Magazine photo study- Wes Hall, Jeff Kravetz, Tyler Kieffer

In the Muscle and Fitness magazine, there were 98 ads that were counted and divided into 7 different categories. The 7 categories are: Dietary supplements, bodybuilding equipment, knowledge systems, clothes, contests, cosmetics and other.
Here are the results with total number first and percentage second
Dietary Supplements- 45 ads- 45.9%
Bodybuilding equipment-9 ads- 9.1%
Knowledge system- 20 ads- 20.4%
Clothes -2 ads- 2%
Cosmetics-13 ads-13.2%
Contests-2 ads- 2%
Other -7 ads- 7.1%

In the SI for women magazines we were supposed to look for photos that would fit into one of six categories: Athletic Competence, Ambivalence, All American Girl Next Door, Hyper Heterosexual, Sexy Babe, and Soft Pornography.

The results were:

Athletic Competence-35 photos- 64.8%

Ambivalence-9 photos- 16.6%

All American Girl Next Door- 1 photo-2%

Hyper Heterosexual- 1 photo-2%

Sexy Babe- 1 photo-2%

Soft Pornography- 7 photos- 13%

The results shocked us due to the fact that in class we were told that we may not see many photos of the women on the field with action shots of the games. But when we looked at the magazine as a whole we realized why that was the case compared to other issues. The first reason was that it was looking back on the Summer Olympics that were recently held. The other reason was the college preview for many sports in the winter months such as: swimming, basketball, among others.

The magazines differ from each other in many different ways. For one the men’s magazine only focuses on male body and the enhancement as evidence by the photos in the magazine. Many of the ads focused on the males’ body and what the supplement could do for you if you use it. Some promise energy, some promise muscles, while other promised women, and other promised amazing results. But all of them had a theme of a male with muscles at some point in the ad one way or another. He was either the pitchman for the product or in the after shots of you using the product and getting the results from the product.

While in the women’s magazine there were images all over the board in terms of what the athletes are dressed like and what situation they are in.

Here there is a picture Serena Williams with her racket. This picture is an example of ambivalence due to her still showing athleticism but with a model pose added on to it. She is shown smiling which you would rarely see her do when she is competing in a tournament.

 Here is an image of Mia Hamm on the field actually playing and competing in her sport even though much of it has been cut out around her. You can see the differences between these and those of ambivalence. In the women’s magazines there are many different kinds of photos and ads compared to the men’s magazine which focuses on a specific group and goes after them.