Audience Studies


Audiencing refers to the process by which a visual image has its meaning renegotiated, or ever rejected, by particular audiences watching in specific circumstances (Rose 30). By performing audience studies through analyzing Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue covers it will allow to see what effect it has on men and women. As a society we are exposed to several different types of covers that Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has produced, which show women wearing bikinis or possibly less in different poses. The magazine can be decoded in various ways, depending on how the magazine is encoded and presented to reader who is looking at the magazine.
In the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover on the left the model is advertising and trying to sale a specific type of swimsuit. As a viewer we can see her whole entire body and what the swimsuit looks like and what it would look like if we were to wear it. It is safe to say that the models pose is in a very strategic way, with the placement of her hands and arms. One arm is up and her hand is behind her head as her hair blows in the opposite direction leaving that side of her body exposed. Her other arm is down as her hand is placed on her hip, strategically showing off her hips as the viewer is told by her hand placement to look at the swimsuit bottom. It could be understood by the audience as a preferred meaning that allows them to "imagine that I can someday be like the women in the magazine-beautiful, successful, etc. (Johnson and Sivek 4)."
In opposition of the male gaze, which is still prevalent in these photographs as well, is the lesbian gaze. The viewer of the magazine might have, "The lesbian gaze who, like her, gaze at the beautiful woman-produces a desire both to be and to have the displayed woman (Lewis 95)." Women who connect with the magazine cover photographs can either view the images as women being sexually objectified or they can identify with the models on the cover of the magazine. As a result of women being able to connect with the models, women might feel as if they are being sexually objectified due to revealing and sexual/seductive poses as well as being seen in very sensual swimwear. On the other hand, women might identify with the models on the cover as being very sexy. Women might have the thought of since these women are sexy and men want them than it would be nice if I could look like these women. As readers gaze at the model, they "may simultaneously at a fantasy level desire to be like her, and desire to have her and, moreover, desire to be, as she is, the recipient of another woman's desiring gaze (Lewis 95)." Although the lesbian gaze is not looked at as much as the male gaze, it is still present in the culture we live in today.
In the image on the right, the model is supposed to be advertising a yellow swimsuit to the viewer. Conversely, it could be completely misunderstood by the viewer to decode a totally different message by this cover photograph. The model is wearing a yellow swimsuit but has taken off the top of her bikini. By doing this the model is taking the viewer's attention away from the product, in this case a yellow swimsuit, and making the viewer focus on her as she is undressing the top of her bikini. The model looks stunning and, "common themes include: If you buy and use the product, you'll become more sexually attractive, have more sex, have better sex, or just feel sexier for your own sake (Reichert 7)." The model has a playful smile across her face as if she is enjoying teasing the viewer; the facial expressions are acting in a way of being very flirtatious and trying to grab the viewer's attention. Not only does the playful facial expression capture the audience's attention, so does the fact that she is covering up her breasts with one arm as it comes across her body and the other hand is rested upon her neck. This pose by the beautiful model is implanting a sense of scopophilia in the viewers for women but mostly men. Not only does the model implant a sense of scopophilia in the viewers but also sets the stage for hegemony. Hegemony is a sort of power, maintained by culturally constitutes norms (Rose 268). This model is a norm in our society, because her body, the legs, the skin, the curves, is set to be the norm in our society. Davis' "combined analysis of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue with interviews of both producers and consumers to show how ideas about hegemonic masculinity are generated and reinforced (Wenner 52)."
Audience studies play an important role in how products are advertised and presented to the public for viewing. Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has a webpage for its readers and fans, only to come to find out that all the women look the same. They are all beautiful supermodels or gorgeous athletes. Therefore, the audience believes that everyone has to look like the supermodel rather than just look the best that they possibly can and want to look. The audience, or viewers of the magazine, plays an important role for each year's issue and how the model is presented on the cover of the magazine. If there is negative feedback from the audience about a certain cover photograph, the magazine won't consider a similar shoot, however if there is a positive feedback, we could see similar looks on the magazine.



Discourse Analysis Interpellating
Works Cited
Johnson, Sammye, and Susan Currie Sivek. "Framing Sex, Romance, And Relationships In Cosmopolitan And Maxim." Southwestern Mass Communication Journal 24.2 (2009): 1-16. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 8 May 2013.

Lewis, Reina. "Looking Good: The Lesbian Gaze and Fashion Imagery." Consuming Cultures (1997): 92-109. Print.

Reichert, Tom. "The Ageless Allure: Sex, Media, And Marketing." Journal Of Promotion Management 13.1/2 (2007): 3. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 8 May 2013.

Rose, Gillian. Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials. London: SAGE, 2012. Print.

Wenner, Lawrence A. Mediasport. London: Routledge, 1998. Print.


Illustrations

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/swimsuit/

Zach Lynch

May 8, 2013