Online Media: Attitude - Audience

Attitude online is the accompanies website for the magazine Attitude

• how are queer people represented in this website?
• how does the mode of address for this website both conform to and differ from 'conventional' and 'mainstream' publications?
• what stories jumped out at you
• would you read this magazine?

• camp - refers to a deliberately silly and trashy aesthetic; often over the top and very visible, it may involve the combination of both high and low culture
• queer coding - the construction of someone or something as queer or gay
• LGBTQ+
• heteronormativity - the assumption that everyone is straight
• queer - a catch-all umbrella term for not straight
• homoerotic - content that connotes eroticism that appeals to homosexual men/gay people

In the article "14 not entirely SFW images of gorgeous guys from BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Volume 7", gay men are represented as both beautiful and appreciated. In a black and white image of a nude man on a horse, a series and yet artistic mode of address is constructed. The target audience for this website is clearly gay men, and the specific emphasis of muscled bodies and buttocks point to a queer coded and highly sexualised representation of gay men for gay men.

The emphasis on buttocks is quite different from the sexualisation of men in non-queer media, and presents a rebellious over-emphasis on sexuality to challenge the dominant ideology that gay people 'should' be invisible

In the article, "Mary & George's Toby Curran on gay roles and giving Nicholas Galitzine a 'Glasgow kiss' during an intimate scene", the website focuses on queer aspects of a new TV show itself focuses on queer themes. By featuring a new and popular TV show, Attitude is able to appeal to a broader gay audience

There are a variety of articles featuring celebrities 'coming out'. The target audience will look up to celebrities as an inspiration. The normalisation of coming out, itself a huge aspect of many gay people's identity, and promotes an ideology of being comfortable and proud of one's sexuality.

Even straight men are objectified in the website. In the article, Harry Judd wants you to watch him getting nailed for Sport Relief, Attitude represents a heterosexual man as a sexualised representation for a gay male audience. The sole purpose of many of these articles is sexual gratification. Such representations are vital for certain artists, as it helps them to attract a completely new audience. Statistically, gay men are less likely to have dependants, and more likely to have disposable income, sometimes referred to as the pink pound, this means gay men are particularly desirable to advertisers. While many articles focus on positive and cheerful representations of smiling gay men, many other articles focus on negative representations.  For example, the article "LGBTQ charities respond after NHS England pauses puberty blockers for children" discusses a measure which will be close to the heart of many people reading this. Additionally, articles such as "Trans campaigner Jaxon Feeley vows to fight Liz Truss' bill targeting trans children and healthcare" serve to reinforce the ideology that queer people as vulnerable are balanced out through the ideology that such measures should be fought against. These articles represent queer people as both vulnerable, yet strong as political and willing to fight.

The inclusion of 'style' as a subheading in the menu bar reinforces a stereotypical assumption that gay men are stylish and interested in fashion.

In the article, "prepare to sleigh with MODUS VIVENDI's Party Collection for Christmas 2023", a camp mode of address is constructed