Term Paper on "American Pop Culture"

Term Paper 5 pages (1759 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

American Pop Culture

Maxim Magazine

With its covers festooned with scantily clad women, Maxim magazine appears to make it clear that it is a traditional men's magazine. In fact, its covers are reminiscent of early Playboy magazine covers; and the photographs inside are not much less revealing than early pictures in Playboy. However, it would be a serious error for a reader to lump Maxim into the broader group of men's magazines including Stuff and Blender, which hint broadly at pornography and appear to equate the objectification of women with manliness. To understand why Maxim is a slightly smarter magazine, one has to view the magazine as a whole. Only after looking at the entire magazine can a reader understand the winking approach that Maxim takes to traditional men's magazines. By showing that the editors of the magazine are in on the joke, and that they understand all of the traditional objections to publications like Maxim, Maxim sets itself apart from the pack, which makes it a men's magazine that even ardent feminists can enjoy. The problem is that for any type of satire to be effective, the audience must understand that the work is satirical. It is in this arena that Maxim magazine fails to be entirely successful. Although its approach to gender stereotypes is so clearly satirical, it is equally clear that the editors and contributors do actually buy into some aspects of gender stereotyping, which lessens the effectiveness of satire to encourage people to question those stereotypes.

While Maxim features plenty of pictures of scantily clad women, reading through the articles makes it very apparent that the magazine's goal is to create the ultimate man's man. From the articles and ads featured in the magazine, it becomes clear that this ultimate male is a well-dressed, very sexually-active, heterosexual man who drinks, may partake in some drug or nicotine usage, and who is extremely physically active, good looking, and successful in his chosen profession. In addition, the ultimate male is aware of current trends, which he reflects by being well-groomed and enjoying popular culture, but without being trendy. However, it is the very fact that this "ideal" is unattainable that one sees emphasized repeatedly in the magazine's articles.

For example, Maxim's interview with Ray Liotta, an actor noted for his portrayal of dangerous gangsters and psychotic killers, demonstrates that Maxim does not believe that a man should be cold or detached from life, nor does it expect its readers to strive to be men without emotional attachment or vulnerability. In the interview, Liotta refuses to elaborate about an uncomfortable employment situation, explaining that he does not feel like being nasty. The interviewer responds with disbelief, saying, "What? We've seen you dig up dead bodies!" However, Liotta quickly sets her straight, explaining that he was the victim of bullies in high school and is not the tough guy that he plays in the movies. The interview also delves into Liotta's experience with death scenes, but he dodges her question. Instead of explaining his best death-scene, Liotta describes his most horrifying, which was when he portrayed an alcoholic on ER. Of that death scene, Liotta says:

The one on ER was a brutal and sad way to go. To die without making connections to other people in your life, to leave so much unsaid, must be horrible. You should say "I love you" every day to the people you love, because you never know what the hell is going to happen.

For a magazine that celebrates the idea of the hard-partying, lone-wolf male, the very fact that an interview with an icon of masculinity reveals such a high level of vulnerability makes it clear that Maxim may celebrate the concept of the perfect alpha male, but that it certainly does not expect any one of its members to truly live that stereotype.

While the main thrust of Maxim's focus is the celebration of the alpha male, it is almost as widely recognized as a celebration of the sexually available, nubile young woman. The facts that the magazine's cover is almost always graced by nearly-naked women, and that it regularly features pictures of women in sexually provocative poses and clothing appear to reinforce this stereotype. However, when one looks at the historical roots of the sexually available woman stereotype, one can understand how Maxim is subverting that stereotype. Traditionally, the sexually available woman stereotype emphasized the concept that any man was entitled to sexual favors from this ideal woman. It should come as no surprise, then, to realize that this stereotypical woman was considered unintelligent, because the lack of discrimination had to be attributable to some type of personal characteristic. In addition, while these hyper-sexualized women have been celebrated as companions, they have not been considered suitable as wives, mothers, or even peers. While Maxim celebrates sexually idealized women, it does so in a manner that acknowledges that most women cannot attain the ideal and that most women do not desire to do so. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, Maxim makes it clear that the majority of men are not going to be able to be with such a woman.

However, the most subversive aspect about Maxim's approach to female sexuality may be that it celebrates female sexuality while making it clear that women retain control of that sexuality. For example, in an interview with Christina Aguilera, the magazine directly addresses sexual stereotypes and the sexual double-standard. Yes, Aguilera appears on the magazine's cover in next-to-nothing, but she does not apologize for doing so. On the contrary, Aguilera takes the position that is the height of feminism for a woman to own her sexuality, even if doing so invokes sexist stereotypes. Rather than wanting to be seen as something other than a sex symbol, Aguilera embraces her sexuality. She states, "because there are so many double standards, it's very important to me as a female to play upon sexuality and be very strong while incorporating that in my art and work." The interviewer goes on to ask Aguilera what type of double standard she has encountered, and Aguilera's response makes it clear that she feels that women in the music industry are penalized for expressing sexuality in their art. In this way, Aguilera's appearance in Maxim, rather than enforcing existing gender stereotypes, appears to be her way to challenge gender stereotypes, by demonstrating that she can be both a serious artist and a mature, sexual being at the same time.

While the interviews in Maxim actually appear to challenge the very stereotypes that they initially seem chosen to enforce, the ads extol the virtues of those stereotypes. For example, the ads in Maxim of March 2007 simply reinforce the stereotypes. For example, an advertisement for a sport utility vehicle (SUV) has its motto spelled out in sports equipment, despite the fact that most SUV purchasers do not use them for sport purposes. An advertisement for Crown Royal Whisky, which refers to their trademark purple bag as a "designer bag for men," plays upon gender differences. Trojan condom's advertisement seems to suggest that the use of their product will bring a man a variety of partners, or at least the feeling that he has a variety of partners. In fact, it is these advertisements that force a reader to question whether or not Maxim is a subversive magazine, or whether it is simply reinforcing existing gender stereotypes.

Given that there is a divergence between the magazine's actual articles and its racy headlines and provocative advertisements, it may be impossible to truly determine whether Maxim is satire or simply a modern example of old-school sexism. Regardless of the answer, Maxim does reveal an extremely important truth about popular notions of masculinity and femininity, which is that the ideal is unattainable. In fact, it is because this ideal is unattainable that ads use representations of the ideal to sell their products; no man truly believes that drinking a certain whisky will imbue him with the ability to attract scores of attractive women. Instead, it is the fact that a product can be associated with the fantasy of the ideal, whether masculine or feminine, that makes the product attractive to many consumers. Therefore, one must come to the conclusion that consumption in America is not about attaining the ideal, but about striving for it. This concept is reflected by the fact that the notion of the ideal is constantly changing; even though the basics of the stereotype remain the same, the details about are always evolving. It is those details that drive consumerism. After all, a person is not able to easily change the more fixed standards in his life, but can easily change the details. Therefore, a person's choice of cologne, watch, clothing brand, or alcohol can be part of striving for this ideal.

Because the educated consumer and reader knows that the fictionalized ideal is unattainable, there is nothing inherently wrong with Maxim touting the stereotypical male as the ideal male or even… READ MORE

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