Culture Jam

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The advertisement above was publicly shared by a gym franchise, Anytime Fitness. The print advertisement was an attempt to increase brand awareness as well as attract possible sales; the print predominantly centers around an evidently muscular, young, professional man. 

The suit worn by the individual exemplifies a particular level of professionalism as well as possible dominance in the social world. Despite the smile, the man is seen to be holding a very tense and has his arm flexed, once again indicating his dominance — an intrinsic trait of hegemonic masculinity. In addition, the advertisement implies a sort of lifestyle men should partake in; the print explicitly states it is for “busy people” implicitly informing the audience that the gym is exclusively for men with a busy life.

Although the product in essence is a gym membership, which one may equate to a healthy lifestyle, the advertisement shifts the fixation on the idea of a socially respected and attractive man. Interestingly, this print advertisement does not showcase any promotion of health transformation(s) and/or inclusivity — which can be inferred to be an important quality of an attempt in increasing healthy habits in bigger populations. The company’s decision to place a picture of a muscular and attractive man may lead to significantly skewed notions of men’s physical appearance as well as reinforcing the desirability of hegemonic masculinity. The advertisement does not at all attempt to represent the general population; instead, it strives to sell their product through a quintessential presentation of hegemonic masculinity.

As per the above analysis, the notion of hegemonic masculinity is clearly presented and brought upon by the original print advertisement. To highlight this, I have explicitly placed red crosses over “Busy People.” I have replaced the two words with “Attractive Men” as this is what I perceive to be more of an accurate presentation of what the fitness club is promoting. In my edited version of the print, I made the decision to replace the word “People” with “Men” as there is no representation of women or third gender in the original advertisement; this was significant as it strengthens the preexisting ideas of the “strong and dominant man” that exists in the sociological concept of hegemonic masculinity. Additionally, it can be undoubtedly perceived that the man in the focal of the print is to be deemed as attractive by possible consumers/viewers of the advertisement; because of this, I emphasize and connect the relation of physical representations of hegemonic masculinity with desirability and allure. By highlighting the idea that a particular type of physical appearance is considered desirable, it showcases the inherent and preconceived notions of how men, in particular is to look; through this phenomenon, men are only attractive if they work in professional fields and physically muscular.

Furthermore, this jammed version attempts to stress the absurdities that can be observed regularly in fitness advertisements; this edited print also attempts to interrupt the normalized appeal of hegemonic masculinity by emphasizing the confined and limiting idea of attractiveness showcased in the original advertisement.