Nuts, Zoo and the mediation of a youthful masculinity

Abstract

Nuts and Zoo, two mass market "men's lifestyle" magazines aimed specifically at young men were launched in Britain in 2004. With their tabloidesque presentation and irreverent editorial style, initial sales of the weeklies were an unprecedented success. This paper explores the discourses of masculinity articulated in the magazines and examines the wider set of socio‐cultural values, norms, and expectations embodied and celebrated therein. Through discourse analysis of 57 magazines (between February 2004 and January 2005), key mediating influences became evident: voyeurism, excess (together often manifest in schadenfreude), and the use of irony (through which the potentially "unacceptable" is made humorous). The paper also analyzes the gender politics of the ob‐jectification and sexualization of women in Nuts and Zoo.