How magazines position their audience Essay

Most life style magazines position their reference by adopting a particular mode of address which is aimed to create a relationship amongst the magazine and its earreach, for example the front teetotum of FHM (September 2003) includes the following sieve lines Dress repair than Becks Mess with her head and Biggest of all time world awaken survey. These cover lines speak to the audience, which in this case would be men, by saying if you buy this magazine we will show you how to dress cave in than one of Englands top footballers.It identifies with the single male and how to get retaliation on your ex it in like manner invites them to be a part of the biggest invariably sex survey, this reinforces the bond between the magazine and its audience and makes them feel a part of an exclusive club. The front cover of FHM (September 2003) attempts to hook its male audience by using an image, which represents female sexuality. The picture of a female repute in a provocative pose wear ing just her underwear takes up most of the page. It is used to grab its audiences oversight on the basis of male and female attraction.The fact that its a celebrity means its not just anyone, its someone famous and the use of her first name means it is a more snug approach and helps the audience to feel closer to this voluptuous female. FHM is in aspiration with emaps Loaded and GQ, which means that their front cover has to stand tabu above all the rest. FHM uses the exclusive photo shoot of Samia and the Biggest ever world sex survey to promote their magazine as better than any other. The Exclusive shoot of Samia means this has not been through with(p) for any other magazine, just for the readers of FHM.The FHM title has been partially covered up by the main image, which suggests that the magazine is well established and no long needs to show its full identity. The front cover of FHM has typical generic wine conventions of a male lifestyle magazine, such as the image of a sexy female, it mentions Becks and fashion which has inter school textual links with football and has major sexual connotations with the call in of soft porn (Samias sexy shoot). It in addition includes inside stories on females and sex (girls on the sofa discuss cocks).The red writing adds to the sexy image as red is symbolic of love, lust and sex and it also helps the magazine to stand out. The FHM magazine fulfils the needs of diversion as it gives its audience the chance to escape from their daily routine through reading almost more light-hearted matters such as sex, women and cars. It also fulfils the needs of personal relationships by offering companionship as it identifies with its male audience and helps them to feel a part of an exclusive social group.By using the cover lines beaver of British, Mess With Her Head and the mention of Arnie (Arnold Schwarzenegger) it gives the audience personal identity and reinforces the norms and set of masculinity and manpower (Mc Qua il, Blumer and Brown 1972). Male lifestyle magazines can be seen as stereotypical of men and male values. Using the front cover of FHM (September 2003) as an example, it suggests that men atomic number 18 only interested in sex, au naturel(predicate) women, football and male dominance as most of the page is taken up by the half naked image of a woman. The features mentioned on the front cover are mainly to do with sex, cars and getting vindicate on women.The FHM title is made up of the colours of the British flagstone and the caption Best of British. This can be seen as patriotic which also implies male dominance as Britain is a patriarchal society (male dominated) and wherefore reinforces the idea of manpower. Male lifestyle magazines can also be seen to salute a bias ideology of women as most of the women in their magazines are very pretty, thin and sexy which assumes that all men who read these magazines are attracted to this type of woman. This is not always true of all m en and hence gives a false impression of the male expectations of women.This representation of women is also not necessarily the true reality of what most women look like and could be seen to pressurise women and men conform to this stereotypical expectation of the perfect woman. This would think on how the specific audience of these magazines position themselves in relation to the text and whether they took the preferred reading and accepted this to be normal, negotiated what they thought and interpreted it how they chose to or opposed the reading totally and therefore this type of magazine may not appeal to them. (Stuart Hall).