Media Affecting Testosterone and Aggression

Media Affecting Testosterone and Aggression

The media can be highly influential when it comes to portraying the image of aggression in men. There is a big difference in the way that men’s and women’s magazines portray themselves and each other. During the course of research, the group discovered that men’s magazines such as Maximum and FHM, were a great resource when it came to finding what we were looking for. These magazines are loaded with stereotypical images of men and women. One of these images is showing just how aggressive they “teach” you to be, and how aggressive sports now days are wanting men to be.

In the April 2004 edition of FHM magazine, one article that stood out is the “Sidewalk Enforcer”. This article is basically teaching how to make “pedestrians your bitch”. Derian Hatcher , Red Wings defenseman, is the teacher in this article. Step by step, he tells you what to do when you get tired of walking down busy sidewalks. Step one is the “Surprise Attack”, which tells you how to get your targets attention, and when he turns away, that’s when it’s time to make your move. Step two, “Target your aggression”, tells you how to hit the person, and how to follow through after you do it. Step three “Unleash hell” tells you how to gain power from your legs and glutes and the proper way to gain your center of gravity. The last step teaches you how to leave a lasting impression once you’ve “laid the guy out”. Now whether or not this is a literal meaning on how to take out a guy whenever you feel like it when you are walking down the street, or if it’s just for laughs, it still shows that men are more aggressive. It is very rare to find an article in a women’s magazine on how to take out another woman step by step.

Another article taken from the March 2004 edition of FHM magazine that stood out was titled “Blood Sport”. This article pertains to the way that Quebec plays hockey, the way God intended: violently.(Jellinek, 92). This article begins by showing Dody Woods, a player for the Verdun Dragons, “getting his ass kicked”. In Quebec, the only way to play the game is by doing it violently. One of the things that drive these players to do so is money and the attention that it brings to the game. “By the end of the night, there will have been eight fights and yet another player from the Dragons ejected from the game. Even the goalies fight. The final