Van Zoonen proposes many ideas on how the mainstream media usually represent women in a negative light or solely because of their good looks. However, the Big Issue does not do this because it is an indie magazine so it promotes their set of ideologies that are mainly different from the mass media. In one of the interviews it talks about a woman's experience on the streets and how the Big issue enabled her to use it as a springboard onto better things and how she got a job. There is a picture of her but it is not presented in a sexual manner. Because Van Zoonen's theory mainly targets the mainstream media who are guilty of this. The visual and narrative codes cannot be applied here as they do not objectify the female body, instead they commend her for getting herself off the streets. This magazine says that it gives "voices to the voiceless" which it does, and it does this equally for men and women, this is a very modern viewpoint on the world.
By giving a voice to the voiceless, it enables them to express themselves freely and tell their story without judgement, one of the examples for this is the Grayson Perry article. He talks about his time growing up and dressing up as a girl and also in his article he takes a stab at the Daily Mail, by saying " I'm sure the daily mail would be happy to know they facilitated my sexual fetish". This is implying that the Daily Mail would be bothered about this because of their conservative view of the world. Because the Daily Mail is mainstream culture being referred to in the Big Issue, it implies that their visual and narrative codes are different to the Big Issues' views because the Daily Mail is one of the most popular newspapers which pride itself on eye catching stories.
The representation of women through this magazine is mostly always positive and they are not objectified, even though the magazine is created in a western patriarchal culture, it does not comply with the patriarchal ideology. Probably because the previous homeless women went through a lot whilst they were on the streets so the big issue does not want to do that to them, having to relive it again. For example, the article which talks about a woman called Viv Askeland, is a positive representation of a woman. It talks about her sleeping rough in London but now she is a tour guide in London turning her detriment into success. The picture is not objectified either, further promoting equality in this magazine.
This magazine takes a different approach compared to the mass media currently, it does things differently by their representations of social group. For example the representation of women is positive and the construction of gender does not represent the patriarchal culture that Van Zoonen talks about. The representation of men is also similar in the way that women are represented; because the people talking are from one of the most marginalised groups in society, the Big Issue would like to give them a chance to speak freely and without judgement. for example, the article, "No soggy bottoms here!" the men here are homeless as are trainees at a bakery. Van Zoonen talks about the construction of sisal codes that represent the male body as a spectacle, this theory does not apply here, because the Big Issue have decided not to conform to the patriarch and therefore they stand out because of this.
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