Media, Gender and Beauty: The hegemonic role of media in the creation of idealised beauty with special reference to Mens Health magazine

Abstract

The concept of idealised beauty has always been enchanting from the romantic periods till today. From Alice in Wonderlands, the paintings of Monalisa, to cinemas, advertisements and magazines, portrayal of beauty has been the hallmark of all representations. In fact, attracting men has become more important to women for adapting idealised body types. 'Fortunately' the definition of what is ideal still remains enigmatic and this is exactly the reason that has made beauty and ideal body types always fleeting. The advertisers are smart enough to tap the sensitive element of a woman, that is her beauty and allure the consumers by connecting beauty to the brands. The focus of this study is to understand how the print advertisements in male magazine have depicted female figures in its edition. This study is taken on the basic assumption that these magazines are viewed mostly by men for fitness, but surprisingly there is a slow but steady percolation of the depiction of sexuality of women representing an idealised alluring figure, that are present in the advertisements of these magazines.

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