Media Analysis: FHM

For Him Magazine (FHM) is one of the top leading male magazines around the world, including countries such as the UK, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and Turkey. It has been designed to appeal to the average male, filled with sex provoking articles and beautiful half-naked women gracing the covers of each issue. However, FHM has not always been published this way. The early FHM magazines were focused on fashion and style, being distributed throughout European fashion outlets. It was not until 1987 that the publishers of the magazine began to take their publication to the shelves of newsagents.

Beginning in 1994, FHM magazine took a new approach of a competing magazine known as Loaded. The focus of FHM shifted from fashion to beautiful women, drinking, sports, and humor. As a need to distance themselves from top shelf publications, FHM introduced scantily clad women to the covers of their magazines. This is now commonly accepted among consumers and is a strong selling point for the magazine. It is because of this new “sexualized” approach that an upset in sales has occurred in pornographic media giants such as Playboy and Penthouse. This may be due to the fact that men may less embarrassed when a “men’s lifestyle” magazine than a pornographic one. However, the line between pornography and what is presented in FHM magazine has become more than shady.

Throughout this past decade the covers of FHM magazine have presented highly sexualized article topics including: “I want to achieve a perfect orgasm”, “why you should be bedding older women”, “sex on the beach”, and “the world’s hottest threesome”. With the display of women bent-over, with legs spread open, there no wondering why pornographic powerhouses such as Playboy and Penthouse have had an upset in sales.

In a 2003 FHM photo shoot, television cooking host Rachel Ray poses in lingerie and scantily sucks on a strawberry, causing an uproar in criticism. It wasn’t until an interview on late night news program, Nightline, that Rachel Ray commented upon her decision to pose for such a magazine. During the interview Ray comments on how she felt privileged given the opportunity to pose for a magazine that thrives on the success of displaying photos of such beautiful, sexualized women, saying “that if you’ve got it go for it”. It is because of views like these, that the ideas of women being treated as objects are so prevalent in today’s society. Yet it is becoming more accepted by both men and women that to have these views of women as objects, due to the bombardment of the media and its influences.

Steve Miller

Rachel Ray’s interview on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDRm3sku3qs