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| The 'sexuality' folio of Attitude Online is 'hidden' behind a couple of clicks from the main navigation bar, and presents eroticised representations of hegemonically attractive young men. This content might be considered 'not safe for work', and by burying this link somehat, the audience is offered the opportunity to either engage with this content or to ignore it completely, which provides a negotiated response. Additionally, the representation of model Matthew Camp is complex and interesting, combining both hypermasculine elements but also stereotypically feminine elements. The use of lingerie on a male model, as well as the cowboy hat are examples of queer coding, and communicate to a gay audience the queer themes of this content. Finally, this high quality eroticised content also makes explicit reference to Attitude (the magazine), and reinforces the website's status as a mere advertisement for the magazine. With many audiences choosing to go online as opposed to buying print media, the function of this website can be seen as a 'pull factor', to pull audiences back in and to aggressively advertise the magazine to a working class queer audience who may not normally engage with high end magazines. |
Attitude Online
- Exists to promote the magazine. At the top right of the website is a clear hyperlink to a page to subscribe to the Print and digital editions of Attitude
- The target audience for Attitude Online is gay working class men, with a lexis similar to that of a tabloid newspaper, and a selection of soft news stories. However, Attitude Magazine's target audience is middle class gay men. This allows the producers of Attitude (Stream media) the opportunity to diversify and to target new audiences.
- Previously the website had a dedicated 'boys' section that focused on softcore and erotic content. This content is still available, but is now hidden under the 'sexuality' tab'. This indicates that the content may be off-putting to some audiences, and this decision has been made to minimise risk and to maximise profit.
- Advertisers will often pull their advertising revenue if they feel the content of the website is inappropriate or not safe for work
Representation
Stuart Hall - representation
Attitude uses a range of stereotypical representations of gay men, including fashion advice, and highly sexualised images of very toned and hegemonically attractive men. Stereotypes are often negative, yet in this instance, explicit stereotypes are used as a shortcut to allow audiences to clearly identify that this website is targeting gay audiences. This technique has often been used by gay publications to appeal to gay audiences. While gay men are unrepresented in mainstream media, gay media often uses explicit representations of gay sexuality to profit from this underrepresentation. The use of queer coding, and the symbolic use of MES such as cowboy hats and bunny ears clearly communicates to gay audiences that this product will appeal to their interests. Another stereotype of gay men is reinforced through the style section, that encodes the representation that gay men are defined through consumerism.
Paul Gilroy - postcolonial theory
The use of othering. Gay people are represented as being different, or 'other' this representation encodes a sense of pride and confidence. However, some stories, for example Three teens arrested after schoolboy, 14, ‘attacked for being gay’ in Ireland reinforce the dangers that openly gay people face in society, and bring attention to the frequent representation of gay people as being victims, and othered.
Judith Butler - gender performativity
Our performance of gender affects the world around us. Tragic stories about gay teenagers being bullied acknowledge that gay people are victimised for the way in which the act and perform their gender. Additionally, stories such as "Matthew Camp: 7 steamy pics of Attitude’s bold cover star" represent a toned and hegemonically attractive man in a variety of non gender conforming roles, such as a Playboy Bunny. This atypical representation presents a simultaneously masculine and feminine representation, and presents a challenging ideology to the target audience. Even though some people may reject this dominant reading, they are unlikely to access attitude online.
Audience
David Gauntlett - pick and mix
A range of representations of LGBTQ+ people, including both positive and negative stories about gay experiences. Gay male audiences can not only identify with h these stories, and can use these representations as positive role models. Additionally the style section includes a range of fashion advice targeted to gay men, and again is instructive and aspirational.
Livingstone and Lunt - regulation
There is nothing remotely illegal in Attitude Online, and even the erotic photoshoots are clearly not pornographic under UK law. However, Stream media have self regulated the content of the online magazine. Firstly, the more sexually explicit material has been partially hidden under the 'sexuality' tab. Additionally the producers have chosen not to feature pornographic content, partially to maintain brand identity, and to please advertisers. Additionally, there are no opportunities to leave comments. By not featuring comments, the producers can filter out other ideologies and [resent a single straightforward. Additionally, by not having comments, the producers do not need to moderate harmful comments, and this ultimately saves money.