REPRESENTATION: The Big Issue

How are homeless people positively represented in The Big Issue?

Their pages represent homeless people in a positive and sympathetic light because supporting the homeless is their main goal as a magazine.

Letter refers to homeless vendors of the magazine as ‘inspirational’ and ‘friendly’

The use of personal stories and first person perspectives, helps readers to understand and sympathise with homeless vendors

How are homeless people negatively represented in The Big Issue?

The representations aren’t all positive. They do include some gritty details of homeless culture.

Drugs, alcohol and even violence are mentioned on the set pages, creating a seemingly realistic representation of homeless life for vendors.

The representations of homelessness are not idealised.

What is the political stance of The Big Issue?

Left wing ideologies are clearly represented on the pages.

The magazine paints a reasonably negative picture of the Conservative government.

The negative representation of Donal Trump ties into the magazine’s left wing ideologies.

How is gender represented in The Big Issue?

This advert represents men as powerful, successful, important etc.

This is a reasonably stereotypical way of representing men in the media.

The lack of inclusion of female bosses (women in higher roles) in the interview might reflect the context that women are less likely to be hired for managerial jobs.

The set pages are dominated by men. This could be because the writers of The Big Issue are male and so are the majority of the audience.

It may also reflect that men are more likely to be made homeless than women, so their focus may be on creating more positive roles for men.

The representation of Grayson Perry

The representation of Grayson Perry is counter typical as it shows a man comfortable expressing his more feminine and creative side by wearing dresses and makeup.

This adds a more modern and diverse representation of masculinity that is often not seen in mainstream media products.

The article discusses his more stereotypical masculine past e.g. watching war films, joining the army cadets, having a temper etc.

This makes the representation of masculinity quite complex and not one dimensional.

How are women represented in The Big Issue?

At the time, Theresa May was Prime Minister, so along with Nicola Sturgeon, this article shows women in some very senior positions of political power.

Some articles represent women as educated and respected in their fields, providing a countertype to many mainstream representations of women.

The Turn2Us pensions advice advert creates a more stereotypical representation of women being financially dependent on their husbands. Perhaps targeting older women where this may more likely be the case.

What representations are created through the ‘Moving on’ article?

The article constructs positive stories of vendors overcoming homelessness and and achieving success in various fields - supporting The Big Issue’s ethos of ‘a hand up not a hand out’ and reinforcing the message that the magazine is meeting it’s aims.

There is a diverse rang of people presented - male and female, older and younger adults, different ethnicities and nationalities, people with disabilities reflecting the idea that anyone can experience homelessness and move beyond the experience.

How could you apply David Gauntlett’s Identity Theory to the ‘Moving on’ article?

Gauntlett’s ideas are relevant in this article - there are a diverse range of representations, potential role-models, with whom readers may identify with.

How is Homelessness postiviely represented in the ‘Letters’ page?

The letters page features various letters.

One titled “celebrating vendors” refers to homeless vendors of the magazine as ‘inspirational’ and ‘friendly’.

The use of personal stories and first-person perspectives helps readers to understand and sympathise with homeless vendors.

This page is effective in representing a typically underrepresented social group.

How is homelessness represented in possibly a negative way in the ‘Letters’ page?

• The representations aren’t all positive though, they do include some more gritty details of homeless culture, like being included in drugs, alcohol and even violence.

• This creates a seemingly realistic representation of homeless life for vendors and doesn’t attempt to make the vendors seem perfect.

• The representations of homelessness are not idealised.

How are political opinions represented in the ‘Letters’ section?

• Left-wing ideologies are clearly represented on the pages, as they talk negatively about Margaret Thatcher, talk about the conservatives closing down libraries, the history of terrible unemployment due to their laws and legislation – its clear that the magazine paints a reasonably negative picture of the Conservative government.

• They talk about how the conservatives were planning to hold a memorial for Margaret Thatcher, the suggestion in the letters is that the funding for the memorial should be used to build libraries, clearly demonstrating an anti-Thatcher, and therefore anti-conservative ideology.

• They also speak about Trump and negatively represent, which makes sense as Trump is the US version of Thatcher – ties into the magazines left-wing ideologies.

How is gender represented in the Sky Westworld advert?

Looking specifically at the Sky Westworld advert, it represents men as powerful, successful, and important, etc. this is a reasonably stereotypical way of representing men in the media.

How is gender represented in the "so… why don’t the homeless just go home?” article?

There’s an article called “so… why don’t the homeless just go home?”, and they interview a variety of heads of different organisations – every single person is male, which suggests that men are these ones that get the top jobs in the companies.

The lack of inclusion of female bosses in the interview might reflect the context that women are less likely to be hired for managerial jobs. It continues to represent men in positions of power and status.

How is gender represented in the A-Team advert for Blu-ray DVD?

This advert is also male-dominated, and constructs a macho representation of men. All of the artwork is by male artists - all set pages are dominated by men.

This could be because the writers of The Big Issue are primarily male, but may also reflect the fact that men are more likely to be made homeless than women, so their focus might be on creating more positive role models for men.

How is gender represented in the “We made history, didn’t we?” double page spread?

The spread looks at the two male founders of The Big Issue, also both male, from a low-angle perspective that makes them look more powerful. They use aggressive adjectives like ‘hard-nosed’ and ‘tough’. The use of masculine and powerful adjectives creates a macho image of the founders.

This also adds to the stereotype that men aren’t emotional people and are mentally tough, “no nonsense”.

How is gender represented in The Dalai Lama article?

There are other representations for men in positions of respect including The Dalai Lama with a halo past his head, suggesting something to be worshipped.

The other men are also represented positively using positive adjectives. The article creates the idea of these men being ultimate role models and the top in their field.

How is David Bowie represented in the magazine?

Whilst David Bowie was of course rich, successful and powerful, he also challenged traditional ideas about masculinity in many ways. He was, alongside his music, known for his androgynous looks and for wearing makeup and not being afraid to experiment with clothes, hair, makeup etc.

Bowie was someone who very much did not care for gender norms, so there are some moments in The Big Issue, by mentioning Bowie, that challenge gender stereotypes. This is further reinforced by Grayson Perry.

How is Grayson Perry represented in the magazine?

The representation of Grayson Perry is counter typical as it shows a man comfortable with expressing his more feminine and creative side by wearing dresses and makeup.

He talks about his experience and uses terms to express his sexuality such as “transvestite”, so this adds a more modern and diverse representation of masculinity that is often not seen in mainstream media products.

How do the representations of women in the magazine challenge gender stereotypes?

There are some representations of women that challenge gender stereotypes, such as women in positions of leadership, especially in the political sphere, like Theresa May and Nicole Sturgeon.

Some of the articles represent women as educated and respected in their fields, providing a countertype to many mainstream representations of women.

How does the ‘Turn2U’s’ advert negatively represent gender?

The woman on the Turn2U’s charity advert stating “money was tight when my husband became terminally ill” suggests women can’t cope financially once their husbands have passed away, a very stereotypical representation of women relying on men financially.

Why has the magazine chosen to challenge stereotypical representations of gender?

As an “alternative magazine” it makes sense that they do include some articles that challenge traditional stereotypes of gender, sexuality etc.

Typical readers of the Big Issue are more likely to be left wing, have liberal, alternative points of view, so it makes sense for the magazine to include these representations on their pages.