Making Sense of Men's Magazines

The last decade has witnessed the phenomenal growth of the men'smagazine market, raising important questions of a more generalkind. What is the significance of the rise of men's lifestylemagazines for gender politics? Are we witnessing a backlash againstfeminism or are they merely harmless fun? Why did lsquo;new man'give way to the lsquo;new lad'? What political issues do thesequestions raise within the context of the information society?Making Sense of Men's Magazines is an original study which enablesus to understand the appeal of men's magazines, the ways in whichthey are constructed and understood, and many of the complexquestions they raise for both men and women. Through interviewswith editors and key production staff, an analysis of the contentof men's magazines and focus group interviews, this work seeks tolsquo;make sense' of this cultural phenomenon. The authors giveparticular attention to the gendered and commercial character ofmen's magazines, and the implications they have for the way weunderstand capitalism, masculinity and consumption in the modernworld.This book makes a major contribution to understanding the role ofmagazines in contemporary culture and will be essential reading forstudents of sociology, media and cultural studies and genderstudies.