Editorial and advertising + common themes found in MH 

This is an advert on the men's health magazine found at the side bar. As shown they have an attractive young female advertising a weight loss programme. She is being portrayed in a sexual way but she is also not very practical as she has her long hair down, this shows that this advert is to primarily provoke men to try astronutrition because of the woman on the front. Years ago women would not be expected to be muscular and probably be shamed as she is 'suppose' to be small and submissive and leave the power to men, however times have changed and woman are being accepted over what they choose to do with their body. This is a modern advert aimed towards the modern man as some men may think that this image is 'weird' or not acceptable.

This is another advert on the mens health magazine which again is for dieting. However this is done in a more modern way to appeal to men and women without the use of objectifying people. The one above uses an old fashioned way to attract men through male gaze, a theory by Laura Mulvey. This one uses simplistic colours and text to immediately get their point across. Both adverts are to lose weight which is commonly found in male magazines as most men strive to be fitter, this can be a hegemonic male but it is mostly to increase the confidence of men if they buy their products. The first advert (Astronutrition) is focusing on using sex to sell which would most likely be aimed towards heterosexual males as they use a very little clothed woman to grab attention. However this one could be aimed towards males and females as there is no image that either gender would prefer or want to look at, but this is in MH which stresses the importance of losing weight to look more 'attractive'. There are more adverts for losing weight or building strength or tone in MH and I think this is because, nowadays, men are expected to be physically fit to 'win' over the attention of women. 

Common themes

This is an article in MH which shows their fashion column, this is not commonly found in this magazine. The reason for this is because MH usually talks about handling problems with health, sex, and weight- all the things men are 'suppose' to worry about. The images could represent the new sensitive man as women would usually be the ones to care about fashion, however, in the 21st century men are becoming more aware of the importance of a well groomed man who also looks masculine. They have portrayed this in the photos as the men are wearing typical smart male clothes. A suit and tie is considered to make someone look groomed, intelligent, and well presented. Although the clothes they wear are very masculine, men generally didn't care about what they wore but now it's become popular to care about how smart you look. The 'smart is the new sexy' is telling men to look impressive and well dressed to be attractive.    

The latest issue front cover includes quick fix problems that are seen everywhere in MH, whether they are for weight, stress, or sex orientated. The red writing on the left side says 'build bigger arms and a Y-shape back by summer'. This is a quick fix to fitness problems that some men struggle to do. It is telling them that they can get a body like the man on the front cover in a few months. This magazine thrives on telling men that in a short period of time they can have a perfect body and a healthy food scheme. MH prominently think that all men care about is weight and how to look like a 'real man' for women. They have another quick fix solution in the red writing to the right side '14 ways'. This gives men the impression that it is easy or that you should do it because it is so obtainable and you would want to do it because it's what men want. Even though some men don't want to be muscular or 100% healthy, MH persuades the target audience that they will want to follow their instructions because it can fix all of their individual issues even if they can't. This is just to get men to buy the magazine. 

This could be considered as an article on male superiority as it shows an image of an over muscular man who looks down onto the camera which makes him look more powerful and he's presented in a dominant position. Women are represented in a more softer way with their heads tilted down and an open mouth. This man shows how strong he is as he stands with legs apart and his fists are tightened as if to fight someone. This is conveying to the audience that he is superior because he is physically stronger and more masculine. They talk about a wrestlers development which shows that he is very tough like a stereotypical man. With his shirt off the audience can see his muscles more and his tattoos which carry the connotation of someone who is manly or a bit rebellious.

MH ideal man...
'In a world created by Men's Health, the ideal man is...' very strong and muscular as well as physically fit which makes him attractive. He must attract women and be a success in terms of wealth. He mustn't worry about anything else except weight and building strength. He would also have much more authority over women and possibly be a misogynist. Every man would feel like a hegemonic male as they strive to be better all the time. They must be considered an 'expert' at sex and have women lust after them. He also needs to be well dressed and have no stress, if so he must take as many pills as he can to resolve it. No problems can arise from a MH man as they have quick fixes for everything.