The Impact of The Construction of Masculinity on Men’s Health

Close your eyes, now think of the word Men and Fit. What do you see? A man showing off his bulging muscles, sporting off his six pack on the beach. Or maybe, you see a man in the weighing room that is putting 500 pounds at the gym impressing people around him. When society classifies these three words, men, fitness and health, most people envision specific guidelines and requirements to be considered “fit” but most of these people often seem to mistake to what exactly constitutes as being physically fit.

Men’s Health’s Magazine, is one of the chart-topping magazine within any and every men’s lifestyle magazine industry, it represents some similarities with other magazines concerning with the representation of men, which it has some peculiarities which makes it unique and worthy as a focus of inquiry. It portrays different visions of masculinity, as the focal point is Meterosexuality, as other men advertisements are different and have distinctive perspectives. One of the main reasons Men’s Health’s are so popular, they seem to offer many countless possibilities for modern men whom may seem to question their identity. These characteristics connect every men with every social media and social discourses in terms of intertextuality” to express male identity in American culture”. Although it was never like this, the social construction of these both identities, the marketing during the last century has given new ways in order to attract men’s attention. As we all know, magazines, advertisements and social media play an important role on molding a new role and concept on masculinity while targeting men with new methods. As we pick up and read Men’s Health and flip through the pages, the main feature and images of men, identify themselves with models and express themselves as masculine. The images that you find in the Men’s Health’s pages, offer homogenous idealized portrayal of men, who fit within the standard beauty.

Men’s health is a narcissistic culture that reinforces body anxieties. Men Health Magazines provide their consumers explanations, exercises and instructions to follow in order to fulfil their own needs in order to achieve the results they desire , to become faster, better, stronger and fitter, and to also embody the features which are shown on the models and in which they will always promote. There has been studies which has been focused on constructing the images of masculinity. As Masculinity often shows to the feminine side of men who practice and move away from the traditional manly image. Metrosexuality, is often used in men magazines since it refers to men who is aware of their physical appearance and is devoted by buying products. Metrosexuality was first brought by Mark Simpson “Here come the mirror men” he describes him as a young man, who lives and works in urban spaces and has a high income. While as the physical appearance turns out to be an important feature socially and it is expressed like this in the rest of the social media discourses. As the products suggest by the advertisements become the perfect visual to a healthy body, in order to show an external, specific identity body image. Stevenson, Jackson and Brooks underline the conception of the physical appearance as a new way of responsibility within society “ within a culture, the body is increasingly experienced as the responsibility of individuals”. As we view Men’s Health magazines, showing a fit body shows a the external consequences of self-discipline, effort and commitment, as magazines try to hype the readers with comments such as “ Get this body!” the body is understood as a new source of security and confidence. Mens Health may encourage some men to improve healthy habits by disciplining their lives, but on the other hand, it creates anxieties about their body, in terms of age, strength, sexual performance, and most importantly weight maintenance. Men’s health is a social fixation on physical appearance, which it tries to impose the beauty standards.

“Men are increasingly and unapologetically objectified, both in terms of erotic spectacle and as targets of women alone”{MacKinnon,2003:99) As we all may know, women have been known to be looked at as sexual objects by the male audience for a long period of time, Interestingly enough, if you compare both the women and men health magazine, women and men are much more similar with regard to the materialized subtitles of the objective part. Contrary to the expectations, female health does not have more objective phrases than male health, which suggest that men are more objective than magazines. As the years have been passing by, men have started to receive the same treatment as they have started to see an increasing number of advertisements for Mens fitness. Once men have been a consumer and a costumer, they would have to represent physical appearance, which would reinforce a whole new role within society. Edward states the new image if men has been homogenously portrayed in different mass media;” the sexual objectification of men has increased in media in terms of film, drama and sex appeal, where the importance of Hollywood is particularly apparent, and also in the recent phenomenon of male strippers and pornography for women”. New concepts of masculinity has been socially constructed and depicted, as some of them draw attention.

To conclude, the construction of masculinity cannot be considered in a vacuum and the wider impact of other forms of the media and other constructions of masculinity within society mus be acknowledged. Additionally, masculinity does not exist separately to femininity, this to fully understand the construction on masculinity it is necessary to understand the construction of femininity. This is particularly important because as it has been demonstrated negotiations are made between the two ideologies about what is acceptable.