Media # 39; representation of gender roles
This page provides an overview of the emergence of men's magazines in Germany Meike Werkmeister was a media player, writing gender and identity of a thesis on men's magazines at the Hochschule Bremen in Germany We invited to write an article on the German case, this site's article was published here in September 2003 Meike Werkmeister now lives in Hamburg.
In Germany, there was not a market for fashion magazines of general life of men until the mid nineties The only magazine for men who were before the automotive press and sports, as well as erotic titles So that women were accompanied by their lives everyday by popular magazines such as Brigitte or Petra men seemed to want advice published on lifestyles and love-life.
In the late eighties and early nineties the publishing houses have however tried to launch magazine for men who have focused on lifestyle and fashion but lifestyle magazine Ego Austrian was stopped after a few questions, and Alec fashion magazine a German version of the American Esquire was published in 1987, but could not convince the German people to be interested in the beauty and clothing has been arrested in 1992 just a product of the eighties survived INTEREST barely men are in this kind of magazine MдnnerVogue - Vogue for targeted MдnnerVogue men hedonistic, successful, well-dressed men, also called yuppie at that time but yuppies seemed to prefer new media, and does not seem to need their own publication, which is why traffic MдnnerVogue has never been more than 60,000 copies s sold, but Cond Nast decided not to close down the title, instead choosing to restart in 1997.
It was a year after what seemed impossible was achieved - a title of general interest to men was successfully launched The publisher Motor Presse Stuttgart Auto, which had previously focused on specialized magazines in the fields of engines and electricity, decided to launch a German version of men's health magazine in a joint venture with Rodale Press This was the beginning of a new kind of men's health magazine covering exactly those topics that the men had apparently not been interested since the beauty, health, fashion and love at first life health men was ridiculed as Brigitte for men, but the concept has worked traffic men's health increased steadily, and today it sells over 250,000 copies per month.
This was reason enough for the publisher Cond Nast to work on them as much less successful MдnnerVogue Encouraged by the success of men's health in Germany, and the huge success of a new kind of lifestyle magazine men in Britain, Air Nast decided to relaunch MдnnerVogue in 1997, he appeared with the name of his predecessor in the US, GQ and a new concept Not much was left of the old fashion magazine, although it remains concentrated much on style but also introduced many other topics now such as music, film, art, love life, sports - and erotic photos of famous women in Germany, GQ is considered the voice of pop culture and has a very high reputation famous international photographers working for it, as well as leading German journalists and authors While GQ has a circulation relati tively low 152386, it has the most publicity in this group market.
In 2000, Attic Futura decided to launch the British title FHM which had been so successful in the UK for publishers Emap The target group was aimed at much younger than that for GQ and the general tone was much bolder with more overtly sexual photographs and sometimes shocking items, the German FHM sought some controversy for its lack of respect for the dead or politicians, FHM has already had some reprimands the German Press Council However FHM seemed to please his readers, with its upward movement until the end of 2001 to 295304 Since the numbers have dropped to 209,001 in 2003.
Another competitor came in 2001, when another British magazine, Maxim was launched in a Maxim German version looks like FHM in the layout and erotic photography, but it targets a slightly older players and leaves the shocking place Maxim cover seems to be obsessed with status symbols and luxury it has become the market leader in the year of its launch with over 300 000 copies sold per month, which disappeared recently decreased to 273,578 in 2003 .
Although the market for men's magazines was pushed open by these titles, publishers are still uncertain as to whether the market is already full or not, but some of them were brave enough to launch new magazines such that Best Life and High Life targets a more mature, rich public and active men which is very similar to human health and is focused on fitness and health Even Playboy has seen a revival in a new publishing house and called again the best selling title in the status of men in Germany another new magazine is called Amico - the little brother of women the title of Amica and the first German innovation All other men's magazines in Germany are adaptations of English or American magazines Amico is also the title of the first men by women almost entirely Amica production team for the women off Product t Amico also for men.
Despite the success of magazines in Germany there is almost no talk about the arrival of this new genre at all Some media commentators claim that men's magazines are a market innovation advertising which saw a group powerful target in readers There will of course have been economic thoughts in men's magazines publishing Whenever publishers come out with new launches, they do it to make profits yet the success of a magazine depends if find readers - and this only happens after 1996 therefore economic reasons do not explain why the launch has become a suddenly successful, the publishers tried to push the market for men before there had to be changes in the company responsible for the sudden success of lifestyle magazines for men, and Vogel said, No title is published without the food of social evolution e Vogel, 1998 168.
Other media commentators argue, as the English sociologists Gauntlett, that men must adapt to changing gender roles and therefore have magazines advice to find out what it means to be human in modern society in England the way magazines are these new masculinities is often subject to popular debate in Germany their sometimes laddish forms seem to be accepted even feminists haven t talked about them yet, and it seems fitting that all the undresses world famous half for at least one of them, at least a bit Women and society seems to have accepted Germany as FHM and Maxim men now have their own Brigitte and Petra.
Bregenstroth Lars 2003 Tipps f r den modernen Mдnnlichkeit Mann und in der Geschlechterverhдltnis Men Health nster M Lit Verlag.
D ge und Peter Meuser, Michael Hrsg 2001 Mдnnlichkeit soziale Ordnung und zur Neuere Beitrдge Geschlechterforschung Opladen Leske Budrich.
Gauntlett, David 2002 Media, Gender and Identity Introduction London Routledge.
Ifflaender Dana 2003 Mannomann Amico und Co Der neue auf Zeitschriftenmarkt setzt Mдnnermagazine In Der Tagesspiegel vom February 12, 2003 S13.
Informationsgesellschaft zur Verbreitung von der Erfassung Werbetrдgern 2003.
Jackson, Peter Stevenson, Nick und Brooks, Kate 2001 Making Sense of Men's Magazines Cambridge University Press, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
2003 Presse- und Stamm Medienhandbuch Leitfaden durch und Werbung Essen Press Stamm Verlag GmbH.
StraЯner Erich 1997 Zeitschrift T Max Niemeyer Verlag Tübingen.
Stuckard Bettina 2000 Das Bild der Frau und Frauenstein Mдnnerzeitschriften Frankfurt a M Verlag Peter Lang.
Vogel, Andreas 1998 Die Presse in Deutschland populдre M nchen Reinhard Fischer Verlag.
Vogel und Andreas Holtz-Bacha, Christina 2002 Zeitschriften und Wiesbaden Zeitschriftenforschung Westdeutscher Verlag.
Baguette, Christoph 2003 Journalistische Nationalkultur und zum Erfolg in Spezialmдrkten Fallstudie F r und von und Wider Titel- Konzeptexporten in Europa am Beispiel of britischen Mдnnermagazins Loaded Bochum Projekt Verlag.
Whelehan, Imelda 2000 Overloaded popular culture and the Future of Feminism Women London Press Ltd.
This page is part of the site in relation to the media book, gender and identity.
Media and gender identity of men magazines in Germany by Meike Werkmeister, media, gender, identity.