In recent years, men¡¦s fashion magazines have become a new media genre that attracts lots of attention. The sales, advertisements, and publications of the men¡¦s fashion magazines have reached a remarkable performance. Media is an important social institution to shape gender images. Thus, this study aims to explore what kind of masculinity that men¡¦s fashion magazines in Taiwan represents? How to achieve the masculinity through consumption? Are there any differences in masculinity between transnational and local men¡¦s fashion magazines? What is the variation in men¡¦s fashion magazines in different periods? This study expects to describe the masculinity represented in men¡¦s fashion magazines of Taiwan to enrich the media and men¡¦s research resources. This study drawn on the masculinity theory based on the sociologist R.W. Connell¡¦s, and applied a methodology of quantitative content analysis. The subjects were the international Chinese edition of men¡¦s fashion magazine GQ and the local men¡¦s fashion magazine men¡¦s uno. The reason to focus the analysis on GQ and men¡¦s uno is due to the fact that they are the most popular and long-running men¡¦s fashion magazines in Taiwan respectively. By means of analyzing these two magazines published during 1997 to 2006, this research tries to understand the masculinity styles represented on the magazines¡¦ cover. The major finding revealed that the large numbers of men represented in men¡¦s fashion magazines of Taiwan were young men who aged between 18 and 35 (with 74.8% appearing in the ¡§cover figure¡¨ category and 71.2% in the ¡§featured people¡¨ category). Most of the men in the magazines were entertainment workers with appealing looks (with 90.1% appearing in the ¡§cover figure¡¨ category and 81.9% in the ¡§featured people¡¨ category). As for men¡¦s appearance types, the Trendy Cool type (43.2%) was the majority, the next types were Gentle (14.4%), Tough/Strong (11.7%), and Serious/Sophisticated (11.7%). Secondly, 60.5% of the article headlines on the magazines¡¦ covers were related to the consumption issues. The topics of the headlines were centered on fashion (39.6%) and featured people (29.8%). Furthermore, comparing the transnational with the local magazine, there were differences in men¡¦s age, occupation, appearance type, body type, and the topic and product category that the magazine emphasized. In conclusion, men¡¦s fashion magazines of Taiwan indeed appear a different kind of masculinity that I identify as ¡§stylish masculinity¡¨. This kind of masculinity focuses much attention on men¡¦s appearances, and it¡¦s achieved through a variety of ways of product consumption. The stylish masculinity overthrows some definitions of the traditional masculinity, but on the other hand, it still maintained some disciplines of traditional masculinity. Analyzing the transnational and local men¡¦s fashion magazines, we can understand even if the international men¡¦s fashion magazine, like GQ, appeared and influenced the local male in a global way. From different cultures, magazine origins and readerships, the local men¡¦s fashion magazine still can present some diverse features in many aspects. Finally, when the transnational fashion magazines introduce the international fashion information to local readers, it also conveys many global viewpoints about masculinity at the same time. However, it¡¦s still possible that the publisher takes a localized strategy in order to cater for the local life and culture.

Since the Condé Nast Publications launched the first male fashion magazine GQ in Taiwan, Male fashion magazines in Taiwan have been booming for twelve years. No matter a large amount of advertising or increasing circulations, it shows that Male fashion magazines become one of resource of main fashion trades. .It is worth to know that, advertisers play an important role in the proceeding of producing magazine content. The advertisers have a great influence on the magazine content and the message which audience receive. In this research, researcher discusses how do advertisers affect the make-up of magazine to create an atmosphere for their sales growth of products? How do advertisers control the editorial decisions? How do advertisers affect the liberty in editor producing content? And how do advertisers make the commercial message as the magazine content? Two male fashion magazine publishers which can be the best examples among Taiwan male fashion magazines are selected. One is local publisher, another is international one. Researcher used ¡§In-depth interview¡¨ to collect the data for research. Seven stuff were interviewed in the research. Participant Observation is also adopted. The researcher, entered into the organization of the magazine publisher to examine the advertisers how to affect the proceeding of producing magazine content. The result shows that advertisement avenue is the major profit for Taiwan male fashion magazines, around 70% profit from advertisement. In order to maintain advertisement avenue, advertisers ask editors to arrange their commercial next to the content. By doing this, publishers create an atmosphere of sale products for advertisers to attractive more costumers. In addition, editors place a lot of products in the magazines for meeting advertisers¡¦ requirements to earn more profits. With the growing of produce placement, commercial message is turning into the content of magazine gradually. Moreover, advertisers use ¡§Invisible way¡¨ to affect how to edit the magazine content . ¡§Invisible way¡¨ means that advertisers pay editors for producing commercial content. This producing way make readers believe that the content is providing the c information which readers need; however, this content actually is a part of advertisements. Advertisers need a page of magazine for promoting product, and magazine publishers need financial support from advertisers. This interrelationship makes editors produce magazine content for advertisers. Therefore, magazine become a tool of advertisers promote product. In the proceeding of production of female fashion magazine, Earnshaw(1984¡^found out that female fashion magazines become a catalogue, and this research provide the further evidence that Taiwan male fashion magazines are the same in these days. In addition, it reflects that the ranks of sartorially self-aware males are growing compared to the past years.

This study is about gender stereotypes that occur in the magazines of ELLE and KING's advertisements in 2014. The purpose of this inquisition is by using a gender perspective to examine the interpretation of women and men, compare how they relate to the traditional gender stereotypes. To answer our purpose of this study, a selection of 400 advertisements were analyzed based on it's content and visual expression. Through a content analysis, we could measure the frequency of 18 variables and put them in relation to each other to grasp the differences that exist between the genders. The results are presented in bar charts based on the variables that proved most interesting outcome between the genders. Our result indicated that ELLE and KING's advertisements relates to many of the traditional gender stereotypes even today.

In recent years, the men's fashion magazine has become a new media genre that attracts lots of attention. The sales, advertisements, and publications of the men's fashion magazine have reached a remarkable performance. Most important of all, men's fashion magazines not only provide the male readers with content about appearance beauty but also mold the male readers into a new kind of masculinity called ¡¥New Man¡¦. The ¡¥New Man¡¦ masculinity means that men can feel more comfortable to take some gender practices to improve their appearance beauty, such as putting on make-up, applying skincare products and so on. Researches about men's fashion magazine in Taiwan mostly focus on market performance, and the notion and practice of male readers are ignored. This present study drawn on the audience in everyday life theory, also employed the masculinity theory based on the sociologist R. W. Connell and the view of fluid identity (multiple subjectivities) based on the poststructuralist feminists. This study applied a methodology of qualitative in-depth interview with 6 male participants, tried to find the relation between men¡¦s fashion magazine and everyday gender practices of the readers. The study found that when the male readers interpret the ¡¥New Man¡¦ image in the men's fashion magazine, they do negotiate the mainstream masculinity discourse in their everyday life. Their negotiation involves their unequal investment in multiple subjectivities in everyday life. The study also found that men's fashion magazine is a text that can mediate the masculinity discourse, so the everyday gender practices of readers regarding the magazine text are their negotiation of masculinity as well. The male readers read men's fashion magazine and take ¡¥New Man¡¦ gender practices (ex. applying skincare products, putting on make-up, and taking care of figure) to create their own unique masculinity which exclude from femininity. In conclusion, the new version masculinity (New Man) does overlap the old one (mainstream or traditional masculinity), which not only shows the diversity of masculinity but also provide the male readers with some space to exert their agency and negotiate the meaning of ¡¥what it means to be a male¡¦.

This thesis researches the role clothes and fashion played in the performance and representation of gender in a Swedish fashion magazine between 1830 and 1835. It also examines the performance of the magazine itself in reproducing idealised appearances, behaviours, and the concept of fashion towards a middle-class readership. A distinction is made between dress and fashion, where dress is understood as the tangible act of clothing, the body and fashion are a collective and conscious belief that grants clothes with an intangible extra added value. The analysis is divided into two chapters. The first focuses on the magazine’s communication on the usage and functions of clothes, as well as how, where, and when they were meant to be worn. This chapter also includes an analysis of the concept of fashion and the magazine’s understanding of it. The second chapter focuses on the performance, gender, and the body, what type of performances can be detected, and their relation to clothes and fashion. The magazine comments on its role and responsibility as a vessel of information on fashion and reinforces the existence of the fashion concept. Fashion was seen as an unavoidable force of nature at the same time as delicate since the act of dress could disrupt the idea of fashion by being worn by too many, thus considered too common. The idea of an external appearance matching internal essence was stressed for both women and men. Clothes visualised a “true” inner self of a person and should ideally overlap, signifying sincerity instead of deception. Dressing for occupational and occasional circumstances was applicable for both women and men. Marriage attire, however, was only directed at women, although men were represented in 47 % of the fashion plates, and information was being relayed concerning men’s fashion, making this absence noticeable.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how gender norms are represented and depicted in the commercial sphere of fashion, affecting primarily females. The thesis will highlight the voices of several young females of today and their perception of how it is to be influenced and exposed to gender norms in regards to fashion. This thesis theoretical chapters consists of theories in gender norms, norm-critical design, fashion magazines, editorial design, fashion photography, norm-critical photography and intersectional feminism. Furthermore, the method used for this paper are interviews, a total of 17 people were interviewed, whereas five of them are currently working in either the commercial fashion industry or as creatives on a global level. The interviews occurred online, through both emailing and Instagram. This thesis concludes that several aspects, primarily based on the male gaze negatively influence gender norms in the commercial sphere of fashion. However, it is also concluded that there are several change agents, working towards breaking these toxic influences. The thesis is also part of a design project, which final outcome is exhibited at the exhibition Windows Of Opportunity. An online exhibition hosted by the program Design + Change and Visual Communication + Change, at the Linnaeus University in Sweden. https://2020.designportfoliolnu.se/studentwork/rewrite/

The central theme of the diploma thesis is fashion photography on the cover pages of Vogue magazine international editions. In the empirical section, the author uses a combination of quantitative content analysis and qualitative semiotic analysis based on the concept of the French semiotics Roland Barthes. The quantitative section of the analysis works with a sample of 87 photographs, from which 8 images are later selected for the semiotic part. At the denotative level, the analysis looks for common and different signs of individual editions. At the level of the connoted image, the author tries to decode the contained signs and their meanings. The semiotic analysis traces linguistic messages, the narrative, the paradigmatic and syntagmatic arrangement of photography, or the presence of national identity. Part of the work is also a theoretical section dedicated to fashion magazines and changes in the aesthetics of fashion photography. This part contains an excursion into the history and present of fashion photography and presents prominent personalities in the field. In the theoretical part, the author defines the terms that form the ground for empirical research. At the end of the work, the results of the analysis and their interpretation are presented.

The project aims to explore how strong brands are built and what they consist of. I will focus on the subject fashion magazine, ambassadors and the different parts that a magazine consists of. Based on the information from research and literature I’m re-designing the Swedish fashion magazine Solo.