Representation in Attitude magazine

how are gay men represented on attitude online?

• men are sexualised- attractive men used as models with abs and six packs
• body confident- article about 80 year old man showing off his body confidence- aspirational to readers, also binary opposition with most men shown in the magazine who have abs.
• conformity to stereotypes- vain, they care too much about beauty and fashion (e.g in the active section theres an emphasis on weight loss and muscle definition).
• a focus on aesthetics
• represented as vulnerable- references to the "coming out" narrative.
• hypersexualised- beyond sexualisation, most images of men in the magazine are hypersexualised, big focus on openness and "out-there" sexualisation. 
• the magazine and website have a definite target audience, and may go "hidden" in the general populace.
• article on gay rugby team focusses on the team's body image as opposed to their supporting prowess, again reinforcing an emphasis on aesthetics.
• extravagant/ over the top, with exotic lifestyles.
• proud and self confident- gives target audience the confidence to come out and live with pride.
• article of christiano renaldo- he's a subject of the gay male gaze, they've selected very hypersexualised images of him (|shirtless pictures, emphasis on abs).
• attitude online is similar to woman magazine, to some extent- we see stereotypically attractive men/ women.
• Attitude is offering singular stereotype representations of men- not very diverse. 

to what extent can it be argued that attitude magazine represents a singular, stereotypical and reductive representation of masculinity and why?

• heteronormativity-where you assume everyone in a media text is straight.
• same body type shown- subverts the norm that homosexual men are flamboyant.
• the use of stereotypically attractive men can cultivate the idea that gay men should look like the models in the magazine. 
• attitude online allows closeted gay men to read the magazine without fear of being judged for buying the hardcopy of the magazine. 

• What representations of masculinity are constructed in this front cover? 

There is a mixture of  masculine and feminine representation as well as sexualisation encoded in this front cover. this is encoded through the mise-en-scene of  his eye make up, that is typically worn by women. his hand is on his face- this gesture is unconventional for a male as it comes off as gentle and over-exaggerated this is conventional for a homosexual male as it shows he is extravagant and even flamboyant. the mise-en-scene of his moustache is very 70/80's gay stereotype. he is sexualised as his jacket is open, slightly revealing his body. he is directly staring at the audience as if he is angry.

• To what extent does this cover subvert hegemonic representations of masculinity?

He is wearing pink nail polish- this is in binary opposition with his army style jacket that is masculine. the front cover is a challenging idea of masculinity- it is more feminine than the online website as theres less emphasis on the "buff" body type male and more emphasis on more "feminine" homosexuals. the mise-en-scene of make up subverts the hegemonic representations of masculinity. the hermeneutic code of the unzipped jacket is symbolic of sexualised images of women in uniform. the mise-en-scene of the unzipped jacket is also proairetic as it implies that sex is about to take place. the position of where he's stood- facial expression and hand on his hip anchors the audience that this is a magazine targeted towards homosexual men.

• How is anchorage provided by the cover lines of the magazine cover?

the lexis in the cover lines is pink- anchors the audience that this magazine is targeted towards gay men.

• How does the print version of Attitude demonstrate digital convergence?

The magazine version is selling attitude online and attitude online is selling attitude the magazine (on the website theres a link to subscribe to the magazine and on the magazine cover there is the name of the online website) it is synergistic.


a sell line- specifically addresses something you are going to see in magazine, promising audience stuff inside the magazine.


stuart hall: stereotypes and inequality in attitude

• he suggests that the media and the power of media representations play an important role in defining the ideological thinking of audiences regarding specific social groups.
• he argues that stereotyping as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits. 
• hall's argument with stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or "other."
• he also argues that stereotypes work by reducing characters to simplistic physical characteristics/ traits. 
• stereotypes reflect the amount of power that social groups have within society, and that negative negative stereotypes reflect social inequalities or the wider views of society.
• in other words, the construction of specific groups as "outsiders" or "others" by media products mirror their social exclusion from wider society.

Key theory 11- Theories around ethnicity and post-colonial theory, Paul Gilroy

• colonialism: setting up colonies in other countries by force.
• post colonialism: the study of the impact that being under direct rule has had on former colonies. For example, despite being a tiny island, Britain colonised and declared ownership of many countries.
• these ideas and attitudes continue to shape contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
• these postcolonial attitudes have constructed racial hierarchies in our society, where. for example, white people are by and large given more positive and important roles than BME people.
• media producers are also guilty of using binary oppositions to reinforce bme people and characters as "others."

How can we apply this theory to the representation of gay people:

• postcolonial attitudes: 
• hierarchies: in society, there is a hierarchy of straight people above gay people (example the james bond scene with silva and james)
• binary oppositions:
• othering: gay culture subverts norms (e.g: gay men who wear make up, subverts masculine norms). Attitude represents gay men as stereotypically attractive men (muscular, abs etc)- not all gay men look like this or are attracted to men who look like this.