The idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context.
The idea that the display of women's bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture.
The idea that, in mainstream culture, the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as a spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.
The Big Issue radius itself on providing a fair and balanced representation of differing social groups, whilst also providing a voice for the voiceless in society. In contrast, many other magazines, as said by Van Zoonen, objectify women in order to be looked at. Dissimilar to this, The Big Issue does not focus on gender due to the fact that their ideologies are that the issues that discuss, such as disabilities, mental health and homelessness can affect anyone, regardless of a person's gender.
Within the "Moving on" article, both male and female people's stories are shared, suggesting that poverty and homelessness affects anyone. Also within the magazine, gender is not made something to be paid attention to and it is displayed as something that is irrelevant, due to the main focus being on the issues discussed.
As seen in the screenshot above, the magazine has a larger focus on the person's story, achievements and the issues they are discussing, rather than the person themselves and their gender. Additionally, there are a variety of jobs discussed. Furthermore, both the men and women shown in the pictures included in the article have not been made to fit the standards expected of them for their appearance. Instead, they are themselves. This makes the article feel more authentic and makes the reader feel they can relate more to the people as they look regular and as though the photographer has just caught them for a catch up. This fits in with the ideology that the issues are the most important thing that the magazine discusses as well as breaking stereotypes by representing these people as human beings.
The "Letter To My Younger Self" article by Grayson Perry also relates to Van Zoonen's theory of gender being constructed through discourse. Within the article, Grayson Perry talks about his experience with gender and the stereotypes that revolve around it. Relating to this theory, Perry talks about the Daily Mail and their views on gender. This relates to Van Zoonen's views as this newspaper has clearly played a part in the construction of gender and gender stereotypes, particularly seen by the quote on the bottom right. Furthermore, within the article text, Perry discusses his experiences with people's perceptions and beliefs about gender, for example, "until she found out I'd been wearing her clothes and threw me out". Moreover, the author of the article is made to feel more relatable due to the fact that it is written as a letter, meaning the reader feel as though they are getting to read something private. It also makes the article feel more authentic as it is his own thought and written in this first person. This helps to break down stereotypes about the issue of gender and the other issue discussed within the article, such as mental health and family troubles, due to the fact that the first person address makes readers who have experienced these issue not feel like they are alone. Similarly, it helps those who have not experienced these issues realise that they can affect anyone.
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