Effects of Magazines on Society

How are men and women portrayed similarly and differently in gender specific magazines in order to captivate the attention of a target audience, and what effect does this on society’s perception of sexuality.
I have chosen five magazines specific to men and women in order to gain a well-rounded perspective on gender norms and how sexuality is portrayed for each gender. The magazines that I have chosen are as follows:

Men’s Magazines | Women’s Magazines | Men’s Health | Women’s Health | Esquire Magazine | Cosmopolitan | GQ Magazine | Vogue | Maxim Magazine | Marie Claire | Playboy Magazine | Oprah Magazine |

Due to the fact that magazine are one of the leading influences in today’s society, I find it crucial to explore what effects covers, advertisements and stories have on society. I have chosen Playboy and Oprah magazine in order to reflect the opposing views of gender roles that are set up by society. These magazines have conflicting views of what is considered socially correct and will therefore provide my paper with perspectives that are held strongly by both genders. I will compare and contrast the content in both Men’s Health and Women’s Health and explore how genders are led to believe similar and conflicting ideas about what is considered correct behavior and also what is considered attractive. I have noticed women are used on covers for both men and women magazines and I therefore plan to explore what it is about women that lure people into buying magazines. I want to understand why it is that an attractive picture of a women’s body can bring out instinctive reactions of both genders (what men want and women want to be). I believe, although do not agree with the fact that an attractive women is associated with a higher standard of living, which is why I will explore the sex appeal that many women possess and what effect it can have on others. That said I plan to explore the liking factor, as there are many theories that explore the