Cover Body: Representations of Men and Women in Men’s Health and Women’s Health Magazines

Abstract

The Brazilian version of Men's Health magazine was first published in Brazil in May 2006. In November 2008, Women's Health was launched in the country. However, both prints closed their distributions in December 2015. North American franchises, the magazines had their content built for tips on how to exercise to have a lean and defined body; articles on the conquest and maintenance of a particular beauty type; suggestions on proper nutrition, fashion, behavior and sexuality. Studies in the area of Social Communication and Social History of the Press indicate that the cover of a magazine is the first contact of the readership with the ethos of the publication. In view of the importance it assumes, this research focuses on the covers of the aforementioned printed matter, taking as reference the analysis of the reception studies, taking into account that the receiver is present in the text from the production instance, as a strategy. The article proposes to discuss the strategies of construction of the reader by the covers of Men's Health and Women's Health, from the model reader concept of Umberto Eco (1986), considering technical operators of analysis (image, graphic composition and colors) and operators (beauty, body, sexuality and social roles). It is interesting to see how beauty, in times past, was measured by the body's "abundance" that indicated health and also wealth, but today the "fat" is considered ugly and sick (Sant "Anna 2005). For Vigarello (2006), beautification is almost "a must" for women, because only then will it show their natural femininity. He identified this mode of being as a constitutive of contemporary feminine subjectivities. In short, seeking the ideal body pattern is an activity that relies more heavily on the feminine than on the masculine. This is because historically the "value" of women in the face of society is in making themselves beautiful as part of their ethics and identity, whereas man does not have his identity built solely in regard to the care of the body. It is also valued for virility and work-related activities. After conducting the research, with emphasis on the reading of the covers of the mentioned publications, we conclude that journalism produced for men and women is not similar, even when printed are analyzed that revolve around the same theme: health of the body . Old stereotypes related to a supposed feminine essence are reinforced daily in the covers of Women's Health, while the covers of Men's Health indicate more constructive and innovative constructions.