Attitude Flashcards
(21 cards)
Publishers
Originally published by “Northern Shell” before they started financially suffering and sold attitude to Steam Publishing
- Reflects difficulty of print- publishing and magazine industry with the decline of readership in the modern world
Owner
Darren Styles
- Current managing publisher
- A gay man who bought Attitude as he felt that offering niche LGBTQ magazines was important due to their rarity
Having a gay man as the owner allowed the content to be more suited towards the true wants of their community and not primarily soft porn
Attitude websites (globally)
- Other global print editions for Attitude eg. Thai, Belgian. Vietnam versions
-Reflects Hesmomdhalghs ideas about minimising dish by creating global editions - Already successful format replicated
Digital convergence
- Targets a modern audience who are spending more time on technology
- Stream uses variety of digital platforms to distribute Attitudes digital versions
- Digiral copies sell over 11,000 a month
Social Media
- Website attracts roughly 1.7 million users monthly
- 1.2 + million followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube
Website profits
- Websites allow the opportunity to sell banner adverts, sidebar adverts, competitions, promos, advertoriala
- Increases their revenue
Product context
British Gay lifestyle magazine
- Trusted brand with a high social media presence
Gok Wan article
- Depiction on the realistic abuse experienced by the TV fashion host
- Audience positioned siding with Gok Wan, without justification from the ‘lads”
- Photogralhs of Gok Wan as happy further reinforce the idea of him being unphased/ innocent
-Condemnation and mockery of the attackers - Although Gok Wan has been a victim to this abuse and ‘hate crime’, he does not fall into the sptypical stereotypes of a victimised gay man and instead stands strongly condemning the “dickheads”
‘Real Bodies’ article and segment
“I’ve posted naked photos before, but I’m the one under a towel on the beach”
- reads stereotypes of what the ideal man should look like by portraying a vast amount of of men in their underwear with nothing to hide
- An honest and revealing tone rather than the intention of sexualisation/ objectification for the male gaze
- overall sends a positive message about body image by portraying every body (even readers)
Gerbner
target audience
- gay men within their 25-55
- ABC1 + affluent audience
- La k of children and higher earning
Appeal of this magazine in digital format
- More discreet, allows you to read anywhere
- Instant gratification in having content first
- Any size, not constrained to print pages (unlimited word count)
- You can go through a rabbit hole of other pages and ‘breadcrumb’ into other profiles through hyperlinks
25th anniversary rebrand
- The Simpsons crossover
- “Hello Smithers, you’re quite good at turning me on”
- intertextual reference of the Lady and the Tramp
- two older men, reflecting their target audience
Not sexualised however sexual connotations, rebranding yet simply evolving
Recognisable image, branding and people potentially highlight how they are moving away from their stereotypical portrayal of men and more towards a realistic approach
“Glam Squad” segment
“The Plastic Boy shares his top glam tips”
- Changing representation of masculinity
- Targets those wishing to appear more feminine, drag queens or transitioning women
- Portrays makeup as an art form whilst also enhancing their features
- Conflicting messages between the gay community of embracing who your natural self is and enhancing your features with makeup
Gerbner
Homepage analysis
- High image to text ratio, adopting tabloid format
- Teaser headlines, use of hyperbole
- Short paragraphing, to maintain focus
- High lexis, formal and complicated reflect the educated audience
- Heavy use of social media - to target the gay community
- Can create a sense of escapism as everyone online is like you
Historical representations
- reductive, tokenistic and stereotypical, often being presented as effeminate and flamboyant (not masculine enough, emotional)
- ‘othering’ of gay men supported traditional forms oof masculinity and cultivated the hegemony of binary cisgendered heteronormative gender
Kodo Nishimura article, “The monk who wears heels”
“gender gifted”
“my soul, I font think it has a gender”
- Binary opposition between modern and trad values
- Binary opposition between feminine and masculine presenting (typically taboo)
- Visual code of primary image highlights the symmetry connoting a clear binary between male and female
- subverts Judith Butler, gender performativity
Steelers rugby
“Gay rugby players head to the locker toom for MEAT zine”
“Steelers strip off to talk body image”
- traditionally hyper-masculine portrayal of gender, conveyed through man spreading gesture codes and the serious direct mode of address
- subverts gender stereotypes of gay men
Gender performativity
Bears gay stereotype?
- Highlights a range of diversity in height, race and weight)
How are the audience appealed?
- High diversity of topics and people
- LGBTQ+ topics are appealing as a part of that community
- Style of magazine represents a wide range of people (the audience feels represented)
- Positive information
- Advertising is hyper specific to them
- Creates a sense of community, personal stories
- Entertainment
- Offers products for audiences to construct their identities through
- Informs audiences (different subcultures within the gay community eg. drag queens)
Uses and Grats
Instagram and comments
- Audiences can respond back to the articles through comments
Post: “Church of England votes in favour of blessing same sex couples”
Comments: “No thanks babes you’d be blessed to have us in my opinion”
“Religion is a chosen belief, sexuality is nature”
Attitude as hyperreal
- Audiences may struggle to separate reality from fantasy
- Edited images are undetectable to most eyes (imperfections edited out)
- Mediated stories to sell a specific product or a biased story
Economic imperative
- Attitude publishers have a demand to satisfy needs of audience and advertisers
- Audience may have diverse interests, sexuality unites community
- Unifying a desperate group serves the demands of advertisers but undermines the diversity of the audience
