Homoeroticism in contemporary fashion advertising

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the increasingly frequent appearance and explicitness of homoerotic images in mainstream fashion media, both on digital platforms and in traditional spreads. This phenomenon is not yet extensively covered in fashion research, and therefore certainly worth investigating. The central question is how and to what end exactly is homoeroticism encoded and presented in contemporary fashion advertisements. Research material consists of both textual and visual materials through which a genealogy of homoeroticism in contemporary fashion advertising is constructed, framed by research literature pertaining to visual culture, sexual politics, the male body and homosexuality. By positioning homoerotic images at the junction of discourses on sexuality, masculinity and fashion advertising, a theoretical framework is established for the investigation of the meanings of homoeroticism in fashion advertisements. This thesis conducts in-depth analysis on four fashion advertisements published between 2010 and 2017. By adopting a Foucauldian perspective on the body and subjectivity in contemporary consumer culture, as well as considering the possibility of a ‘gay gaze’ in visual culture, this thesis suggests that the continued sexualisation of the male body in mass media has eroded the categorical boundaries separating heterosexual and homosexual men. Signs openly connoting homosexual desire permeate contemporary fashion advertisements. This thesis shows that contemporary fashion brands and advertisers now address the gay customer openly, instead of employing so-called ‘double marketing strategies.’ The graphic layout of the thesis is that of a fashion magazine, to suggest how bodies, genders and sexualities are transformed into visual language. In doing so, the thesis shows how an understanding of the body as ‘homoerotic’ is mediated, and how visuals and the graphic layouts are central to the interpretation of homoeroticism in fashion images.