IT’S A MAN’S MAN’S MAN’S WORLD: The Portrayal of Masculinity in Three Local Men’s Magazines
IT’S A MAN’S MAN’S MAN’S WORLD: THE PORTRAYAL OF MASCULINITY IN THREE LOCAL MEN'S MAGAZINE
ABSTRACT
This study discussed the portrayal of masculinity in three local men’s lifestyle magazines. The advertisements, photo spreads, and articles from issues of Garage, Men’s Health, and FHM were studied. Through the use of summative content analysis and textual analysis, the researchers were able to determine prominent physical, non-physical, and social attributes of Filipino men as portrayed by the men’s magazines.
The researchers found 24 existing archetypes of men from the literature review. These archetypes were used as guides in classifying and grouping prominent attributes encountered during analysis. The list of archetypes was narrowed down to 10 since a number of archetypes have overlapping attributes. Some attributes were not covered by the existing archetypes; the researchers therefore came up with four new archetypes.
The researchers observed that both the existing and researcher-defined archetypes still embody traditional values of the masculine myth in Philippine society, such as machismo, patriarchy, and heterosexuality. However, some of the researcher-defined archetypes were suggestive of society’s acceptance of men’s feminine traits and their unconventionally appealing physical appearance. Thus, these archetypes could be said to provide avenues for the restructuring of the conceptions of the masculine myth.
Cordero, U.S. & Tabangcura, J.O. (2012). It’s a man’s man’s man’s world: The portrayal of masculinity in three local men’s magazines. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philipines, Diliman
Keywords: Men's Magazines, Portrayal, Masculinity, Masculine Myth, Male Archetypes