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. 

Positive and negative stereotypes – Stereotypes are things we associate with people or things and is an image that we create for these people or things; such as a male being strong and a female more weak and not so ‘out’ there. Stereotypes can be good or bad. Positive shows something good about people and negative shows something bad about people or a person.

Counter-types – Often a stereotypical character that acts against the dominant ideology of a stereotype .

Misrepresentation – Something that misrepresents an idea, situation, opinion or fact often given by a person and is presented in the wrong way.

Selective representation – When some groups of people can be/are represented in more than one way and are represented more than other groups.

Dominant ideology – The main idea or concept that is most widely believed by a large amount of people. it’s a world view that is believed by an individual, group or society that is considered to be true or important.

Constructed reality – This is where media presents things in a way that you believe is normal and the right way to be.

Hegemony – This is a way to describe people or ideas that become and seek to remain dominant in society. Leadership or dominance of a particular group over others.

Audience Positioning – This is an audience that doesn’t actively engage with a text and media places audiences in a position in the media form or text and makes them accept the dominant meaning more.

I wanted to create a magazine which will reflect how people can improve in games they want to improve in and will be appealing to the reader/consumer, and I intend to make a gamer guide for beginners as people today are often in need of guides however they often cease to exist. I would like to include information that is relevant to my initial ideas and needs to be up to date, informative and some what interesting as this product does need to appeal to the target audience. I also want to make the magazine colourful and vibrant but in a subtle way as I don’t want to make the magazine appear as if it’s only focused on the design and not the actual content itself as that’s not the image I want people to have of it. I intend to make it readily available to a variety of people and include a wide variety of games as I need to show that I have variability and can more or less resemble what a real magazine is like. My target audience (ideal consumer) will be for teenagers aged 15+ (both genders) as this is generally the age where most people get into gaming or are already doing so, and lots even on a regular basis. 15 year old’s will generally want to improve their game play as they may want to show off their skills to their friends or just want to gain greater knowledge of the game as a whole; in addition everyone needs some tips and tricks now and then. I have decided to use/keep in mind the audience theory in my magazine but specifically reception theory which includes dominant, negotiated and oppositional views as I want the consumer to be able to freely interpret the magazine however they want and everyone will interpret this differently as people look for different things and not everyone is the same. I decided to create a 3D character and put it onto my front cover because it shows that I can create something and take the time to make something that looks good and will hopefully intrigue people and make them want to actually look further into the magazine and become interested in the product. This character also gives an insight on what the magazine contains e.g: the character is dressed in an army outfit which could connote that there are war/battle games inside which could also intrigue the consumer as the contents inside are unknown to them. The 3D character is my dominant signifier.

Representation: My dominant signifier is being represented as being ‘big’ and muscular which implies masculinity and represents how we portray men in the present day. We expect them to be muscular and strong and fight to get what we want or think we deserve as that’s what we’ve always known; it’s what we accept in society nowadays because it’s not something that has been introduced but has just been with us in the community for decades. This could be considered dominant ideology.

Statement of intent: I intend to make a gamer guide for beginners and include various games as people today are often in need of guides however they often cease to exist. I intend to have relative information in my magazine as it needs to be up to date, informative and some what interesting. People who want to get better at the games I include in this coursework will be able to read some helpful tips and just read if they want to.

Ideal consumer?: The ideal consumer for my product would be teenagers from about 15+ as the majority of people that play video games are teenagers as that’s around the age when people get into gaming. Most people will want some tips in order to improve with their gameplay.