Portrayal of Class, Black Men and Women in Male Dominant Magazines - Content Analysis
Morey
Portrayal of Class, Black Men, and Women In Male Dominant Magazines
CMC Spring 2011
Content Analysis
1 April 2011
Jordan Morey
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Portrayal of Class, Black Men and Women in Male Dominant Magazines - Content Analysis
Morey
Abstract:
This paper performs a content analysis of the advertisements from three magazines: the
January 2011 edition of GQ (Gentleman’s Quarterly) Magazine, the March 2011 edition of
ESPN the Magazine, and the March 2011 edition of Maxim. These three magazines differ based
on the financial status of their readers: GQ attracts more upper class readers, ESPN attracts
middle class, and Maxim attracts younger readers who are lower to middle class. Although
advertisements in male dominant magazines differ depending on the financial status of their
readers, they are similar in that GQ, ESPN, and Maxim rarely depict Black males and women.
When Black males and women are shown in advertisements, it is commonly in a degrading,
sexualized, or secondary role.
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Gentleman’s Quarterly or GQ magazine is directed predominantly towards white,
educated, upper-class males. Their media kit suggests that the average subscriber is a white,
single, educated male, who is around 33 years old, and makes an annual salary of around
$80,000 (Hunsinger and Nelson 1). The magazine focuses on style, fashion, and culture and their
advertisements generally promote clean, classy, and sophisticated images of professionals. ESPN
The Magazine, by contrast, targets young, white, educated, middle class men whom are very
interested in professional sports. The average reader is a 29-year-old college graduate and earns
an annual salary of $70,000 (ESPN 1). Their advertisements commonly represent a wide range of
brands, but their articles highlight sports related issues. Maxim is aimed particularly at men as
well, but its goal is to supply information for men about stories, tips, and humor to help them
with real life scenarios. The average reader for Maxim is a middle aged single man making an
annual salary of $66,000 (Maxim 1). All three magazines provide different examples of class
(social and financial status) and are all male dominant. Although advertisements in these male
dominant magazines differ somewhat depending on the financial status of their readers, they are
similar in that GQ, ESPN, and Maxim rarely depict Black males or women. When they do, the
Black males are used as signifiers of physical strength, wealth associated with certain
professions, or in some form of a generalized stereotype whether it be positive or negative, and
women are shown in a sexualized way, or inferior to men.
The majority of the advertisements in GQ are consistent throughout the magazine. The
advertisements highlight the upper class and many of the material products associated with the
upper class. The January 2011 edition of GQ is plagued with advertisements of White (64.5 %)
males (83.3%) and luxurious products (79.1%). The second page of the magazine, for instance, is
a two-page advertisement of Bono and his wife Ali (see figure 1) getting out of their plane in the
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bush of an unknown African country, while marketing the project (RED) campaign, and carrying
their Louis Vuitton luggage, while Bono is wearing his designer sunglasses. We know they are
supporting the project (RED) campaign due to the massive amounts of red in the picture (scarf,
shirts, plane, etc.), and it is paired with signifiers of wealth through fashion to highlight that the
ad is not about charity, it is about cultural capital. Another example of wealth or upper class in
GQ is the advertisement for Cartier (see figure 2). The image shows the Calibre de Cartier
model, roughly $7,000, a mild price compared to other Cartier timepieces. It is a beautiful watch
encased in their signature red box, which is outlined in gold ink; it is simplistic and very classy.
It is important to note that GQ did not use an advertisement for a common jeweler; Cartier is a
world-renowned French watchmaker and jeweler; multiple celebrities and owners of fortune 500
companies wear their products. These two advertisements from GQ suggest that they are a highend magazine that is targeting people who are able to afford these luxurious products and
lifestyles.
Although ESPN The Magazine is also male dominant (73.3%), unlike GQ, ESPN
welcomes a broad range of readers, but specifically target the middle class sports fans. Their
advertisements are racially diverse, White (46.6%), Black (33.3%), and Other (3.3%), and do not
include nearly as many luxurious products as GQ (3.3%). Although their articles and
advertisements pertain mainly to sport related issues (50%), they are not strictly confined to
sports. Their advertisements and articles are much more affordable for the “blue collar” worker,
and appealing for people of all social strata. The first example of this is the Hyundai Elantra
advertisement (See figure 3). In GQ, it would be more likely to see an advertisement for a
sumptuous vehicle such as a Mercedes Benz or BMW. A Hyundai Elantra is a very affordable,
and efficient car. The advertisement makes it obvious that the car gets 40-MPG; they make it
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clear so their readers will see the information and know they can save a significant amount of gas
and more importantly money in the long run.
Another example of “class” in ESPN is the advertisement for the new Snickers-Peanut
Butter (see figure 4). A Snickers bar is a popular chocolate product, and is an affordable snack
for all social classes; ESPN would never advertise a plate of hors d’oeurves’, which are
overpriced and unsatisfying for many people. Lastly, Snickers does a fantastic job of relating to
the sports theme of the magazine by mocking Lebron James’s famous statement, “This year I
will be taking my talents to South Beach, and playing for the Miami Heat”. The top of the
Snickers advertisement reads “Peanut butter is taking its talents to Snickers”. This creates humor
for the readers and correlates to the subject matter of the magazine.
Maxim is targeted predominantly for men, which is clearly suggested through their
mission statement.
Men today crave information that can keep up with their increasingly demanding,
exciting lives. They want to consume content with an irreverent voice that will make
them laugh, and maybe even teach them something new. In a crowded field, Maxim
stands out because it’s funny, sexy, useful, and bold. Maxim is a guy’s go-to guide for
everything from the coolest new gadgets to the most beautiful women in the world; from
sports to the best music, movies, and TV shows. Maxim arms guys with the tools to live a
better life, and have more fun doing it (Maxim 1).
Although Maxim preaches that they help men with every day tips and scenario’s, Maxim is
commonly associated as being a lower/middle class, single, desperate, horny mans magazine;
stereotypically, it is equivalent to Playboy for a young boy. Maxim’s advertisements are
predominately white (89.3%) and include many more images of women (55.1%) than GQ and
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ESPN. Their advertisements include only 3% of luxury products but make up 14% between
alcohol and tobacco ads combined. Unlike the other two magazines, Maxim’s sexually related
products (male enhancements, stimulation pills, phone sex, condoms, etc.) make up 34% of their
advertisements. Although women are not show in these advertisements, they are addressed as
objects of sexual desire; it locates women as serving the sexual desires of men.
An example of low/middle class is the Daniel Steiger watch advertisement (see figure 5).
The watch is heavily discounted and the page is covered with warranties and money back
guarantees. This image is unlikely to appear in ESPN, and almost guaranteed to never appear in
GQ. There is nothing wrong with Daniel Steiger, or discounted items, but that is not the image
the other magazines want to promote. Maxim is different from GQ and ESPN; they know their
clientele and are simply marketing towards the financial and social status of their readers and
subscribers. Secondly, the Newport cigarette ad (see figure 6) also provides an example of
“class” for Maxim. Smoking is stereotypically a lower-class habit, especially when you are
smoking a cheaper cigarette like a Newport.
The second common theme in all three magazines is that they infrequently represent
Black males, or women. When either demographic is finally shown, Black males are used as
signifiers of physical strength, wealth associated with certain professions, and/or in some form of
a generalized stereotype whether it be positive or negative, and women are shown in a sexualized
way, or inferior to men. Collectively in all three magazines there were 29% black males
compared to 71% of white males. In all but one advertisement, the Black males were
professionals (singer, writer, musician, etc), or athletes.
Usher (see figures 7 and 8) is present in two advertisements in GQ; in those two
advertisements he is associated with his profession as a musician/singer. In the advertisement for
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Remy Martin, the text reads “Remy Martin Proud Sponsor of Usher, OMG TOUR After Parties”.
The same theory applies in ESPN and Maxim. In ESPN there is an advertisement that includes
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, a famous UFC fighter, (see figure 9) promoting a cell phone, and
once again we see that a black male is associated by profession rather than a standard male
posing for an advertisement. The advertisement with Jackson is unique because it not only
provides us with the example of being associated by your profession, but also generalized
negative stereotypes. This advertisement shows Jackson as a stereotypical “angry black male”.
Lastly, the New Era advertisements in Maxim include three different baseball players (see figure
10 and 11): BJ Upton, Justin Upton, and Curtis Granderson. Both of the Upton’s are wearing
their full uniform while Granderson is wearing a cut off with his New York Yankees hat on;
once again this associates all three Black males with their jobs as professional athletes. The New
Era advertisement with Granderson exploits his stereotypical black strength by showing his
muscles, and the explosion when he makes contact with the box entitled “game”.
The second issue is the portrayal of women in all three magazines. Women are
commonly used as sexualized objects, or inferior to men in many of the advertisements. Out of
the four total women in GQ, they were sexualized three of those times. In ESPN women were
sexualized in two of the three images that were advertized. Lastly, in Maxim, women were
sexualized fifteen out of twenty times. The advertisements for women were often extremely
suggestive. Women commonly appeared in advertisements dealing male enhancement, phone
sex, condoms, and hygiene. Two examples in Maxim, for instance, were excessively sexualized:
Axe body wash (see figure 12), and the MEGA RX+ (see figure 13) for male enhancement.
The Advertisement for Axe includes two pictures; one with a male washing his lower
back, the second with a female holding handcuffs on the exact same part of her body. The text
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for the advertisement reads “THE CLEANER YOU ARE, THE DIRTIER YOU GET” with a
subtitle which says “AXE SHOWER GEL WITH NEW, IMPROVED FRAGRANCES”. This
was clearly suggesting some sort of sexual play. The second advertisement has multiple women
piled around a massive bottle of Magna Rx +, a substance that is used for male enhancement.
The girls are wearing small tops with their overtly fake breasts nearly exposed, skimpy skirts,
and all are sporting their best seductive/porn star face. By analyzing these two advertisements
critically we can safely assume that the inappropriate depictions of women is, in fact, an
intentional marketing technique aimed towards males. They are not only sexualized in the
advertisements, but also they are shown as being inferior to men or, in certain cases, being used
solely for sex. Women’s role as being sexualized was relatively constant throughout all three
magazines. Their role changed more based on the company, which the advertisement was for,
rather than by which magazine the advertisement appeared.
By analyzing the advertisements in three different male dominant magazines, GQ, ESPN,
and Maxim, I conclude that companies advertise their products based upon the financial status of
the magazines followers. Companies target magazines, which fit accordingly along with their
clientele and buy advertisements to attract the readers or subscribers of the magazines.
Throughout all of the advertisements, Black males were primarily associated with profession or
wealth, while women were treated as secondary and sexualized objects; companies are willing to
subject themselves to racial and social profiling, and degradation of women in order to sell or
advertise their product.
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Works Cited
Hunsinger, Peter K. "MEDIAKIT”. Condé Nast : Digital Media Kit. Ed. Jim Nelson. Peter King
Hunsinger, 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 02 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.condenastmediakit.com/gq/circulation.cfm>.
"Maxim Digital Media Kit”. Maxim Demographics. comSource, 1/11. Web. 25 March 2011.
<http://www.maximmediakit.com/digital/audience/>.
Self, Howard. "ESPN Media Kit”. ESPN Demographics. ESPN, n.d. Web. 28 March 2011.
<http://espn.go.com/mediakit/research/demographics.html>.