heroes in front of their mates, whether it is builders doing pranks on each other, a guy jumping through a wall pretending to be The Incredible Hulk, or Sunday League soccer players showing off their sporting skills — or lack of them,”. This showcases that men still portray this ‘laddish’ lifestyle and more than ever, there is this intensification to act in more of a typical stereotypical masculine way, such as being the hero and showing off to friends, or even to impress females.

Other ways masculinity is encouraged by male magazines, is the idea of the body being an ‘unfinished project’ (Jackson et al, 2009:91). Particularly, Men’s Health, gives this idea that the male body is something that can be disciplined, thus warding off stress, uncertainty and male decline. This ideal of the body being the ultimate in male masculinity, showcases that men have the need to care about appearance and the idealistic look of a modern man, and the psychology of positive thinking. A toned, healthy body is a way of showing others that a man is comfortable in his masculinity, something that has shifted over the years, as more judgment is being put on men’s appearance by the media, and the perceptions of the ideal man.

Where the magazine market was once rife with male targeted magazines, the decline of print based publications shows the downmarket drift of men seeking these publications, in search of encouragement of what it is to be a man. The market did once rely on the bawdy porn conventions of men and typical lad characteristics, to appeal to this nature and sell magazines full of women with their tops off. However, since the emergence of online content, men have found themselves with a new wave of information, which was once segregated to a derogatory form. Men are now concerned with style and grooming, and this maybe because men do not have the need to subvert to a typical male stereotype and have the freedom to express what they believe to be the ideal in modern masculinity. Magazines used to reflect a fear of intimacy or commitment (Stevenson et al, 2000:172) but now they encourage men not to be too self-contained and express himself fully in his relationships. Men will forever be shifting towards different forms of masculinity, and will continue to do so in this evolving media sphere.