Gender socialization and roles begin at birth starting from when the perfect color shawls are chosen for different sexes, i.e., blue for males and pink for females. Gender socialization then continues all the way as one grows whereby we are informed on what is expected for different sexes, masculinity and feminism take over on communication channels like social media platforms (Carter and Michael, 2014). The essay will analyze two beauty magazine covers of different genders in detail, i.e., messages conveyed, post locations and the prevailing theme.
Cover Models Presentation
The cover pages have pictures on them. The magazine fronts represent the ideas of masculinity and feminine beauty, and this is seen by the fact that the men’s magazine has a guy without a shirt on to ensure that his chest and packs are seen. This is an idea that prevails in our world today whereby men with muscles are accepted in society while the fat people are viewed as vague especially by women in the youthful age. The female cover portrays a petite girl which carriers the current norm that slim girls have the perfect body. The tone is joyful as it focusses on positive attributes of an action, i.e., muscles and beauty. Their poses and facials represent happiness as they are all smiles.
Cover Model Style
The cover models are styled in designer clothing which exposes part of their bodies. Their hairstyles are also well kept and the makeups well applied to ensure they give a good representation of the product they are advertising. The cover models are also known celebrities, i.e., Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The models are not holding any accessories in the picture, and this may be due to marketing purposes, i.e., they could end up marketing what they have not been paid for. They are not engaging in any activities but just posing for a photo. Their poses indicate that they are selling a product.
Background of Cover
The background of both magazines seems to represent nature. The female magazine has a desert on the horizon while the male magazine as a water body on the background. The photos have all been taken outdoors. The environment seems to convey the message that the beauty products marketed are from natural sources.
Colors Used
The colors used in the background are those who are eye-catching, i.e., red and blue. The red color in the female magazine is however meant to blend with the theme on the inside pages of the magazine, i.e. ‘’why her red life is more important than any move’’. Other visuals of the cover are the natural beauties which are also appealing to the eye. The colors have been mixed in the cover page and decorated with different headings on uppercase and others on lowercase.
The words that appear on the cover are those which cover the information inside. The male magazine talks about abs while the female magazine talks about cooking yourself slim. The words on uppercase are the main topics while those on the lower case are talks under the primary headings. Both magazines have implicit messages, i.e., “A WOMAN ON THE AFGHAN FRONT and “COOK YOURSELF SLIM.” Explicit messages are also in the covers such as “HEROISM AT 30,000 FEET” which has been explained to be a talk on plane heights.
Theme
The major themes on the cover are linked to beauty. The cover supports the support the social norms of beauty as they seem to promote the ideology that being slim for ladies is being pretty while being muscular for men is being sexy. Besides gender, class appears to affect the message as the covers are of people who are rich and successful.
Works Cited
Carter, Michael J. "Gender socialization and identity theory." Social Sciences 3.2 (2014): 242-263.
