Tomb Rider and Men’s Health Magazine are both clear examples of how sexualisation is used by companies to attract a specific audience. Sexualisation is used by these brands to increase their audience and spread their influence to a range of different people.
In the Lara Croft front cover, Lara Croft is shown as the dominant signifier, on the front cover, Lara Croft is positioned in a manner that distinctly shows off her assets which can be easily seen by any viewer. This positioning of Lara Croft is a clear example of the sexualisation used by the brand to attract a large male audience to the game. On the front cover the brand misrepresent Lara Croft by implying that the game is focused on her features rather than her characteristics and knowledge. Lara Croft is also wearing short clothes on the front cover, this is used to show off her features more as her clothes seem to be tight and small. On the back cover of the Lara Croft game there is a paradigm of using angles which evidently show off her assets from behind and in front which objectifies Lara Croft, this misuse of gameplay shots is used to intrigue male audiences by suggesting that the game concentrates on Lara Croft’s exaggerated features, this then creates a negative stereotype for female characters in video games.
In the Men’s Health Magazine front cover, the celebrity Vin Diesel is shown as the dominant signifier, Vin Diesel is used for this front cover as he is of a muscular build and tends to keep fit and healthy, this links with the gender stereotype that men should be strong and muscular to be a “real man”. The front cover of the magazine is filled with significations that men should improve their diets and build on their muscle. In Men’s Health Magazine paradigms of muscle growth and weight loss are used to support the idea of influencing men to get stronger and be more physically attractive. The men’s health magazine does challenge male stereotypes slightly as it includes ”slay winter blues” which links to mental illness and depression which is a leading cause of death for males under the age of 50. On the back cover of the Men’s Health Magazine it shows its content, this page includes activities and fitness that men should follow, this implies that men should be more active and fit which is a misrepresentation of what a man should be.
The Men’s Health Magazine differs from Lara Croft as on the Lara Croft front cover she is objectified and sexualised to attract a male audience whereas Vin Diesel is used as a stereotype to influence its male audience. The Lara Croft game is a better example of a radical text as it challenges the negative stereotype of women being “the damsel in distress” and instead makes her an intelligent and action-packed character who explores ancient sites. The Men’s Health Magazine is an example of a reactionary text as it supports the ideology that men must be physically fit and healthy.
The Men’s Health Magazine which uses Philip Howells challenges male stereotypes by including an older male as the dominant signifier, which is a clear counter type, this can be seen as a radical text as it challenges the idea of being young and muscular. This cover also does not include any techniques and activities to build muscles, instead it gives the audience insight into how Phillip Howells has remained healthy at his age which can influence males to be more active.
Both Men’s Health Magazine and Lara Croft appeal to a male audience through the use of different techniques. In the Men’s Health Magazine male stereotypes are used to influence male audience members to be more sport involved and muscular whereas Lara Croft is sexualised and objectified to falsely attract a male audience to the game. However both Lara croft and Men’s Health Magazine have changed their covers and motives by using other techniques to widen their audience, for example Lara Croft no longer has exaggerated features, the brand expand their audience now by improving the narrative and quality of their games, Men’s Health Magazine now include guidance and support for mental illness and have changed their dominant signifier to less stereotypical men.
Both Men’s Health Magazine and Lara Croft used stereotypes to intrigue their male audience to improve their profit. However, both Lara Croft and Men’s Health Magazine now use different strategies to attract their audience.
