Gender Roles in Magazines
Starting in the mid 19th century, it was very common to see covers of magazines with women in seductive outfits and shirtless six-packed men. Over the course of many years magazine companies including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Harpers Bazaar have immensely improved the de-objectification of women and men. While there has been an improvement, there are still people who oppose the change that is happening and prefer a more traditional representation. While gender roles represented by the media, specifically in magazines, have made progress towards becoming less standardized over the years, there is still room for improvement in the future.
One of the more recent controversies on social media was Harry Styles posing for Vogue’s December 2020 cover. Styles was clothed in a dress-like outfit which to some, was seen as “feminine”. Vogue and Styles did not view the outfit as feminine. As Styles stated, “When you take away ‘There’s clothes for men and there’s clothes for women,’ once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play.” The cover was such a success that there was a waitlist to receive the magazine. The photoshoot established the magazines’ confidence that a gender-neutral image would be able to still successfully sell and be accepted. When the issue was published it was a great advancement into the portrayal of genders in magazines.
Although the Styles’ controversy is the latest there have been others before him that produced similar debate. James Franco did a cover in 2010 in full makeup. Unlike Styles, he did it for the shock value. The Styles cover success suggests that this may have a longer-term impact as it seems that the newest generation, Generation Z, is more vocal about their acceptance and are likely to purchase more magazines that break the traditional boundaries. For example in response to Franco’s Candy photoshoot, Paisley Currah says, “Now you have transgender models and mayors. They elicit interest, but it’s not some incredulous response. The public is much more aware of the possibilities of transgender people existing and taking part as leaders in social and cultural life.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/us/gen-z-in-their-words.html
As a reaction to the magazine cover, one comment seemed to stand out the most. Candace Owens, a conservative American author, pointed out that the cover was not manly or feminine enough for this society. She stated in her tweet, “There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the West, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. Bring back, manly men.” The thoughts behind this type of commentary stems from the biblical ages. As stated in the Bible, “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” The progress made in magazine gender roles can be halted when comments like these are made. These backlash comments along with the thousands who liked the tweet proves that there still needs to be more progress made in the entertainment business specifically regarding gender roles in magazines.
Through the years, magazines have typically sold gender-stereotypical images but, recent events show that society is more open-minded. From the success of the Styles’ Vogue photoshoot and many more atypical covers, it is hoped that progress of destigmatizing gender images will continue in the magazine industry.
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