Representations

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine represents the people who listen to the music. I gave the idea of what my band "Dead Embers" are supposed to sound like other bands such as Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins and Audioslave. I would like to appeal to the fans of these bands, females in particular. I'm trying to appeal to people who are dedicated to their music, and the avid fans.

I am hoping to represent females as equal to males in this type of music. By putting a female group on the front cover, I hope to give them power and respect. However, they could still be subject to the male gaze. Rather than being about music, a lot of female bands tend to have gossip surrounding them and get looked at rather than heard. Through experience I have noticed a lot of men who don't like a female artist's songs will still watch the video. And that is because most female artists dress provocatively because it is recommended. Everyone knows: Sex sells, and the music industry (pop music in particular) take advantage of this fact. Then we look at other genres, even then girls are subject to the male gaze. Hayley Williams, Amy Lee and other women in bands that produce rock/punk music, do not dress provocatively and do not attempt to appeal to men, but still do for this very reason.

I did a survey around my sixth form asking:
"Who would you expect to see on the front of a rock magazine?"

Options Response

All Male Band - Middle Aged 15
All Male Band - Aged from 18-30 19
All Female Band - Middle Aged 0
All Female Band - 18-30 1
Mixed Gender Band - Middle Aged 0
Mixed Gender Band - 18-30 8

The results from my survery show that all male bands are expected the most on the front of a rock magazine, and age doesn't seem to be an issue. It seems it's unheard of to see an all female band on the front cover of a rock magazine. I was quite suprised that 8 people would expect a mixed gender band to be featured, however with the rise of bands such as Paramore, Evanescence and Lacuna Coil; it seems it's becoming more popular. All these bands however, only have one female in, and they're all singers.

Stereotypically, readers of my magazine would be men between 18-30 with long hair, who possibly wear make up, wear Vans shoes, have a bedroom painted black and are depressed. They are also likely to play an instrument. However in most cases, this is not the case. Someone who listens to this music religiously may be close to this description, but it is unlikely. Someone who listens to rock music casually are not likely to look the part. While talking to peers, I have discovered a lot of people I wouldn't expect to listen to rock music in fact do, including myself. Music tastes are not always shown through appearance and dress sense. Brands such as converse and Famous Stars and Straps are related to punk music. Doc Martins brands are closely related to the 'goth' image. Putting everything into categories simply cannot work. My magazine cover is supposed to represent rock/metal music, but 'Dead Embers' are not wearing black clothing and heavy eyeliner, because I don't want to associate these things with this music.