Man to man: culture, image and male representations in Advertising

This study proposes the analysis of the representation of male characters portrayed by advertising in men's magazines lifestyle. In the last four decades, society and the media have exerted a critical influence and observed the image of man and masculinity, establishing social and aesthetic models, labeling and classifying individuals according to certain standards socially acceptable. Social norms, family, work and post-modernity, are important factors in strengthening the male care about their image and their social integration. The relevance due to the undeniable influence of the media in aesthetic values and personal image. In contemporary times, the identities are no longer unique and fixed to be multifaceted and changing. Cultural studies and gender, try to analyze what is conveyed in the media, seek to understand how they are portrayed to society and to individuals the changes that permeate society today. The purpose of this study is to identify aspects and characteristics that emerge from human exposure in advertising. The methodological approach of the research will be the analysis of visual content in the ads aired in 2011 in lifestyle men's magazines, including Men's Health, GQ Portugal and Max Men. In this sense, we use as a methodological framework, the analysis of visual content based on the thought of Theo Van Leeuwen, Carey Jewitt and Laurence Bardin. And in the light of studies of masculinities, theorized by Raewyn Connell, Miguel Vale de Almeida and Sean Nixon.