The Concept of Masculinity in Men’s Lifestyle Magazines

By means of a comparative analysis of two classified and well-known men’s lifestyle magazines, GQ-UK and FHM, the objective is to look for the conception or conceptions of masculinity and the way it is represented. The study is focused on the editorial and advertising role of men’s images and the construction of such representation. The relationship between the masculine figure or the physical image and the type of masculinity is closely observed as well. Through the analysis an attempt is made to establish the displayed conception of masculinity and to determine whether or not a certain type of masculinity is being defined or promoted. Once confirmed, the incidence and implication on differentiation characteristics of these two publications is analysed. Careful analyses were done around the possibility that the representation of masculinity and its different types are a meaningful differentiation factor between these two publications. The goal of this research was to contribute to the general knowledge of men’s lifestyle magazines and also to discover the way in which these two particular titles are placed on the structure of this market segment of the magazines’ editorial market.