Attitude Flashcards
1
Q
Context:
A
- Attitude the UK’s best-selling and award-winning gay magazine
- The magazine focuses on the interests and lifestyle of gay men more than lesbians, bisexual transgender and queer identities – attempt to be more exclusive
- Similar demographic to GQ magazine (in terms of class)
- It features opinions, style, competitions, active, travel – not just about gay identity
2
Q
Social and Cultural context:
A
- LGBT legalisation developments, The Equality Act
- Improvement in public attitude and positive mainstream representation have been demonstrated by the rise of events such as PRIDE festival.
- Many nations still outlaw homosexuality (death penalty punishment in Iran, Somali, Nigeria etc)
3
Q
ECONMIC CONTEXT:
A
- ATTITUDE has a print circulation of 60,000.
- And many newsletter subscribers
- Attitude Awards – tweets sent to over 5 million followers and seen by 1.6 million readers.
- Most readers/consumers are active (25-55, 75% male, ABC1)
· Attitude denies Hesmondhalgh ideas that “the radical potential of the internet has been incorporated into large, profit orientated companies” – Attitude is truly independent and offers diversity and inclusivity for its readers linked to diverse sexuality
· Website and print magazine as main products reflecting brand identity - Funded by The Attitude Foundation (registered charity) and advertising revenue, plus subscriptions:
4
Q
new technology + interactivity
convergence
A
· Website as central marketing hub
· Instagram as a stand alone platform links more with Attitude glossy photo shoots and awards ceremonies – limited number of followers relating to an older demographic
· Social media convergent links target a 25+ demographic (notable absence is links to TikTok and Snapchat)
· Twitter - significant amount of content updated regularly
· Shirky – opportunities to interact and speak back to the media via Twitter since the event of web 2.0
5
Q
product context
A
- Described as ‘the gay Bible’ by the Sun newspaper.
- Marketing: celebrities, exclusive content, social and topical issues, gay agenda etc.
- International sales: print magazine, digital download for smartphones
- Narrowcasting to niche audience – targets audience through sexuality first and foremost
- Sponsorship/charity – black tie Attitude Awards dinner every October benefits
6
Q
Historical context
A
How have things changed?
● Homosexuality is more socially acceptable = in a western society
● In 2014, gay marriage was made legal in the UK
● Less of a negative stigma (especially in the UK)
● Less of a stereotype that all gay men are ‘flamboyant’ and all lesbians are ‘butch’ or ‘manly’.
● More representations of homosexuality in the media = normalised.
7
Q
Media language
A
- High image to text ratio – teaser headlines - Audience scan the images and can quickly identify articles that may be of interest =stereotypically men dont like to read
- Short paragraphing = look visually exciting and to minimise reading time
- Global story content
- Professional look and aesthetic
Conventions: - Features real people
- Fact-based news with LGBTQ= twist
- Subversion of heteronormative imagery.
- Exclusive interviews (star power)
- 25= year heritage
- This also makes it easier for the audience to quickly navigate their way around the articles by chunking text.
8
Q
Website – brand identity:
Conventional:
A
- MASTHEAD: San serif – no capitals informal – challenging dominant ideologies of sexuality
- COLOUR PALETTE: Black and white colour palette – reliable source of information – quite ironic in a way. White space (crisp, clean layout). Topic colours (underneath stories) re all rainbow banner colours = many bright colours – represents the pride flag – freedom, liberation – pride in their sexuality
- WEBSITE FEATURES: navigation bar, search box, picture slideshow, hyperlinks, videos, social media links (convergence)
- MODE OF ADDRESS- serious/political. Informal on the whole, however more serious topics have formal language to connote serious nature of story
- MEDIATION + IDEOLOGY – most stories specifically linked to homosexuality, gay culture, things that affect gay people. (Homophobia, specific disease e.g. HIV). Ideology – left wing (although apolitical) and liberal
- MULTIMODALITY + hypermodality - uses a variety of mediam (text, images, videos + hyperlinks (both))
9
Q
Postmodernism in Atitude
A
Postmodernism (Baudrillard):
Attitude Magazine creates an idealized version of a society that fully accepts LGBTQ identities, presenting a hyper-real world with progressive attitudes and promises of equality - however this is not always the case in reality
-
Simulacra (Baudrillard):
- Attitude’s vibrant, visually striking content blurs reality and imagination, presenting an idealized world dominated by beauty, fashion, and celebrity culture.
- The magazine’s glossy pages create a hyper-real environment -
escapism - By challenging and embracing anti-conformist themes, Attitude’s subversive nature aligns with hyper-reality.
10
Q
Article on Sex education
Converging Media
A
- Actor Asa Butterfeild discusses about how he ‘thinks its insance that people are still opposing LGBTQ lessons in schools
- Convergence - BBC Sounds Twitter link in the article to a feature from the cast of ‘Sex Education’ on LGBTQ+ rights
11
Q
IDEOLOGICAL AGENDA
Representation
A
- Socially progressive gender representation -rights for all with LGBTQ+ identity,including non-binary, pansexual, transgender and queer.
- Heteronormative gender ideals subverted by celebrations of gay marriage, gender transitioning surgery and gay adoption.
- Peripheral reading demographic - ‘straight but supportive’ advocates.
- subversions of camp gay stereotype, (not the only version of gay men - there are hypermasculine gay men celeberated in the magazine)
- which challenges to the ‘victim’ representation of LGBTQ+ people, appeal to ‘gay gaze’ in photoshoots (hypersexualised), celebration of promiscuity but cautions of the dangers of online hook-ups on apps such as Grindr = represented as socially liberal.
- Criticising stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people with association to HIV/ AIDS.
12
Q
Theoretical application
Intersectionality (bell hooks) on representation
Celebration of Black Pride
A
- Celebration of Black Pride which aims to bring queer BAME communities together - African-American trans women such as Laverne Cox (star of ‘Orange is the New Black’) are celebrity trailblazers who campaign for Black Trans rights.
- Attitude writes an article of a new ‘BAME LGBT Voice’s Documentary.
- Detailed representation of multiple sexual identities - egalitarian approach.
- Gilroy’s Postcolonial theory - some negative portrayals of ethnicities with associations to oppressive homophobic governments.
13
Q
Representation (Hall)
A
- Traditionally underrepresented groups given a platform and voice to celebrate their sexuality - cultural stigmatization and marginalization frequently challenged - LGBTQ+ identity normalized through positive representation.
- ‘those with power represent those without power’ - keeps the status quo - keeps the dominat group in power
14
Q
TRADITIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE MEDIA
A
- Drag queen – experimental with makeup
- Feminine
- In the past, homosexuals have been represented as ‘other’ (similarly to ethnic minorities) and ‘dangerous’. This is partially linked to traditional ideologies created/reinforced by religion
- According to Wikipedia: “Historically, the portrayal of the LGBT community in media has been negative, reflecting the intolerance for the LGBT community seen in cultures’’
- There has been positive portrayal or increased presence of the LGBT community in media has served to increase acceptance and support for the LGBT community
15
Q
Heteronormative Culture vs. Homosexual Culture
A
- mainstream media - stereotypically, camp, effeminate, theatrical or flamboyant
- it only offers signifiers to reinforce hegemony.
- Masculinity is often equated with heterosexuality in mainstream media, perpetuating the myth that in order to be masculine you have to be heterosexual.- reinforce and uphold hegemony
To what extent are traditional stereotypes around homosexuality and gender reinforced or challenged?
- more homosexuals og colour
- masculine gay men as opposed to femine gay men with heavy makeup
16
Q
Jake shears - representations
text analysis - rep of masculinity
A
- In the Jake Shears magazine cover representation of masculinity is represented in a non-traditional manner, challenging conventional norms.
- His body language with his hand on his hips and serious facial expressions signifies confidence and self-assurance – challenging the notion that the traditional ideas about masculinity – confident in playing with gender identities
- In an army jumpsuit – connotations – dominant, strong, fearless – he’s wearing it with half bottom up – sexual, alluring – nudity.
- However, there is some elements of feminity with his hand gestures on his lips, makeup and painted nails embracing elements typically associated with feminity. – binary opposition of gender being fixed - playing around
- Anchorage – Breaking stereotypes, encouraging readers to reconsider preconceived notions about masculinity – subjective – ‘busting the myth around masculinity and race’ = coverline – links to intersectionality
-
Sell lines: ‘playing it straight - what is to be a man’ – gender performative – Butler – meanings can be different – socially constructed
– criticises how societal norms and expectations that dictate how gender should be performed - Also links to Guantlett: identity theory pick and mix theory:
- offers audiences a diversity of identities - resist the fixed identities that society constructed for us in the past
17
Q
Semiotic analysis of the rainbow flag
A
- Prideful and happy
- The different rainbows in the flag could perhaps represent the different section within that community
- Diversity and inclusivity – feature blue and green – masculine colours
- It also connotes the struggle against oppression homosexuals have had to overcome to get to this point.
- links to BAUDRILLARD
18
Q
deleye
Identity (Gauntlett)
A
- Diverse and complex intersecting representations/identities in the magazine
- range of ethnicities and intersections of class within those platformed within the magazine - dominant representation of gay men with tokenistic reportage on Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer identities.
- in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.
