Violence has probably always been part of the human experience. Do you support the use of violence as a way to solve problems? Your knee-jerk answer to that question may be an indignant “No,” but, in fact, almost everyone feels physical coercion is a necessary tool to solve some problems under certain circumstances. But what problems, and which circumstances? The most plausible justification of violence is when it is perpetrated in return of other violence. If a person punches you in the face and seems intentions to keep doing so, it may seem justified to try and respond to the physical violence. In its mildest form, the argument in favor of violence as self-defense claims that violence of some sort, an equally violent response may be justified.
In today’s society, men and woman are bombarded by the media in all aspects of life. The overall idea of masculinity has shifted over the years, in reflection of the change of media culture around us. With the emergence of online media and the impact that this has on the ideals surrounding masculinity, magazines has somewhat lost its overall influence on men and the ideals that they once portrayed. However, male specific magazines, online or print, still do have some power to captivate men and present encouragement to its readers on what a modern man should look or be like.
Contemporary lifestyle magazines for men are still often interpreted in relation to wider shifts in the representation of masculinity, from traditional depictions of the ‘masterful, silent, strong man’ from the 70’s, through to the ‘sensitive, nurturing, caring’ portrayals of the 1980’s, to the ‘New Lad’ of the 1990’s as a ‘lark about, beer swigging, football mad lout.’ (Hill, 2001:44). Over the past 5 years, with the dissolving of typical ‘lad mags’ from the print market such as FHM and Zoo, the portrayals of masculinity have now started to incorporate ideals from all previous generations, as males seem to have an ambiguous vision of what it means to be a man in this ever changing media environment.
Even though many have moved to a more online presence, some key publications are still evident in the male magazine market, most notable GQ and Men’s Heath. As described by Gauntlett (2002:73) magazines offer new models of male identity to men. Men are now increasingly encouraged towards self-awareness than ever before, via the impacts of the various women’s movements that have occurred over the years, as well as the gay movements which have challenged the hegemonic notions of modern heterosexual masculinity. Men look to magazines for guidance on trends that have impacted the society around them and how they can the incorporate or represent this change into their life. This development, a theme of the ‘New Man’, has shown that encouragement of men to look at themselves and other men, as men, is the product of a redefinition of masculinity (Chapman, Rutherford, 1998:81). This theme shows men as vehicles for a new, ‘all consuming’ form of masculinity, which encourages men to spend time and money on developing consumer orientated attitudes and practices from shopping to leisure activities and to enjoy their own masculinities. More men now live alone or do not have children, and this freedom can have an impact on the lifestyle they have or wish to possess. Some have said that there is a crisis of masculinity happening in this century, but it seems men have more freedom than ever to express what they believe to be the ideals of modern masculinity.
The content of contemporary magazines also encourages this ideal of a mod
