Men's Health
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Wikipedia-Article "Men's Health"
Men's Health (MH), published by Rodale Press, is the largest circulation men's lifestyle magazine in the world. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of men's life and health.
MH began in the United States in 1987 as an annual, before becoming a quarterly and then bi-monthly magazine, and is now published ten times a year. Its UK edition (with a separate editorial team) was launched in 1995, and it now publishes 33 editions worldwide, distributed to 40 countries. In the US its 1.8m circulation (as of 2005) exceeds that of GQ and Esquire combined.
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Editorial approach
An academic analysis of Men's Health's editorial approach in the context of the social construction of masculinity found that "while giving abundant health advice, [it] does so in a way that reproduces a type of hegemonic masculinity associated not with health but with a variety of negative health behaviors." (Stibbe 2004) A typical example Stibbe highlights as linking "masculinity, muscle, sex, meat, and alcohol" is this extract from December 2000:
- "Meat has big advantages over all other foods: It packs muscle-building protein; supplies enough zinc to . . . keep your sexual machinery firing. . . . It also goes down well with beer. In a race as close as the human one, that’s enough to make it a winner." (December 2000, 166)
Stibbe concludes that in the magazine several “ideal” men are promoted. The problem: all these men have health risks. The body-builder image that is promoted usually has poor exercise regimens that fail to work out all of the body or to do cardiovascular work. The “steak and potato” image is linked to high cholesterol. The excessive beer-drinker image can lead to alcoholism and drunk driving. The fast-food, pizza and McDonalds lover image promotes obesity. The sexual champion image puts men at a higher risk for STDs. Lastly, the idea of man as a sports loving, TV watcher promotes toughness and aggressiveness.
References
- Stibbe, Arran. (2004). “Health and the Social Construction of Masculinity in Men’s Health Magazine.” Men and Masculinities; 7 (1) July, pp. 31-51. - full text.