Attitude online - representations

Representation of Gay men in Attitude:

• Men are sexualised, topless, stereotypically attractive, abs and six packs
• conformity to stereotypes, vanity, gym culture being a gay stereotype, weight loss and muscle definition article, a focus on aesthetics 
• Represented as vulnerability, references to the 'coming out' narrative 
• Hypersexualised, beyond sexualised, big focus on openness and 'out there' sexualisation  
• However the magazine and website have a definite target audience, and may go hidden in the general population 
• Article of gay rugby team focuses on the teams body image as supposed to there sporting prowess, again reinforcing an emphasis on aesthetics 
• Extravagant and with exotic lifestyles 
• Proud and self confident. Gives audience the confidence to come out and to live with pride 
• Article of Ronaldo makes him seem gay and are hypersexualised 

- In the website we see a singular and stereotypically representation of men much like woman magazine 
- This might be a reaction to stereotypes
- Heteronormativity - where you assume everyone in a media text is straight 
- Use of many stereotypically attractive men cultivates the idea that gay men should look like that. 
- One advantage of the website is people don't have to go to the shop and people may see them buying it . 
- Attitude is potentially controversial 

Attitude is not diverse and is showing a singular stereotype representation of gay men 

What representations of masculinity are constructed in this front cover?

Subverts the stereotypes of masculinity. Quite feminine, with the pose, makeup and nail polish (mise en scene). His pose has connotations of being camp but he also seems quite open about being gay and seems quite confident. The costume/mise en scene of the army jacket has connotations of being tough, aggressive and masculine but there is a binary opposition as he is gay and also has it undone subverting the norms of being in the army. There is a proairetic code of unzipping the jacket may suggest sex. The red nail polish has a binary opposition to what he is wearing and the red has connotation of love. The makeup also suggests his femininity but also the look is quite dark, orange colours. Hand on hip and look of shock is quite feminine which anchors the audience that this is a magazine for a gay audience. This is media product is deliberately confused. Can link this to Judith Butler and 'gender troubles' 

• To what extent does this cover subvert hegemonic representations of masculinity?

Wearing nail polish subverts masculinity as it is stereotypically a feminine ting to do.

Wearing makeup suggests he is quite feminine and the fact it is done well not just a little bit suggests experience. 

The cover itself is quite feminine with the use of  electric pink font and the costume of the celebrity. 

He isn't fitting into either gender stereotype with the binary opposition between the makeup and his moustache 

• How does the print version of Attitude demonstrate digital convergence?

Attitude the magazine is selling Attitude online (synergistic) 

A sell line specifically addresses something you are going to see in the magazine, promising the audience the contents inside the magazine. 

Stereotypes and an inequality in Attitude:
Stuart Hall - the way in which we get stereotypes suggests that the media and the power of media representations play an important role in defining the ideological thinking of audiences regarding specific social groups. 

• We get stereotypes due to inequality, he argues that we normally have a group in power who constructs a stereotype of the 'other' (excluded groups/someone different to the norm). 
• Stereotypes work by making the world simpler, they work by reducing characters to simplistic physical characteristics and behavioural traits. 
• He argues that stereotypes reflect the amount of power that social groups have within a society and that negative stereotypes reflect, in Hall's view, social inequalities or the wider views of society. 
• The construction of specific groups as 'outsiders' or 'others' by media products mirror their social exclusion from wider society.

Paul Gilroy - Theories around ethnicity and post colonial theory 

• Post-colonialism is the study of the impact that being under direct rule has had on former colonies. For example, despite being a tiny island, Britain colonised and declared ownership of many countries, including India and Australia.
• These ideas and attitudes continue to shape contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era
• These postcolonial attitudes have constructed racial hierarchies in our society, where, for example, white people are by and large given more positive and important roles than BME people
• Media producers are also guilty of using binary oppositions to reinforce BME people and characters as 'others'

Applying Gilroy to the representation of gay people:
*postcolonial attitudes
*Hierarchies - in society there is a hierarchy of straight people above gay people for example the James bond scene
*Binary oppositions
*Othering - Gay culture subverts norms, Attitude represents gay men as stereotypically attractive