The politics of ‘new’ men’s lifestyle magazines

Abstract
The article seeks to ask some ‘political’ questions in respect of the recent publishing success of men’s lifestyle magazines. What implications does the mass popularity of such magazines have for the social construction of masculinity, and how might we account for their success among young men? In particular we focus upon the content of the magazines, and seek to understand what is genuinely ‘new’ about them. In this respect we discuss the magazines’ visual nature, their focus upon heterosexual relationships and their use of irony and cynicism. We conclude that a ‘political’ reading of the magazines would mean that they are the cultural response to social change, rather than a backlash to feminism or harmless fun.

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