In my essay, I am going to be talking about the stereotyping of genders and the negative mindsets it encourages. I am using two different forms of media to explain and expose the subliminal similarities these sources show. The sources I’m exposing today are the popular magazine “Men’s Health”, and the video game cover of “Tomb Raider. The topics I will be discussing “Men’s Health” are first specifically chosen dominant signifier and its fabricated dominant ideology, associated with male stereotypes. Also, I will be talking about the planned bold subtext and chosen primal colours, that are meant to attract certain audiences throughout men’s health magazine. I will then be interpreting and explaining why it can give off a negative mindset for its audience. Then I will be explaining how not just the title page is covered in subliminal messages that complies with Maslow’s audience theory. After that I will lead onto tomb raiders and the links with Men’s Health and Gauntlett’s audience theory, additionally I will mention about the protagonist on the front cover of Tomb Raider, and how it enforce opinions of objectifying women. After going over that, will finish with my conclusion of how the gender shown in media impacts its audience either in a positive matter or negative matter.
Beginning with the magazine known as “Men’s Health” and its meticulously, chosen layout of its front cover, the audience is first drawn to the dominant signifier of the male figure, on the centre of the page. The most noticeable feature in this image is his positioning and lighting effects on his muscles. The company has specifically directed his stance and the lighting to accentuate his biceps. The company’s reason for doing this would be to comply with the stereotypical male and the theme of the magazine. Subliminally stating in the image that a man is strong, cool, determined are all symbolic signs to add to the theme of the magazine to attract male audiences. This can impact audiences, psychologically, because it can set too high of a standard of living, and identity, which isn’t realistic for males to live up to. This dominant ideology of the stereotyped male is toxic and can damage the mental health of men excessively. By subliminally telling their male consumers, who may not have the appearance or presence of “coolness” that this image has, being anything different is supposedly bad, or won’t be liked by society. The company’s choice of representation and subliminal messages it can give off can refer to cultivation theory by George Gerbner based around his research on TV viewing. Explaining that with time and exposure to a certain opinion, can change the consumer’s thoughts unknowingly to fit the companies once radical ideas, into reactionary dominant ideology.
Moving onto his chosen clothing of neutral colours of grey and black, further complies with the stereotype, held up to men. It’s considered normal for men to wear dark and bland colours since it helps make them look “cool”. Referring to colour psychology, colours influence perceptions that aren’t obvious, to display emotions, making things more favourable, more exciting, and are symbolic signs that can tell an audience who the magazine is for without saying it. For example, the colour pink in a magazine can mean its more of a girl magazine since it’s a stereotype that women are linked and love the colour pink. Focusing on the certain type of t-shirt he is wearing is important to notice he has short sleeves, tight around the tops of the arms but looser around the chest, and he has a v-neck to show more of his muscles off, without being too revealing. For male models, it’s quite radical to ever see a man in a crop top, or in sexualized positions used in women’s modelling because its classified as radical. I think instead someone should challenge the dominant ideology of the stereotypical men and women, so they aren’t so different and toxic. Why can’t women and men stereotypes, be more realistic, encouraging, and accepting? Giving off good motivation and messages when generations are influenced by them, instead of giving them something impossible to live up to.
Looking back now at the text around the dominant signifier of the front page it’s noticeable to see many bold, blue coloured, subheadings, framing around the centre of the magazine. There are over 10 plugs used to attract certain audiences, uses of colour psychology and uses an example of a counter type and a universal sign, by using the colour blue saying its known that all boys like the colour blue, and are linked with the colour blue. This paradigm can all fall under the category of codes for the media, but on a more specific note, I want to focus on the plug that is called “SHORTCUTS TO T-SHIRT ARMS”.Furthermore, this phrase complies with the gender narrative and negotiated identity theory created by Swann of how the once agreed upon identity of let’s say a man’s arms being strong, is then set in stone to be a standard by all and therefore becomes the dominant ideology. With this phrase, I read further about the page it’s linked too and it talks about the exercises for his “blockbuster arms” with weight training. It then goes onto talk about how to “Fire Up Your Engines” by sprinting, but I’d like to point out the key language the writer used when writing of counter typing of having certain titles and subheadings in blue or having the background colour of a paragraph blue. Subliminally telling readers that this page is for boys. The use of targeted language, specifically pointing out to the reader about growth hormones and testosterone increase. Instead of mentioning other hormones like endorphins or dopamine which is less directed to male readers, they used the word testosterone and growth hormones because it makes the information more direct and desired to read since its set that men need a lot of it to be considered a real man. Secondly, the connotations and Anchorage on this page are the lighting bolt above the paragraph to signify energy, and energy with humans can be associated with exercise so that’s why it’s used. The use of Anchorage would be the bullet points used to make the information easier to read and to keep the interest of the reader.
Elaboration the middle page I really only want to focus on the bottom left image with its speech bubble. The image is of the front cover protagonist named Diesel and the speech bubble says, “Diesel slant is one to aspire”. I want to go further into this phrase, since it’s a great example of subtle and subliminal control of consumers ideology. Why is something so pointless as a way of standing need to mean anything?, Why does the media chose to make a certain way of standing, something we need to worry about in our day to day lives. This just adds to the list of things we are expected to be and do and the theory explained by Gauntlett of constructed identity to convey specific ideas and values related to culture and identity in society.
Talking more about Gauntlett Audiences theory, Gauntlett’s theory can relate to the video game Tomb Raider, new and old version. On the front cover of the newer Tomb Raider, the shape of the main character Lara croft complies with the theory of constructed identity and reality. You can see this because developers created Lara Croft in a specific way for her to be more desired. Which also links to the stereotype built for women and how women should be thin which links with the identity part of Gauntlett’s theory. By her having an unrealistic but desirable shape their game is therefore more desired by the public. Since first, the hourglass shape is sexualized for women and have been known to be more wanted by the male audience from generations and generations idea of the ideal woman. To the female audience the image of Lara croft can give an impression of how they should look, and that’s again theory of constructed identity. Furthermore the different audiences that are showed this game can be put into categories, just like in Stuart Hall’s Audience Theory of preferred reading. Were you can have an audience love the character design for its sexual nature for instance the majority of male audiences. Then the negotiated audience, who are indecisive about the character design, possibly contemplating if they agree with the characters subliminal message or not, this could be some women or girl gamers who fall into the trap of constructed reality. Finally the oppositional audience, these types of gamers would reject the character design completely, for its message and the constructed reality it implies.
With this in mind, another noticeable thing about Lara Croft’s character is how her pose, and clothing are clear examples of objectifying women. Starting with her pose, Lara Croft is facing left with her face turned to face the front of the cover, this is done because then her butt is in frame plus her hourglass shape can be more noticeably recognised. Why is this allowed and normalized in society? Allowing covers to pose women specifically, just for the benefit of attracting audience by appealing to sexual aesthetic. Tomb raider is one of the first games with a female protagonist which I can see as a positive action done by the developers, but the way they have displayed her character is engunuin since on the one hand, it’s promoting female protagonist, but then on the other hand the cover has subliminal messages behind the character to make her more desired by sexualizing her.
In conclusion I think that media platforms such as Tomb Raider and Men’s Health use what I would consider, quite harsh and terrible ways to control their audiences, by impacting and controlling consumers confidence desires, and anxieties. I think that this contributes to bad mental health being formed, just so media platforms can sell their products.
