It's common knowledge to everyone that men and women in the media are represented in different ways. Women are often sexually objectified, posing with fewer clothes or nude to entertain the eyes of the male audience. Women are made to be alluring, appealing and pose in invitational ways and stereotypes play a big part when women are portrayed as they are commonly stereotyped. Some examples are 'the dumb blonde,' 'the bitch,' 'the housewife,' 'the cougar' and 'the tart.' They are associated with words such as weak and powerless simply down to the fact because they are women. Men on the other hand are seen as the opposite of how women are portrayed - strong and powerful. A fine example of this are the two following covers of GQ magazine:

On the left we have Lana Del Rey, a well respected musician who has won awards for MTV Best Alternative Act, Brit Awards International Female Solo Act and many more. She's a role model and powerful figure to many however, she's degraded on this magazine cover due to the fact she's been stripped down so the attentions on her body and not her talent. It doesn't come down to just her nudity the pose she's in adds to it as she has her body pulled together, looking as if she's protecting herself from something which makes her look vulnerable and accessible.

On the right we have Tinie Tempah, who is also a well respected musician who has won many awards and is a role model to many. Tinie Tempah is stood upright in a suit, looking proper and strong. The connotations of a suit suggest intelligence, wealth and power, these words in which are often associated with men. However Lana may posses these qualities but they are not seen through her cover. Men are seen as the highest and have control therefore women are not equal as we live in a patriarchal society and it's seen through everything. 

Magazine editors face issues when editing their magazines as more and more people are aware of feminism and it's a recognised movement. They have to avoid problems of degrading women and making sure men and women are portrayed equally. They must try not to sexualise women as well as men to show equality. There are wider issues such as race and language. They have to make sure their images and articles are appropriate as well as the language to make sure it's not offensive. 

Laura Mulvey - a feminist film critic, came up with the Male Gaze Theory in 1975. The Male Gaze Theory is that audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. In the film industry what takes place is: 

The camera lingers on the curves of the female body with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact 

Through editing and framing the female body gets 'cut' into pieces, creating a passive object to be 'gazed' at. 

Events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to these events. 

In the industry most of the higher roles are filled by men so it makes sense for this theory to be apparent. In 2011 only 16% of women were writers, directors, producers, cinematographers and editors. As men are directing, writing, filming and producing these films, they are done from their perspectives and film what they would like to see - sexy women. The power roles in the industry have historically always been men and to this present day in film industry not much has changed. As all the higher, executive roles are men the audience is gendered to be male. It's said that 'men look at women, women look at women and women look at themselves.' This is true due to the fact that women watch the films that are put together by men that include scenes of very attractive women. So they are looking at women, they then go onto look at themselves as individuals and compare themselves to what they've seen in films. 

Marjorie Ferguson came up with the Facial Expression Theory in which she separated the facial expressions cover models use into 4 sections: 

Chocolate Box                       Invitational              Super-Smiler            Romantic/Sensual 

Chocolate Box: This is when the model has a half or full - smile, the lips are together or slightly parted with the teeth barley parted. Projected mood: warmth and blandly pleasing. The uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or individuality.

Invitational: It emphasises on the eyes with the mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile. They usually have their head to one side or looking back to the camera. Projected mood: it suggests mystery or mischief in a sexual way. 

Super - smiler: The models have a full face with a wide open toothy smile with their head thrown forward or chin thrown back. Their hair is usually flowing and wind - blown. Projected Mood: It gives of a 'look at me' pose which is demanding and subtly aggressive.

Romantic/Sensual: This pose includes a male and female 'two - somes'. The image is often sensual, overly sexual and dreamy. To create this the models are usually heavy lidded and not smiling. Projected mood: the models in the photo represent availability.

A documentary named 'Miss Representation' was made in 2011 and focuses on the aspect of female representation in the media. The issue the documentary focuses on is 'The media is selling young people the idea that girls’ and women’s value lies in their youth, beauty, and sexuality and not in their capacity as leaders. Boys learn that their success is tied to dominance, power, and aggression. We must value people as whole human beings, not gendered stereotypes.' It featured women of all ages and young girls talking of all their experiences, jobs and feminism. It talked of how the media can lead to eating disorders, self - harm and low self - esteem as many women compare themselves to the women they see in the media. Also men judge women more harshly so it's more pressure. However those in the media are photo shopped to looked 'perfect' so it's not possible for women too achieve the look they're striving for. It's said that women spend more money on cosmetics than education and this is a result of the media and striving for perfection. 

One of the women spoke about The Bechdel Test which is a test created by Alison Bechdel that nearly all films fail to pass. It asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. There are three steps to The Bechdel Test and they are: 

It features a woman 

A woman talks to another woman 

A woman talks to another woman about something to do with a man 

Nearly all films fail to pass this test which tells us that women in the film industry don't have prominent roles that don't revolve around men. Most female protagonist always have something to do with men and love and The Bechdel Test proves this. Even when women are the protagonist they are still objectified for example in many action films. 

Only 16% of women are protagonist in film and television 

47% of the population are women 40 and above but only make up 26% of women are on TV 

5.8% of women own television and only 6% own radio stations 

In my magazine I aim to represent male and female equally but not making women 'weak and sensitive' or making men 'strong and tough' and not sexualising either of the sexes. I want my target audience to buy my magazine for its content and quality not the sexualised image of the model on the cover.