Audience Theories and it's relevence:

Here are the following theories and an explanation as to why they apply to my critical investigation:

1) The hypodermic model: This theory suggests that messages in the media are "injected" into the audience. These messages can be a number of things such as representations of groups, ideologies etc. Why this would be applied to my critical investigation question is becuase exposing pictures of women in lads mags can "inject" both thoughts and ideologies into the youth of today. Ideologies such as the subvertive women role could be one of them as these wommen are offfering themselves.

2) Desensitisation: This theory mentions that violence and blaintent sexuality become "less sensitive" as its exposed more and more. Behaviour towards these subjects also become more accepting. This theory would definatly apply to my investigation as lads mags are covered with sexual images. These images would desensitise youth's society into believing that women are sex objects, only existing to please men. This ideology could have a dangerous effect as young boys/men would grow up with patriartic ideologies.

Issues/ Theories that relate to my Critical investigation:

1) Issue: Media Effects:
This issues measure just how much the media effects society and how it is so vital in today's society. Under this issue, there can be many topics that can effect its audience, which in my case is sexual imagery. Analysing how Lads mags effect the youth of today, a media effect is taking place.

2) Issue: Regulation and censorship:
Regulation is monitoring and controlling behaviour while censorship is a suppression of certain things within society, which in this case is sexual images being displayed to youth. Why this issue is interesting to me and my critical investigation is becuase I can study both the regulation and the censorship Lads mags hold and what is being done so far to prevent this magazines being displayed to a younger, unintended target audience.

3) Issue: Ownership and control:
This issue plays a big part in my ciritical investigation as the ownership of lads mags can be explored and the control of how explicit the images are can also be analysed. Analysing this issue can also tie in with regulation and censorship issue as I can explore how big a part censorship plays within the ownership of lads mags.


4) Theory: Gender/ethnicity:
The gender and ethnicity involved with the mags can also relate to my investigation as the women being displayed can have a big effect on reader consumption can could also reflect reader's views on women of different race groups and women in general. Also with this theory I can bring in the hegemony issue and also ownership as I can explore what women are displayed and see if there is a specific reason behind it.


5) Theory: Marxism and hegemony:
Marxism and hegemony both hold the idea that one social class is superior to another, making the higher social class be able to influence social and media control. How I can relate this to my investigation is I can explore how these values both influence and reflect Lads Mags. Being linked to ownership, a person in a position of power can influence what is shown on these magazines.

Lads Mags to be for "adults only":

The reason why I think this article is relevant is becuase this comments about how the youth of today is being taken in by all this sexual imagery surrounding them and should only be viewed by adults.

The display of lads' mags is currently governed by a voluntary code of practice drawn up by the Periodical Publishers Associations (PPA) and the Home Office, which recommends that retailers display them well above children's eye level and away from children's titles or comics.

Ben Todd, the editor of Zoo, said: "We should be treated like a cheeky seaside postcard. In our case, the most revealing aspect is topless pictures, which is no more than you see in The Sun or the Daily Star. So, if any sort of age-restrictions are going to be introduced, I'd expect them to include those papers, too."

The report recommends that the Daily Sport be given an "18" certificate due to the numerous adverts for prostitutes which it contains.

While men's magazines often claim to be just "harmless fun", many people question their effects on young people. The Top Shelf Report surveyed a sample of sixth-form students and found that 100 per cent of girls who looked at the Daily Sport, Zoo and Nuts reported being angry, offended or upset by the images they contained.

Only 11 per cent of male students reported feeling the same, but one-fifth admitted that looking at this material encouraged them to see women as sex objects.

The Guardian/ The Observer article

In this article Andrew Anthony explores how pornography and sexual imagery has become so readily avalible and surrounding teenagers. He also questions if this has lead to a decrease in thrills when it comes to sexual imagery. Here are a few quotes: - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/26/has-porn-lost-its-excitement?INTCMP=SRCH

Everything from Sunday newspaper supplements to mail order catalogues was examined with the diligence of a librarian collating an index. A feature on stockings - interesting. An advert for a bra - bingo! And on more bountiful days, perhaps in the dentist's waiting room, the perfumed pages of fashion magazines might reveal an admirable artistic contempt for such dreary conventions as clothing. You'd take a filling or two for such small triumphs. In these restrained conditions, any sign, or even suggestion, of female flesh would be duly noted and stored in the memory bank for later reference.

At home, popular novels, like The Godfather, were speed-scanned for promising words - 'skirt', 'underwear', 'unbuttoned' - that might lead to action passages. In a demonstration of the kind of solidarity for which teenage boys are seldom credited

Still, porn in the Seventies in Britain was almost entirely centred on magazines. They ranged from well-known titles like Playboy and Penthouse at the softer end of the market, glossy forests of pubes which were available in newsagents, to the gynaecological hardcore whose provenance was less obvious

Nowadays porn is everywhere. Young men look at it without apology or shame. Sometimes young women too. Society has become radically more sexualised, and sex, which has always sold, has been transformed into a much more explicit commodity. What seems particularly notable is that women have become more active and willing participants in the pornification of female sexuality. Everywhere from the growth in breast implants and cosmetic surgery to the proliferation of bikini wax salons to the trendiness of Agent Provocateur to the transformation of glamour models into role models - a porn aesthetic has taken root in everyday life.

the influence of feminism gave rise to the New Man, the male who was in favour of sexual equality, sympathetic to female-only solutions

preserve of the misogynist, the sexist pig

An Article online questioning whether under16s should be allowed to buy Lads Mags:

This article raises many good questtions that are debatable such as the behaviours and attitudes of Lads Mags and the implications of censoring these magazines to youths such as the need to search elsewhere for sexual content. I thought thia article really relates to my critical investigation question. - http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/Youth-Work/988454/Talking-Point-under-16s-banned-buying-lads-mags/


The Home Office has recommended slapping an age restriction on lads' magazines such as Zoo and Nuts. It is one of 36 recommendations in its report on the increasing sexualisation of children and young people. Described as "soft porn", such magazines often show partially naked women on the front cover and are readily available for anyone to buy.

The report recommends that age classifications, similar to those applied to films and video games, should be applied to lads' mags.

Talk about whether lads' mags should be agerestricted. Consider whether it would be appropriate for a 12- or 15-year-old to buy them. Should those under a certain age be banned from buying them? Discuss how the images in these magazines differ from those on page 3 of The Sun.

Ask young people whether they feel these magazines should be placed on the top shelf with other pornography. Discuss whether it is appropriate for such magazines to be sold at young people's eye level, often next to children's magazines. Have young people ever thought about the positioning of these magazines in newsagents or shops?

Consider the implications of censoring such magazines. Will restricting young people from buying them encourage them to search elsewhere for sexual imagery? Talk about who should take responsibility for censorship boundaries. Do young people think it's right for the government to impose a ban on buying lads' mags? Should teachers and parents encourage young people to buy different magazines? Should young people have the right to choose for themselves what magazines they buy?

Ask young people why they might buy lads' mags. What do they find interesting about them? How many young people buy lads' mags because of the sexy images on the front cover? If they didn't have such images on the front cover, would they still buy them? Consider how much impact exposure to sexual images is having on young people. Are lads' mags influencing their sexual behaviour and attitudes?

It has also been suggested that raunchy music videos shouldn't be shown on TV before the 9pm watershed. Ask young people to think about the last music video they watched. How many of them featured sexy images? How do these provocative videos and lads' mags make young people feel? Consider how differently young men and young women might feel about these images. Do young people feel they need to be protected from hyper-sexual images?

My Final Question For The Critical Investigation:

How Do "Lads Mags" promote current social sex culture? Is this desensitising the youth of today?


This has taken me a long time to come up with and for that I apologise........