Hegemonic masculinity is “embodied in heterosexual, highly educated,
European American men of upper-class economic status” (Courtenay 2000b,
1388). To its commercial advantage, Men’s Health magazine is aimed at
exactly this group. The South African edition expresses this metaphorically
as follows: “[Men’s Health] provides focused penetration directly at the
affluent, male market, delivering sophisticated, upscale males to discerning
advertisers” (South Africa 2000). Brittan (1989, 5) has problems with analyses
that assume men have a “collective ideology”; men do not constitute a
class. However, the men targeted by Men’s Health do form a class, and it is
the class with most to gain from the reproduction of male domination. The
intended readership can be seen in quotes such as the following, which
describes the situation of being pulled over by a cop: “Here’s how his [the
cop’s] life stacks up against yours: He doesn’t have yourMBA, he’s not holding
your stock options, and he’s not next in line for that CEO slot” (Men’s
Health, September 2000, 128).