Advertising Images of Men: Body Size and Muscularity of Men Depicted in Men’s Health Magazine

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국마케팅과학회
· 수록지 정보 : Journal of Global Fashion Marketing / 2권 / 4호 / 181 ~ 187페이지
· 저자명 : Jaehee Jung

초록

Despite an increasing incidence of body image and eatingdisturbances in men, research on men and the ways in whichthey are affected by the media remain greatly under-documented. Given the fact that men are not immune tomedia images and are increasingly objectified in the media(Rohlinger, 2002), some men may be under as much pressureas women to achieve cultural ideals of physical appearance depictedby the media. The media not only reflects cultural environmentsbut it can also actively shape social norms as beingrecognized as an important socialization agent. In Western cultures,the male appearance ideal is leanness with definedmusculature. Emphasis on muscularity for male body ideals hasalso been noted with children’s action toys (Baghurst, Carlston,Wood, & Wyatt, 2007). Although men are not targeted as obviouslyas fitness magazines target bodybuilders, men are increasinglytargeted by advertisements in health and lifestylemagazines concerning how to improve their shape, tone theirmuscles, and change their exercise and diets (Law & Labre,2002). Men may internalize this information from the advertisementswhen developing their ideas about masculine bodyideals and try to approximate those body ideals.
Among health and lifestyle magazines, Men’s Health - thebest-selling men’s magazine on U.S. newsstands - is theworld’s largest men’s magazine with a readership of more than22 million men around the world (Men’s Health). The purposeof this study was to examine images of men depicted throughmagazine advertisements featured in the U.S. version of Men’sHealth over an 11-year period to document two componentsthat contribute to male body ideals in the U.S. This study hadtwo specific objectives: 1) To examine body size and the levelof muscularity depicted in advertisements of selected issues ofMen’s Health from 1999 to 2009 and 2) to compare body sizeand the level of muscularity depicted in advertisements of allissues of Men’s Health published in 1999 with those publishedin 2009.
To examine changes in body size and musculature of men’sbody ideals from 1999 to 2009, male images depicted eachyear in the March and October issues of Men’s Health werecompared using a content analysis method. To determine dif-ferences in body size and musculature of men’s images in advertisingbetween two specific years, images of men featuredin all issues of 1999 to those featured in all issues of 2009were compared using the same content analysis method. Thebody size and muscularity of the models were determined usingthe Contour Drawing Rating Scale (Thompson & Gray,1995) and the Muscle-Based Silhouette Measure (Frederick,Fessler, & Haselton, 2005), respectively. The same coding categorieswere used to assess changes in body size and muscularityof the models between all the issues of 1999 and thoseof 2009.
Two research assistants who were trained with a set of testimages independently rated male models in magazine advertisementswith the two instruments. The two coders recorded theirratings using a Microsoft Excel coding sheet and they metwith the researcher to compare their results and to discuss anydisagreements until they reached consensus. The unit of analysiswas restricted to advertisements of one or more full pagescontaining a single male model. Advertisements featuring menwhose bodies were obscured by heavy clothes were excluded.
A total of 552 advertisements were selected for analysis fromthe two selected monthly issues published in 1999 through2009 (a total of 22 issues). A total of 403 advertisementswere selected for analysis from all issues published in 1999and in 2009 (a total of 21 issues).
Results based on analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed asignificant main effect for body size, F(1, 550)=10.54, p<.001,partial eta-squared=.163 and for muscularity level, F(1,550)=31.73, p<.001, partial eta-squared=.370. While muscularitylevel showed a significant gain after 2007, increase in bodysize was not to the same extent as increase in muscularitylevel. An independent-samples t-test revealed significant resultsfor both body size (t=3.07, df=401, p<.05) and muscularity(t=2.67, df=401, p<.05). Body size of male models in advertisementsfrom all issues of 2009 was smaller (M=4.03,SD=1.27) than that from all issues of 1999 (M=5.33,SD=1.46). Muscularity level was greater in 2009 (M=5.96,SD=1.96) than in 1999 (M=4.48, SD=1.54). Although the resultsneed to be interpreted with great caution due to the useof a single health and lifestyle magazine brand, overall findingsof this research suggest that contemporary cultural appearanceideals of men focus on having a high degree of muscledefinition while maintaining relatively smaller body sizes.
A drastic increase in body image concerns among men inrecent years has been mainly attributed to men trying to bemore muscular. Most existing research in male body image hasfocused on the assessment of body size (body fat) that has no clear distinction from muscularity. The findings of this studysuggest that being fit and having a slender body might be justas important as being muscular and having a toned body formen in contemporary society. Because the data suggest thatchanges in both (body size and muscularity) were evident overtime, researchers may want to assess both of these componentswhen examining male body image to assess their joint and independenteffects on male body satisfaction. The findings alsosuggest that idealization of muscular bodies among men in theU.S. may be as harmful to their health as the desire to bethin among women. As a much greater level of muscularitywas identified in male body ideals in 2009 than in 1999,some men, particularly those who internalize these cultural ideals,may seek harmful behaviors such as substance abuse inorder to meet the cultural standards. Further research on mediaimages should address possible influencers for change in bodysize and muscularity. Also recommended for further research iscross-cultural comparisons of images of men in advertising forthe understanding of worldwide male body ideals in contemporarysociety.

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