Media Project: Hanna Longwell

Media Project: TransWorld Motocross

The media today is jam-packed with subliminal images that suggest certain values and concepts to the unsuspecting population. In “Transworld Motocross”, a magazine that revolves around motorcycles and everything to do with them, there are constant images of women in bikinis that aren’t big enough to cover up a five-year-old displayed alongside the products that the magazine is trying to sell. For my media project, I am going to analyze how women’s bodies are portrayed as equal to objects, and what effects this may have on the readers’ views of women in society.

The cover of this month’s best-selling MX Magazine in the world consists of a scantily clad, tan blonde woman with large breasts and a tiny stomach posing next to a bike. Why not have a covered up, conservative, and empowering woman, who doesn’t suggest that the only way to be attractive for men is to turn yourself into an object with no self-respect?

There is a tight linkage between gender performance and gender roles in society. This magazine enforces the perspective that there are only males and females, and goes against the continuum of discrete categories, where there is more than just these two genders. “Transworld Motocross ” assumes that men are interested in the products they are selling, and use women as a means to advance their profit by luring men in to their products.

On pages 32-33 of the magazine, there is this advertisement for Unit Riders, titled The Age of Panic:

Unit Riders is an Australian brand that sells printed T’s, jeans, and tech board shorts. This edgy image depicts a girl standing in front of a row of carcasses in a bikini, wearing a mask over her mouth and nose. It illustrates oppression, which is the immobilization of human beings due to their identity. She is expected to be silent about her oppression, and not speak out. This image also portrays the girl as an object, just like the dead animals that she is surrounded with. It could also be interpreted as her claiming her sexuality and gaining power by using her sexual appeal. Susan Douglas would probably view this girl as an “active sexual agent” (Douglas 156) who is taking control of her sexuality. She would fit the mold of a sexpert because she is white, young, slim, busty, and beautiful. Douglas would also interpret this image as a representation of the phenomenon that the “media started saying that it’s through sex and sexual display that women really have the power to get what they want” (Douglas 156). The busty blond posing on the cover and the brunette with the mask are both in a way empowering themselves by putting their sexuality out there before anyone else is able to criticize them for it. Douglas would see this as a form of a sexual performance, as she discusses in “Sex R Us”, and also would have a problem with the fact that women are becoming sexual objects in order to gain power.

It is pretty apparent through the way that women are represented in this magazine as opposed to the way that men are (Beauty and the Best Article, 58) that there is a prominent representation of the two sex systems. The Beauty in this article is Erin Normoyle (Ms. Motocross), while the Best is Ryan Villopoto. They are “pitting the brainpower of their current poster model against that of a top rider or racer.” This concept is interesting because the magazine is adding another dimension to the poster girl, yet is also insulting because the questions they ask consist of: “What is a Brazilian?” or “Name four energy drinks.” When Erin Normoyle is asked “What is the bottom number in a fraction called”, she replies “(laughs) You can’t ask me medical questions. I am terrible with that stuff.” This ridiculously embarrassing answer furthers the concept that “The Beauty” is just that; an object. By acting in a manner that suggests that she is just a dumb blonde, she is perpetuating the concept of enlightened sexism, which is the illusion that there are lots of powerful women in the world and that we are post-feminism/sexism. The model is comfortable assuming the stereotypical role of a female from a sexist view, possibly because she doesn’t believe in sexism and is able to assume a powerful sexual identity without thinking this discrimination will still exist. Even though this would be ideal, Douglas suggests that the sexist views that we joke about and take on because we assume that they are outdated still seep into our minds and play a role in how we view ourselves and other women. Next time you pick up a magazine, consider the implications that the subliminal messages the media is forcing upon you will have on your concepts of the world and your relations of other people. Ask yourself what there is to gain from the objectification of women, and if you want to partake in this popular practice.

Works Cited

Douglas, Susan J. Enlightened Sexism. New York: Times Books, 2010. Print.