I will be looking at the set text for the Big Issue and how different social groups in, particular women, are represented in the magazine I will look at Liesbet Van Zoonen in particular.
Liesbet Van Zoonen's theory is '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 spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body'.
There are a range of social groups represented within this issue of The Big Issue. Homeless people is an obvious one but there is also the elderly, transvestites, migrants, people in poverty and others.
The Big Issue doesn't necessarily line up with Van Zoonen's theory with women not being sexualised or shown as though they are objects. However, the magazine itself likely does recognise this taking place and doesn't act it doesn't exist outside of the magazine in the real world and also other forms of media. They try to challenge what you'd typically expect.
Women are only really seen in the 'Moving On' portion of the set text with it showing a range of people, both men and women and how they have began to move on with there lives after getting themselves out of homelessness and poverty by selling copies of the Big Issue and then moving on to do different things.. Women aren't sexualised or seen as objects, but rather as functioning and hardworking members of society. The Big Issue instead rather tries to break the stereotype of women by showing them no different to men. The fact that both men and women are both featured together in this section without being separated into two separate parts says something in its self as it shows that women are not any different from men and are just as hard working.
Although, Grayson Perry is a man, he is also a transvestite and crossdresser. This could line up with Van Zoonen's idea that gender is constructed through discourse and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context and then in some definitions when crossdressing may be considered a women. Although, Grayson himself refers to himself as 'that weird bloke in a dress'
There is an advertisement part of the set text from the Big Issue Foundation about knitting to support Big Issue vendors. The sole image is an image is of a women knitting which enforces the idea that this is a women's hobby and job and not something that men would enjoy but rather just women. However, this could be as the majority of knitters are women and to draw in the majority demographic and who are most likely to be interested in it.
Both women and men make up the homeless population but the magazine mainly focuses on men rather than women with more men being featured in the 'Moving On' section and also in the other articles. This may be to fit the stereotype of homeless people or to not tarnish the way in which you would expect women to normally be represented in the media and to not display women and their bodies in any way other than as objects to be looked at.
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