In this essay I will discuss what gender is and how it is portrayed in media through the magazine Men’s Health and the game cover Tomb Raider. I will talk about the representation of this and how we are positioned to think in a certain way, and the effect it can have on society because it can be damaging if we think about it too deeply and for too long; people nowadays obsess over the smallest of things and the media has a big role to play in this. I will also be talking about stereotypes and how media presents that people should be a certain way even if it’s unrealistic. Specifically, I am going to focus on how Tomb Raider represents females as being sexualised too much, and how Men’s Health implies that males must be a certain way in order to be successful and need to be this big figure in the modern world. In my opinion I think that both CSP’s are radical and reactionary.
To begin, Men’s Health and Tomb Raider present gender in two very different and conflicting ways, as Men’s Health is purely focused on reaching the target audience, which is men who are highly into fitness or want to get into fitness. The producers believe that the image of a muscular and fit male will intrigue their target audience as it’s showing what a man can become, however this could be considered a bit far-fetched as it’s not always possible to really look that way. This implies the front cover is radical as men in society don’t actually look like that. Although Men’s Health is portraying men as being muscular and strong, the producers aren’t sexualising the subject other than signifying his muscles. I believe this is negatively stereotyping how men should be as it is portraying unnatural/unrealistic standards, and it can potentially be bad for men’s mental health if they can’t look like the image which is ‘fake’. However, some people will see this as reactionary as it in some ways supports the way we think men should be in society, and Men’s Health could potentially encourage healthier eating or encourage people to go the extra mile in order to get where they want and feel satisfied in their own bodies.
On the other hand, Lara Croft has been over sexualised in order to appeal to the target audience which in this case is generally the male population. This could possibly indicate that females are being portrayed as objects and are only good for their breasts and rear ends. This is a clear negative stereotype that supports the dominant ideology which makes this text reactionary as nowadays society believes that females should be ‘fit’ and ‘attractive’, however we know that this isn’t always the case. This could potentially cause misrepresentation between society and the media itself. The media is putting unhealthy images into our minds and is positioning us to only see what they want us to see, which I consider worrying as it is partly unethical. The producers do this to maximise their profit. Lara Croft is the dominant signifier in Tomb Raider which adds more significance as people will want to ‘enjoy’ or ‘appreciate’ the main character more, and the sexualisation of this will allow for this to happen. Both CSP’s position the audience to behave in a certain way and see things the way media portrays them. This is where Reception theory comes in.
Furthermore, Reception theory is shown in both CSP’s. People will perceive the texts in different ways with the options being Dominant, Negotiated and Oppositional for reception theory. People will interpret the magazine Men’s Health and game cover Tomb Raider in different ways. Some people will support the dominant ideology and the information given, but some other people may be against what these are portraying and have oppositional views. For example, in Men’s Health a 69-year-old man (Phillip Howells) is shown to still be competing in marathons which connotes that this man is healthy which portrays the magazine positively which may encourage more people to be healthy; however, some people may think this is unethical and that he is too old to be running marathons. Tomb Raider will have some similar views but also many different ones as no one is the same. For example, on the back of the game we can see Lara Croft in action, and we get an overview of what the game is like; she is portrayed as being adventurous which could intrigue people. Some people will like this idea and will support it as they want to get involved, however other people may either see why some people can like this game and why some people don’t, or be completely against the game and not see any other side as they have their opinion and are unwilling to change it.
In conclusion, I believe that both Men’s Health and Tomb Raider represent gender in contrasting ways, with some positive and some negative elements. Men’s Health portrays that people should become fit and healthy; these ideas are portrayed in mostly positive ways but with some negative elements due to unrealistic goals for most people. Tomb Raider portrays females as sexual objects which connotes a negative stereotype and I believe this isn’t how females should be objectified as they’re more than that and are people just like anyone else. The target audience for Men’s Health have a slightly more realistic image to follow, whereas the target audience for Tomb Raider are just there for the game and the sexualised character rather than the reality of it.