Questions: Gauntlett 6 & 8

Hey all–

Post your questions to the following readings here:

Gauntlett, David. Part 6 (Michel Foucault, Discourses and Lifestyles)
Gauntlett, David. Part 8 (Men’s Magazines and Modern Male Identities)

14 thoughts on “Questions: Gauntlett 6 & 8

  1. Oliver Sutro

    chpt 8

    “Readers of mens magazines seem to need instructions on how to get along with women. Every issue of FHM and Maxim includes advice on how to be better in bed.” Have men always wanted instructions on how to interact with and please women? Did essentially the same human being in the dark ages want to please his maiden in bed? Are these instructions signs of men adjusting to an environment where women are now likened to equals?

    Chpt 6

    In chapter 6, Gauntlet puts forward the statement, “Does it make sense to say that sex is at the heart of identity today? the answer is surely yes.”
    Does this statement contradict what Gauntlet was discussing earlier? For example, “the exercise of power on the one hand…actually produced the resistance…sex should not be viewed as a form of domination.” Is power the identity? Think of the women characters in damages. Do they posses a masculine identity because of their assertion and power?

  2. Laura Hendricksen

    On Chapter 8
    « Today’s men’s mags are a sad reflection on all of us? »
    Indeed, don’t these laddish magazines literally confine men in very limited male discourses which display stereotypical masculinities? Where does the ordinary guy fit if according to Foucault, we all construct our identities out of available discourses? The article maintains how the success of magazines for men itself is challenging traditional masculinity as in the past men didn’t need lifestyle magazines and that magazines for men may eventually open up new forms of masculinity.
    Still, why am I not convinced when it seems that these forms of masculinity are displayed within a traditional laddish discourse, increasing the differences between men liking cars & sex and women loving shopping& being more sentimental? How can these « strict » categories displayed throughout magazines in general can in any way be self-constructive?

  3. Laura Hendricksen

    On Chapter 6, Gautlett:

    Foucault’s theory seems to highlight the « productive » aspect of power interactions between individuals. For instance, doesn’t this recall our discussion on how representing a female character in a TV series struggling in a patriarchal system may have a stronger feminist message because in her resistance against the societal conventions, our protagonist fully asserts her feminist identity? Similarily, the existence of discourses of « conventional sexuality » have led homosexuals to resist and assert their said-to-be ”deviant” sexuality as legitimate and natural.
    Therefore, how do Foucault’s assumptions and definition of power enrich our thoughts on gender and sexual discourses in the media? How do power relations and resistance play out on television? Aren’t we not, as spectators, also resisting against TV series’ discourses? And does this, in a way, enable us to forge ourselves an identity as we align or resist to multiple gender and sexual discourses?

  4. Amelia Furlong

    On Chapter 6:

    Foucault says that power is not something that is held but something that “flows through relationships” and is “exercised through interactions.” However, in the end what does it matter how power comes about? Does it change the relationship between someone who is powerful and someone who isn’t in a given relationship? To take the example of feminism, does it really matter how the patriarchy gets its power if we can all agree that in the end it still has a subjugating power over women?

    On Chapter 8:

    Gauntlett argues that men’s magazines don’t ignore the social construction of gender because they are catered towards a generation of young men who are “aware of the feminist critique of traditional masculinity” and who read magazines to get help. Yet, after browsing through some men’s magazines online, I disagree. How can Gauntlett argue that these magazines aren’t challenging the construction of masculinity when all the magazines assault men with the idea that they must be sex-obsessed, gaming, sports-watching lads? Even if they aren’t ignoring the construction of gender, aren’t they constructing it in a way that follows traditional, stereotypical, heteronormative formulas?

  5. Rosalind Downer

    In Chapter 6, we see statistics reflecting the changes in numbers of marriages and divorce nowadays. Gauntlett suggests, “Popular media is obviously a primary channel for the dissemination of prevailing discourses”. The media constantly represents infidelity and promiscuity in television shows etc. Can we see that the media has an impact upon the decline of marriage and increase in divorce in society? Does it encourage deviation from your vows, or for you to question the relationship you are in? Is this healthy?

    In Chapter 8, Gauntlett addresses the male magazine and how women are to be looked at: Zoo and Nuts display posing semi-clothed women and often have headlines such as “topless women” or “Busty Babes”, as well as featuring articles on how to impress a woman. Whilst magazines are generally considered aspirational for one’s particular lifestyle, it is not seen as a positive thing to be a reader of magazines such as ‘Zoo’ and ‘Nuts’. These magazines are cheap and low-quality, and men who read them are seen as “perverse” and “desperate”. As Gauntlett points out, magazines are suggesting their “readers need help along the way”. Surely this defeats the gender-based assumption that men don’t need help . Why do men still buy these magazines, if they know that this is a symbol of weakness?

  6. Rajsavi Anand

    What are possible problems with the idea that sexuality is something you “are” rather than something you “do”? Does this leading to judging of one’s character rather than one’s actions?

    How can the “discourses of masculinity which the magazines help to circulate” be both enabling and constricting? Do the ideas of femininity which are promoted through advertising or more specifically magazines enable and constrict the social construction also?

  7. Luke Martinez

    Is male insecurity always caused by or amplified by masculinity? Also, what part of reading a magazine allows for male insecurity to be alleviated…is this the only way that men insecure about their masculinity can alleviate their insecurity?

    How can the spreading of online media be resisted if it isn’t tangible? What “resistance” is applicable to a world of increasing digital media?

  8. Alexander Griffiths

    If ethics describes “the kind of relationship that you have with yourself”, but one can argue that the general moral code demonises many of these ethics, is it fair to argue that one model is more ‘right’ than the other. When one has been more prevailent in the media have we been indoctrinated with the moral right over own ethical choice. If “technologies of the self are continuously evolving mechanics of our very nature that dictate what we think say and do, based on our daily experiences” linking back to moral code over ethical code, can we say that the media is dictating our self. Finally has television gone greek to compensate for what people really want in terms of ethics and not morals?

    “Men are therefore addressed as consumers-traditionally the role of women- although it here seems that ultimately it is a sense of masculine pride which is to be bought”. Through the increasing proliferation of magazines intended to sell goods or intended to sell masculinity (the notion men do not have hegemonic understanding or dominance over women), does this mean that men have been emasculated and magazines are re-educating men? Where does this leave women?

  9. Amethyst Tate

    6. Foucault argues that power is present everywhere yet “the exercise of power always produces resistance.” However, if power is present everywhere this implies that no one is truly autonomous, therefore how can resistance to power occur? And if resistance is in fact not possible since we are constrained, are women always going to be oppressed by patriarchal structures?

    8. It seems to be such a taboo to even suggest that a man is anything less than the confident and dominant image that the hegemonic discourse of masculinity portrays. Yet, it is clear based on men’s magazine that many males are insecure and dissatisfied about certain things such as body weight and sexual performance, just like women. Why does this male-anxiety have to be seen as a threat to masculinity and how can we change our perspective so men can feel more comfortable in society and not feel obligated to hide their insecurities?

  10. Joyce Ma

    Michel Foucault: Discourses and Lifestyles —

    In this chapter, Foucault believes that the gay lifestyle provides freedom and possibilities that heterosexuality does not. Does this imply that the unhappiness of people is linked to their compulsion to conform to these “ready-made lifestyle patterns.” Foucault discusses power and resistance and both exists as result of the other. If power is given to the “ready-made lifestyle patterns of heterosexuality, isn’t there resistance to conform to this other by resorting to a different lifestyle than the gay lifestyle? If there is problem with following the social norms, why don’t people just create their own lifestyle outside the “ready-made lifestyle patterns?”

    Women’s Magazines and Female Identities

    Why does women’s magazines always seem counter productive to feminist goals? What is the purpose of women’s magazines? Why are women’s magazines more commercial than informative?

  11. Bryanna Kleber

    6:
    How much is media, in particular, TV shows and film, the source of unhappiness in people’s lives? Are people searching for the TV/film ideal relationship in their real life relationships? Is modern “true love” the love we see portrayed and scripted on TV and in films? If a relationship was one unlike like what we see in the media, would it viewed as incorrect or not real? Foucault says, “A gay relationship can be negotiated and created, in the absence of an established lifestyle model for such a partnership.” Would Foucault suggest that gay relationships are more “real” because they’re not striving to fit a societal mold?

    8:
    Men assume the role of consumer because it brings “a sense of masculine pride.” So, why is there still the societal perception of women being the consumer? Wouldn’t the fact that men’s magazines are huge advertisement and that men actually buy what they see in the magazines change this societal view? Do men not like being identified as consumers because it’s a culturally feminine characteristic? What connotations does consumerism carry and what does it say about women, who are traditionally understood to be the consumer?

  12. Anna Gallagher

    6–>
    “Power does not exist outside of social relationships” (129). Doesn’t the media exert some power over our lives? If so, how do we practice “resistance”?

    8–>
    Gauntlett seems to argue that men’s magazines are somewhat akin to the Grrrl zines we discussed in class, in that they provide a space for men to ask questions, be entertained, and ask ‘is this right?’ and ‘Am I doing this ok?’ (189). Isn’t Gauntlett’s argument further proof that the sharing of ideas (whether online or not) is “productive” as long as we view material with an open mindset and a critical eye?

  13. Avery Rain

    Foucault:
    How do e-zines compare to magazines in the context exploring “what can be played”? A hard copy “can be picked up and flicked through,” says Gauntlett. Is this advantage contingent on tangibility or does it carry over to online media? How does the ease of distribution of online media like e-zines contribute to Foucault’s goals?

    1. Avery Rain

      Magazines:
      Gauntlett recharacterizes men’s magazines as being for the insecure rather than the macho male reader. Is male insecurity necessarily linked to masculinity?

      I suppose this is less of an issue of media than of gender identity in general. However, I still think it’s interesting. Though I can conceptualize women reading women’s magazines because they are insecurity, I have a hard time connecting that insecurity directly to an insecurity in one’s own femininity.

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