| This thesis examines the social construction of masculinity and the reproduction of hegemonic masculinity within the graphic design elements located on the covers of men's magazines. Data for this qualitative document analysis were drawn from a sample of mainstream men's, gay men's, women's, and general interest magazines. Analysis of the photographs, color palettes, typefaces, and textual material reveals that, while not surprising, the mainstream men's magazines reproduce the heterosexual norm of hegemonic masculinity, while the gay men's magazines challenge it. However, through the reproduction of images of the ideal man associated with hegemonic masculinity, the gay men's magazines divide gay masculinities into the privileged and the devalued. |
