Stuart Hall developed his theory representation construction, in which he suggested that stereotyping as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits. He also suggested that stereotyping tends to occur when there are inequalities of power as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’.
Although the Big Issue is a magazine that prides itself on providing a fair and balanced representation of differing social groups, whilst also providing a voice for the voiceless in society, it may be guilty of some of Hall’s ideas.
This representation of differing social groups is certainly evident in the Big Issue’s 25th anniversary edition, specifically the Grayson Perry article. Grayson Perry being a well-known British contemporary artist, who often explores themes of identity, gender and societal issues in his work, these ideas are undoubtedly displayed in this article. Firstly, the article is formatted as a “Letter to My Younger Self”. The article uses this format to highlight Perry’s personal experiences to construct an authentic representation of multiple issues such as mental health, homelessness and identity. The article is very complex and aims not to shy away from the harsh aspects of these issues that a mainstream publication may not do. Due to this, I think that this article does challenge Hall’s points, as this article does not rely on stereotyping in order to display its ideologies to the audience.
In addition to this article, we also see an image of Grayson Perry, which seems very typical of their contemporary artwork. This image in contrast to the other pages in the magazine may display some of Hall’s points about this notion of ‘otherness’. Due to the, yellow setting of the image and the use of costume, hair and makeup, this image may draw attention to itself, therefore creating this notion of otherness, in contrast to the rest of the set text due to an inequality of power from excluded social groups. Although, this image could also be seen as challenging dominant hegemonic ideologies, breaking down gender norms and ideas surrounding identity.
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