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In modern societies, sedentary lifestyles have impacted males, inhibiting men from being able to experience any physical activity, resulting in greater calls of action to overcome this issue. The Men's Health Cover, a magazine published in April of 2020, uses a variety of language and visual techniques to sell masculine ideals to prompt the young male audience to replicate this ideal. This is intended to draw attention to the male readers when reading the magazine by playing with their insecurities related to their physical health. Therefore, this is to encourage them to achieve this stereotypical masculine ideal through partaking in self-improvement activities related to fitness to help with replicating these idealized male ideals, to provide security with their masculine identity.

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"Strong, lean, and forever young"—modern masculinity is often measured by these ideals. This Men’s Health cover, published in March 2020, is a typical example of how lifestyle magazines use bold visuals and persuasive language to sell an aspirational version of masculinity. Like many issues before it, the cover follows a familiar formula—eye-catching headlines, a sculpted male figure, and promises of self-improvement—all designed to appeal to its target audience. At its core, the text presents an idealised version of what it means to be a man, emphasising physical fitness, youthfulness, and control over one’s body. By tapping into common insecurities around aging and body image, the magazine creates a problem-solution dynamic: first, it highlights areas where men might feel they fall short, then it offers the magazine’s content as the key to overcoming these challenges. In doing so, it reinforces mainstream expectations of masculinity while positioning itself as the guide to achieving them.

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What does it mean to be a man? This magazine cover aims to attract men who aim to lose weight and seem more masculine – their dominant hegemonic – by signaling through an array of elements that they (Anton Nilson and the Men’s Health writers) know the answer to the question. By inserting a topless picture of Anton Nilson amidst short slogans and statements about how to lose weight and how to be more masculine they create a problem (insinuation that before buying the magazine their dominant hegemonic is not fit, does not have a future proof physique and do not look young) and then if they buy the magazine they will be supplied with various solutions – this is only effective if the potential customer agrees to their physique and is willing to seek a solution. Through a variety of techniques such as colour scheme, composition and title and fonts to attract an audience.

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In a society where masculinity is often equated with strength and control, media representations play a crucial role in shaping male identity. Fitness magazines construct an inspirational and demanding version of male identity, reinforcing the idea that a man’s worth is tied to his physical traits and ability to defy aging. The March 2020 cover of Men’s Health, a well established fitness and lifestyle magazine, shows this portrayal through its authorial choices all of which work together to present an idealised version of masculinity. This cover features a muscular, shirtless 57 year old male model who can challenge and reinforce traditional gender expectations, suggesting that while older men can still embody peak masculinity and how they are expected to maintain physical dominance and still be youthful. The Men’s Health constructs a male identity shown with strength, and self improvement, which can reinforce the expectation that masculinity is measured by one's control over the body and ability to resist slack.

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Is appearance the only important aspect of a males’ identity or is it just a generalisation that social media has induced on young boys? The magazine cover for ‘Men’s Health’, published in March of 2020, has a cover of a middle ages white man, with a title of “The truth about testosterone’, targeted to a dominant hegemonic audience of men interested in improving their physical appearance. The text producer uses many techniques such as lighting, composition and headings and caption. The crowded magazine cover highlights the importance of physical health whilst also convincing male readers to be fit and encourage them to do exercise to get their ‘dream body’.

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What does it mean to be a man in today’s world? For many decades, masculinity is defined by strength, resilience, and control as reflected in the Men’s Health’s cover page of a fitness and lifestyle magazine. With the striking image of a 57 year old man as described as a “Greek god”, it aims to present the secrets to eternal youth and peak masculinity. This magazine cover with the subtitles "From Dadbod to Greek God!" and "Future-Proof Your Physique” suggests that male worth is linked to muscularity, discipline, and youthfulness. The text ultimately portarys masculinity as an ongoing project where being successful depends on looks.

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How does one represent their male identity? Published in April 2020, United Kingdom based magazine ‘Men’s Health’ aims to answer this question by offering answers on this subjective matter, the text producer utilises a problem-solution structure which aims to offer a variety of solutions in bite-sized texts for modern day men facing anxieties regarding their appearance. The text receiver is drawn to the centre of the magazine cover. This is because the text producer’s intention is to make the idea of getting into perfect male physique possible for any of the readers.

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In today’s generation with social media being available and easily accessible to all age ranges the perspective the people have on male identity is subjective to what the majority online say male identity shouls be like. For instance, the author of this lifestyle magazine, published in April of 2020, aims to persuade men to subscribe to their magazine through the representation of what men should and could be like in their poster. The dominant hegemonic audience that the author intends this magazine for are males who want to fit into societal perspectives and are finding a way to look younger and be fit. Therefore, this essay aims to highlight how the magazine uses visual aspects like bright colours and bold fonts and persuasive language to construct and represent the male identity as needing to look and be fit, young and strong to appeal to the society.

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It's not every day you see an older individual posed shirtless on the front of a magazine cover. Usually, Men’s Health brandishes younger male models on their covers to appear as idealised figures for other men. This is usually based on their physical traits, as these models pose in a similar fashion, where their physique is the focus of the image. This magazine by Men’s Health, published in 2020, aims to market physical fitness and aesthetics to an older male audience. This mature audience may feel motivated to work on their fitness because of this magazine and it may serve as inspiration for them to work on themselves physically at an older age. The magazine represents male identity as something that is influenced by observation of other men and in a way, contains an element of competitiveness. It suggests that superficial appearance contributes to the perception of masculinity and that it should be prioritised.

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This Men’s Health cover, published in April of 2020, is the front of a lifestyle

magazine that uses both written and visual modes to advertise its content for

purchase. Many editions of the text have been previously published, and it is likely

that the magazine cover is a conventionalised text type, with each edition similar in

content, written and visual representation, and main intended purpose. Crucially, the

text constructs an aspirational ‘male ideal’ familiar to contemporary readers. It uses

advertising strategies intended to draw the attention of men in ‘western’ capitalist

societies. Highlighting physical appearance and physique, the text works to construct

insecurities in male readers, offering, through the content of the magazine, to

address and provide solutions to these anxieties. Thus, through a combination of

written and visual elements, the text has a problem – solution logic that seems to

both construct male insecurities and promise, through buying and reading the

magazine, to resolve them.