Ideology and Objectification of Women and Men in Magazines

Every single music, magazine and television programme objectifies women as young slim girls with the perfect body. Otherwise known as the "male gaze"; a camera shot or angle that shows the perfect gaze from a male perspective. Usually looking down upon the female body with her wearing as little clothing as possible.

To men; women wearing as little as possible makes her look empowering and sensual, however in my view it makes her look ridiculous. Wearing tight short clothing for the excitement and amusement of men. Usually for money or wanting attention.

But it is also to advertise to all women who don't have the perfect body or amazing figure that they can easily get it. The ideology of these two covers displays a representation of the perfect women and shows the genre of the music magazine. To give tips and advise on how to get this and live the "perfect life".

With magazine covers like this; the background is very light an plain, to influence the models best assets and for the reader to focus on the model. Which of course is a young girl who is airbrushed to an inch of her life showing enough skin to make readers want more. In addition the issue has information on this weeks top outfits, to have great sex and top diets that celebrities are using.


There aren't many magazines with men on the cover, but obviously the Vogue cover is to show the perfect man towards a female perceptive; mostly because he is shown on a fashion magazine that women buy. However the Bloke's Health magazine is another story. This magazine is targeted to men who are trying to lose weight, and by using an overly weight man on the front brings back reality to the male gender. Making them think, do they really want to look like this? Because honestly i would rather look at the Vogue magazine than the Bloke's Health magazine. Even though its not even targeted towards the female gender.

The same with the female covers; they all have a bland background, to draw attention towards the model and influence the camera angle and the amount of airbrushing, toning and tanning. On the other hand Bloke's Health is more realistic because it has none of these techniques, it is just blunt and to the point. It body is not pretty or perfect and you have to work to get it. Unlike the other three magazines.

The ideology of these two magazines is to objectify men of how they are meant to look and how to get it, just like the two women magazines however the difference between the magazines on this post is that the women look vulnerable and cheap yet the men look empowering and strong. Yes the magazines may include the same tips and information but its all about how the models on the cover are portrayed.