1. How is the male gaze relevant when analysing magazines?
Printmagazineshave beenpopularmediaproductssince 1731, theycome ina varietyof genresto
suitall and are filledwitharticlesandadvertising. HearstCommunicationsare amassmedia
companyand are home tosome of the mostpopularwomen’smagazines,fromCosmopolitan,Elle,
Women’sHealthandmore.I am goingto be discussinghow these magazines,specificallymagazine
covers, cater to the Male Gaze theoryand how thisinfluencestheiraudience. Iwill be researching
multiple magazinesownedbyHearst,analysingthese covers andwhythe modelsandcoverlines
were writtenanddisplayedthisway,makingreferencestothemthroughout.
The Male Gaze isa theoryfirstdescribedby Britishfilmtheorist, LauraMulvey,inher1973 essay
‘Visual Pleasure andNarrative Cinema’.The theorystatesthatwomeninmediaare portrayed
throughthe lensof a heterosexual male. Theyare sexualisedandobjectified throughoutall formsof
mediatoappeal to the male desire. AsMulveystates, “The determiningmale gaze projectsits
phantasyon to the female formwhichisstyledaccordingly.Intheirtraditional exhibitionistrole
womenare simultaneouslylookedatanddisplayed” Inmedia,the male gaze hasthree perspectives,
one beingfromthe man behindthe camera,the male charactersand the male spectators. This
theorybeingsoprominentinmediameansthatthislensisnaturally mirroredineverydaylife,
warpingfemale self-esteem, andencouragingtoxicmasculinity. Criticismsagainstthistheoryisthat
bothwomenandmenare objectifiedincinema,alsothe presence of the male gaze inmedia
suggeststhatthere isan oppositional femalegaze.
Hearst CommunicationsisaninternationalmediacompanybasedinNew YorkCity. Foundedby
WilliamRandolphHearst in1887, itis the oldestmediacompanyinthe world. Theyownmagazines,
newspapers,tvchannelsandstations andare alsothe thirdbiggestmagazinespublisherinthe UK.
Hearst owna wide range of popularmagazinesfromdifferentgenressuchashealth, beauty,
lifestyle,fitnessandhome magazines. Some of these well-knownmagazinesinclude Cosmopolitan,
Elle,GoodHousekeeping andmore. Throughoutthe years,Hearsthave facedcontroversyfrom
these magazinesandhowtheircontenthasbeeninappropriate andpotentiallydamaging.In2012,
formermodel Nicole WeidercampaignedforCosmopolitantobe onlysoldtothose over18 because
of the sexuallyexplicitcontentpresentedontheircoversandwithinthe magazine.The
granddaughterof WilliamRandolphHearst,VictoriaHearstalsojoinedthiscampaignstating, “I
telephonedFrankBennack,headof the company,andtoldhimCosmopolitanshouldnotbe soldto
minorsandthat I wouldlike toaddressthe boardabout it.He refusedtoallow itandrefusedto
admitit.Sex sellsandthe companydoesnotcare that Cosmogets intothe handsof children.”They
have alsobeencriticismsreceivedof the retouchingof photosandairbrushingtochange the
model’sbodiesthroughoutvariousmagazinesownedbythemsuch asElle,Harper’sBazaar, Men’s
Health,Seventeen, andmore.
SeventeenMagazine isabi-monthly teenmagazinebasedinNew YorkCity. Althoughclaimingtobe
a magazine deliveringguidance andentertainment toteens,theirmagazine covers,andarticles
promote toxicbeautystandardsthatcater to society’smale gaze.Ultimately,thismakestheir
contentdamagingtotheiraudience. Teenagers,particularly,are more vulnerabletobeing
influencedby the standardssetinmediaproductsandcouldmore easilybe shapedintobeingmore
‘desirable’throughthe lensof the male gaze whilstinthe mostinfluential timeintheirlives. “It
teacheschildrenthatthe male gaze ispart of the waythat menare supposedtoact and perceive the
worldand the waywomenare meantto be perceivedandputup with.” A majorityof theircovers
setthisstandard,but I will be focusing more closelyon Seventeen’s November2011 frontcover
2. starringHeatherMorris. Startingoff withthe centre of the cover,the maincoverline reads ‘Look
cute and confident:hairandmakeupideas thatmake youINSTANTLYprettier’. Thiscoverline is
intendedtobe one of the firstthingsthe audience readsonthe cover.Thiscoverline isimmediately
conveyingtotheiryoungteenaudiencethattheyhave toweartheirhair a certainwayor dotheir
makeupinorderto lookconfidentand'be prettier'.Thiscreatesastandard forthemthat, notonly
compromisestheirself-worth,butalsoappalstothe male gaze.In orderfor themto be 'desirable',
theymustlooka certainway, andpurchasingthismagazine will tellthemall theyneedtoknow
abouthow theycan be 'instantlyprettier'orlookjustlike the airbrushedmodel onthe cover.The
coverline 'perfectlegs,buttandabs:no workoutrequired'suggeststotheiraudience thatthere is
such a thingas a 'perfect'bodythat needstobe attained.'Noworkoutrequired'meansthatthe
article will mostlikelyinclude dietingadvice insteadof exercisetips,conveyingtotheiraudience that
eatingor restrictingcertainfoodsisanotherrequirementtoobtainthisairbrushed'perfect'body.
The cover star, HeatherMorris,appearsto be veryairbrushed;herskinissmoothedwithnotapore
insightas her hairflowsperfectlyinthe wind.Thesecoverlinesandeditedimages,althoughsmall,
can still be extremelyharmfulto teens.Asstatementslike these appearconsistentlyonvarious
magazine coversandarticles,theycanendup influencingtheiraudiencetoadjusttheirappearance,
exercise,andeatinghabitsinordertofittothese standards. Theirowntargetaudience alsoagrees
that these airbrushedphotosandtopicsare damagingandcontributingtobodyimage issues.In
2012, 14-year-oldJuliaBluhmlaunchedapetitionaskingSeventeentoprintone unalteredspreada
month, “For the sake of all the strugglinggirlsall overAmerica,whoreadSeventeenandthinkthese
fake imagesare whattheyshouldbe,I’msteppingup.Iknow how hurtful these photoshopped
imagescan be.”
The male gaze theory isconsistentlypresentinmostmagazines,asthistheoryissoprominentin all
mediaproductsandin society,thisisunsurprising. AsjournalistSarahVanbuskirksays,“When
women,men,girls,andboysroutinelysee womenandgirlsdepictedinthislimited,sexualized
manner,it'sno surprise thatthisobjectifiedview informsyourexpectations,culture,andpersonal
identities.”The male gaze isso heavilyembeddedinsocietythatnomatterwho youare or the
mediaproductsyouviewthere will alwaysbe aninfluence of the male gaze anditsunrealistic
standards.
The way that the male gaze is presentedwhenamagazine istargetedtoa male audience vsafemale
audience is extremelysimilar.Twomagazine coversthatshow thisisthe June 2012 Men's Fitness
coverand April 2013 Cosmopolitancover.Whilst Men'sFitnessisahealthandfitnessmagazine
cateredto a male audience,Cosmopolitanisabeautyandlifestylemagazine targetedtoafemale
audience.However,thesebothfollowthe same formulathatisusedtopresentthe male gaze in
mostmagazines.The centre of bothcoversfeaturesanairbrushedmodel inminimalorrevealing
clothingwhilstsurroundedbycoverlinesthathave statementspromotingarticleswithinthe
magazine thatisharmful to theirtargetedaudience. “Womenare reducedtonothingexcepttheir
looks,completelylosingthe senseof humanityandhavingapersonalityof theirown,notjusta
personalitythatcomplimentsthe man whilstthe strong,masculine,manlymenare alwaysthere to
protectwomenandbarelyfitthroughthe door withtheirbroadshoulders.” Cosmopolitanhas
statementssuchas‘whyguys pull away(andwhatto do whenithappens)’and‘sexyhairandpretty
makeup’thatsexualisesthe modelandthe targetaudience.Itistryingto persuade themthatif they
buythismagazine thentheywill be shownhow tobe more attractive throughthe lensof the male
gaze.Many magazinescateredtoa female audience follow thispatternwithintheirmagazines,
anotherexample of thisbeingSeventeen,whichIpreviouslyanalysed. The Men'sFitness coveralso
immediatelysexualisesthe model withthe heading‘yourhottersex issue’.The coverlines‘she hates
a gut! getthe girl andkeephersatisfied’isharmful asitencouragesunhealthybodystandardsand
3. warpstheiraudiencesbodyimage.Ittellsthemthat if theywantto‘getthe girl’thentheymust
appeara certainwayto appeal tothem.The term‘getthe girl’isalso objectifyingtowomen. Whilst
the male gaze presentswomenasa secondarycharacter,as an objectthat appealstomale desire.
The male gaze alsosetsa standardfor men,theyare conditionedtobelievethattheymustappear
strongerand masculine,alwaysthere toprotectthe womenwhoare presentedasweakerand
fragile andnotexpresstheiremotions.Thisisharmful andpromotestoxicmasculinityandunhealthy
bodystandardswithinsociety. “The male gaze servesnobody.Itonlycreatesadistortedvisionof
reality,makingvirtuallynobodysatisfiedorhappy.Notinthe long term, at least.”
Elementsof thisstudythatI will incorporate intomyownFMPis that these magazine coversall
followthe same layoutwiththe covermodel inthe centre,andthe coverlinessurroundingthe outer
edges.Theyalsouse boldtextandfontwithshortstatementstodraw theiraudience intowanting
to readthe magazine.Iwill applythese designaspectswhencreatingmyownprintproducts.
However,throughoutthesemagazine covers,there isatheme of coverlinesthatsuggestthat
purchasingtheirmagazine willenable themtoattaina 'perfect'standardor be appealingthrough
the lensof the male gaze.Therefore,Iwill notbe usingstatementsonmyproductsthatcouldbe
potentiallyharmful orpromote toxicstandardstomytarget audience whenfollowingthe design
conventionsinmyownwork.Forresearch, I lookedata majorityof magazinesownedbyHearst,
whichallowedme tosee similaritiesanddifferencesof thesecoversandhow theyfacedsimilar
controversyintermsof howthe male gaze ispresentedintheirproducts.Iwill use thisresearch
layoutformy FMP as it waseasy tofindlotsof informationinthe same place andthendofurther
researchintothe theoryoverall.
In conclusion,Ihave learnedthatthe male gaze wasoriginallyatheorythatexplainedhow female
characters were presentedinfilm, andthistheoryisnow presentthroughoutmostmediaproducts
and isa standardthat isfollowedinsocietythatpeople feelthe needtoattainto. The male gaze is
relevantwhenanalysingmagazinesasthe male gaze isa lensthatis now so prominent insocietyand
influential throughoutmedia.The male gaze isalsoveryobviouslypresentedinmagazinesand
magazine coversbecause,whetheritiscateredtoa male audience ornot,womenare so blatantly
sexualisedonthe frontcoversandthroughoutthe magazines.
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