Empire Magazine - Represenation of Women

Within Empire magazine women are rarely represented suggesting this is a magazine for men. However, when women are represented in the pages of Empire they either conform to gender stereotypes or break them.

Women are never seen on the front of Empire magazine as the cover is mainly there to attract the male target audience however when women are in the magazine they do sometimes conform to the typical female look. In shots taken just for the magazine the women will either have little clothes on such as a top falling off or wearing no pants with a coat covering them or they may be seen in a suggestive pose such as being crouched down and looking at the audience. This is typical of women in magazine as they are to be desired and gazed at, exactly like in film women are there to be looked at just like in this magazine. Women are looked at and admired by men. In addition to this the shots taken for the film the woman will always be too next to or behind a man, they can also be seen in intimate shots with a man. This is demonstrated in the 2017 Feb edition where there is a review on the film LION, the image above this review is of a woman laying on a bed with a topless man over her as they are almost nose to nose, this not only shows his dominance but also her submission and the fact that the audience can be present in these moments as women are to be looked at and watched (voyeurism). This links to the Male Gaze as it shows that women are more like objects of desire and men do things where as women have things done to them. They are passive within film and it is clear that Empire magazine are reinforcing this idea.

However in ways Empire do contradict this as there are images of females with guns looking cunning and prepared to fight showing they are not always the princess who needs to be saved and they are powerful and hold great authority and positions were people rely on them and they do not rely on others, this is shown in a shot of Scarlett Johansson surrounded by darkness holding a gun up ready to shoot showing she has authority and is independent.

In addition at times Empire will mix the two of these, this is shown in a shot of Wonder Woman running through battle ready to fight, this shows her independence and dominance but the fact that she is in a skin tight costume with her hair flowing with the wind and legs and chest exposed show that voyeurism and the fact she should be looked at.

Overall, Empire magazine represents women in many different ways but the fact that the magazine is for men it plays on the fact that men like women to be in short skirts and chest exposed assuming that this is what the audience want so they reinforce these aspects of women more.