Attitude
Attitude online's primary purpose is to promote the magazine. It has a dedicated readership which may be influenced by the online version of the magazine.
Camp - A deliberately tongue in cheek attitude to the world which reinforces a lot of gay stereotypes.
Drag shows are very camp to appeal to a gay audience
Diva is a gay magazine that is also aimed at women but it is less popular than Attitude.
Attitude online is a hyper-sexualised representation of men - most images of these men are topless and often in provocative poses which is surprising in accordance to societal hegemonic norms.
An article is critical of lack of representation of different body types which isn't reinforced very well by the singular muscular representation of men which suggests that these images are only being used to make money as they know it plays on the potential desires of homosexual men.
Articles are generally focused on grooming, fashion, celebrities and their appearance which suggests that gay men are more inclined to create specific representations of themselves that makes them seem a particular way to other people.
This represents gay men as normal as well due to the normal articles about the attacks on gay men which may be seen in normal magazine/online news articles where they may not mention the fact that the victim was gay which may put forward a producer ideology that gay people are victimised in society.
Even straight actors are represented and codified in a way that appeals to a gay male audience. For example, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is being showed in very little clothing which is an example of voyeurism and escapism. In context, Cristiano Ronaldo is being represented as a sex object regardless of his sexuality or things that he has done in the past whether they are good or bad.
This online magazine is escapist due to the representations of gay men in a hyper-masculine way which makes the viewer able to escape from reality by reading these articles. Even if an audience lacks this specific body type, then they are able to escape into a homoerotic fantasy. Everybody within this magazine, regardless of their true sexuality, it represented as being gay.
Advertising on the website normalises homosexuality by showing ads that may appeal to straight people to. 'your dream home awaits' is a stereotype which could be based on socio-historical context of old magazines that are targeting women which reinforces a gay stereotype of the enjoyment of interior design.
Plays on stereotypes. Mentions of pop music, west end theatre, hoe improvement and buff guys which are all stereotypically gay. Visibility is a way of showing gay pride around these topics.
Gay people may deliberately live up to stereotypes to allow people to more easily be part of a community. It allows people to live up to a stereotype based on an example. A set of rules to follow provides a gay person with structure and also advice from other people in the gay community. This may also allow people to more easily find partners like them so that they can follow similar beliefs whilst having similar ideologies.
Another reason that people may live up to stereotypes is to stand out. It is an assumption of normality within the gay community.
This cover subverts hegemonic representations of masculinity with multiple binary oppositions. Pink anchors the audience due to it codifying homosexuality. His posture is stereotypically feminine but he has a serious look on his face which suggests that he is quite aggressive. Red eye shadow connotes love and passion which is another binary opposition to his facial expression. These contradictions outline the complexity of gay male representations and shows that things can vary from gay person to gay person.
There is a shared and relatable expectation that gay people are beaten up by 'jocks'. This positions audience as a gay man with similar experiences.
The describing of 'playing it straight' as 'weird' is a way of normalising being gay in today's society.
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