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Introduction
The publication of magazines takes the gender connotation in the content and manner of presentation. As a result, magazines meant for males and females have a lot of differences both in content and manner of presentation. Gender identities take center stage in the whole process of publishing magazines. In one way or the other, it boils down to the differences in the tastes and likings f the different genders. This might point to the fact that the kind of content of media is appreciated and consumed along gender lines.
The paper takes a comparative look at the impact and role of gender in the content of the media. To succeed in this endeavor the paper will involve a comparison between two magazines. One will be a magazine meant for the female gender while the other will be one meant for the male gender. A discussion of comparison will then follow. Deductions will be made after having a detailed look at the contents of both the magazines. The most crucial question will be whether gender plays a crucial role in the media. The paper aims to unveil the role played by gender identities in the media.
Vogue Magazine
Vogue is an international magazine which is published in several countries. The magazine is published predominantly for the female sex. It addresses the subjects of fashion, lifestyle, and aspects of design (Zarkov 2007). The magazine handles mostly issues to do with fashion. As much as it addresses several issues fashion is the most dominant of all. The book deals with aspects of style, elegance, and nobility. The magazine balances its publication by including aspects of politics, art, culture, and other social parameters. However, the magazine is popular for the portrayal of concepts of fashion and nobility (Hjorth 2008).
It focuses mostly on the elegance of high society living. The magazines have specialized in fashion though it also involves other subjects. The most dominant feature of Vogue magazine is its obsession with elegance and high-end living.
No wonder its readership draws from westernized women in their early adulthood. They find such aspects of fantasy very appealing. Vogue magazine is very popular with its readership and it has captured its audience very well (Kearney 2010). The magazine exalts modern living with the primary focus on the beauty of fashion and the corresponding fun. The magazine is fully entertaining and less educative and comfortably suits the audience (Gill 2007).
Men’s Health Magazine
Men’s Health magazine (MH) is a male magazine published in the United States and has a large readership. The magazine covers a wide range of subjects like fitness, life, sex, and nutrition. With the change of time, the magazine has undergone a lot of revolution as far as its content is concerned. As a result, the publication includes nearly all aspects of a man’s life. It has expanded to include aspects like technology, fitness, traveling, and money. As a result, the men’s health magazine is both educative and topical. It addresses constructive and real topics of life and has a lot of impact on reality as far as its content is concerned (Fiske 1996). As a result the magazine comfortably suits the male audience who are interested in educative content as opposed to fantasy for the females (Humez & Dines 2003).
Comparison
A look at the two magazines indicates a big difference in the content of the publication (Steiner and Carter, 2008). For instance, vogue magazine focuses on the fashion, elegance, and nobility of high living. These are predominantly fantasy aspects. The magazine worships and symbolizes the fantasy side of high society living in the context of fashion and elegance. Men’s Health on the other hand deals with health, technology, sexual matters, travel, and finance. These represent real issues in life (Sarow & Kedrowski 2007).
Therefore female magazines tend to dwell on the fantasy part of social living while men’s magazines are topical, they tend to deal with real-life issues. As symbolized by the two examples of magazines female audience is normally treated to the aspects of fashion elegance, high-end living, and fun. On the other hand, the male audience gets the topical treatment of the various aspects of life. No wonder majority if not all of the female magazines are based on fashion. It is hard if not impossible to get a female magazine that is not based on fashion. Fantasy drives the whole content of a female magazine. Fashion serves this purpose well.
For the male magazine’s topics of reality and constructive meaning are most common. The majority of the male magazine deals with several topics at ago. It is rare to find a male magazine that specializes in one aspect (Hilliard 2001). A wide range of topics, therefore, suit the male audience well and as a result, they are served in that manner. Male magazines, therefore, tend to be more educative as compared to female magazines. For instance, the vogue magazine is inherently entertaining and little focus is given to the educative content. Female magazines are mostly entertaining in nature (Gauntlett 2008).
Conclusion
The role of gender in media cannot be underestimated. Gender has a great influence on the content of media of all kinds (Steiner and Carter, 2008). The relevant forms of media select their content of publication by considering gender identities. It is along these lines that male and female magazines differ greatly in their content. A practical example is the comparison of vogue magazine for females and the male health magazine which is meant for men.
A deeper evaluation and analysis of the two magazines reveal the gender considerations in the publication of the same. As a result, it can be deduced that male and female audiences are not treated to the same content. From the analysis above it appears that female magazines exalt fantasy and tend to exemplify elegance and high social living. On the other hand, male magazines are topical n nature and tend to be more educative. The general conclusion, therefore, s that gender identities play a crucial role in determining the content of publication by the media.
The examples used here of the two magazines can be extended to the app to all forms of media where gender plays a vital role in shaping the content of the same. The paper has taken an analytical look at the role of gender in media. Two examples have been used to explore the whole subject. A male and female magazine was selected for this discussion. The evaluation has had a contrasting conclusion where different genders are treated to different topics. As a result, it can be said that gender plays a crucial role in the determination of the content of media.
Reference List
Fiske, J., 1996. Media matters: race and gender in U.S. politics. Minnesota; University of Minnesota.
Gauntlett, D., 2008. Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. Routledge: New York.
Gill, R., 2007. Gender and the media. Washington: Polity.
Hilliard, R., 2001. Media, education, and America’s counter-culture revolution: lost and found opportunities for media impact on education, gender, race, and the arts. Washington: Greenwood Publishing.
Hjorth, L., Mobile media in the Asia Pacific: gender and the art of being mobile. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Humez, M. and Dines, G., 2003. Gender, race, and class in media: a text-reader. New York: Sage.
Kearney, M., 2010. The gender and media reader. New York: Taylor & Francis
Sarow, M. and Kedrowski, K., 2007. Cancer activism: gender, media, and public policy. Illinois: Illinois University.
Steiner, L. and Carter, C., 2008. Critical readings: media and gender. Michigan: Michigan University Press.
Zarkov, D., 2007. The body of war: media, ethnicity, and gender in the break-up of Yugoslavia. London; Duke University Press.
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