Essay 3

Society: Is the media the cause of society’s desirable image? (Part 3)

After researching and understanding consumerism and its effects on today’s society, it was possible to gather information about ways in which it also has an effect on the way people view body image. As author Helga Dittmar wrote, ‘Having the “right” things has become vital, not so much because of the material goods themselves but because of hoped for psychological benefits: popularity, identity, happiness.’ In the same way, we know that the media is a primary tool for reinforcing the ideas about desirable body image. This means that through advertising and strategic marketing techniques, companies are able to gather more consumers to a product when these “desirable image” are conveyed.

As a result of the investigation into body image and how it is used by the media, it became apparent that looking for a solution to tackle the problem was necessary. One way that body image is exploited is through the use of women’s gossip magazines, such as Heat and OK. After looking at many different examples of these magazines, it became clear that body image was a subject that is reinforced throughout. However, these magazines tend to have a subjective opinion on how women should look, compared to how everyday women viewed body image. Therefore, the idea was to create an alternative version of this form of communication, through the use of a magazine cover, a website page or an advertisement poster.

It became apparent during the research stage that some forms of advertising in today’s society can still aim to target a specific audience, even if that means there may be repercussions. As it is seen by author David Gauntlett, (Media, gender and identity, page 83) ‘some advertising is unapologetically sexist, and is presumably used because it is felt that the message 'works' for the target audience, even if it might surprise and offend some others.’ In the same way, magazines such as Heat aim to target women of different ages by using imagery and subjective opinions on their front covers. This way they are openly inviting their consumers to purchase their products even if that means others will be offended by the content that is included within.

To begin creating an alternative solution to the issue of body shaming in the media, it meant first looking at ways in which the companies were attracting consumers and what marketing techniques would work best for selling their product. By doing this it would provide a better understanding of how an alternative solution may target the same audience. For example, through the use of certain imagery, text, layout and colour schemes it would be possible to create a mock-up of the magazine in a similar manner. The difference being that the alternative would show healthier and more realistic representations of body image.

As the creation of the alternative version of Heat magazine meant analyzing the design of this magazine style, it also meant considering the type of materials that the design should be printed on as well as the sizing and whether the imagery would be similar or take a different approach all together. The first idea suggested by peers was to create a magazine style that reflected a more classy approach, so that it could be taken seriously in the subjects it would be displaying. This idea was then explored further by looking into the ways that men are portrayed in men’s magazines. By doing so, it would mean the approach in a different way could be understood.

Another issue that had been repeatedly mentioned was the ways in which men could also be perceived in this way by the same type of media. Although men are not as openly shamed in the same way as women the issue still exists in other areas of the media. One example of this was mentioned by author David Gauntlett who says: ‘One could say, though, that the relative levels of skinniness are irrelevant: almost all of the ‘beautiful women’ in both women’s and men’s magazines are thin, not fat, and this must have an impact. Men are ideally required to be thin and well-toned too, but can get away with imperfections as long as they can compensate with charm or humour.’ (Media, gender and identity, 2002 page 88). Therefore, by creating a magazine that also targets issue of body image among males, the designs would be approached by a wider audience.

One reason that magazines such as Heat and other gossip magazines promote their material in the way they do could be due to the fact that they can create a false representation of how women should look. This is so that they can also sell beauty products in the form of advertising throughout their content, which in a sense is seen as an end result. This theory had first been addressed by author Germaine Greer in her 1999 book The Whole Woman, who says ‘Every woman knows that, regardless of her other achievements she is a failure is she is not beautiful...The UK beauty industry takes £8.9 billion out of women's pockets. Magazines financed by the beauty industry teach little girls that they need make-up and train them to use it, so establishing their lifelong reliance on beauty products.’ This theory had also been speculated on by David Gauntlett who says, ‘But the make-up adverts referred to above, remind us of a concern uniquely applicable to advertising - that it is produced by capitalists who want to cultivate insecurities which they can then sell 'solutions' to.’ (Media, Gender and Identity, 2002).

By creating a magazine cover that instead shows people that reliance on beauty products is not necessary, it is possible the design may be able to change the opinions of the target audience. Furthermore, the design can also begin to look for ways to attract new audiences, like men for example. By doing this, the cover design will not only break the negative views of mainstream media, but it will instead convey a more positive message.

Bibliography

Author	David Gauntlett
Year published:	2002
Book title:	Media, gender, and identity
City:	London
Publisher:	Routledge

Author	Germaine Greer
Year published:	1999
Book title:	The whole woman
City:	New York
Publisher:	Anchor Books

Author	Helga Dittmar
Year published:	2011
Book title:	Consumer culture, identity and well-being
City:	Hove [etc.]
Publisher:	Psychology press