For those that don't know, it's the NRA magazine. I'm not entirely sure where it came from.
At any rate, what gets me are the advertisements in the thing. You'd think an advertisement to sell a product would focus on qualities of that product. In this case, accuracy. Or firepower. Magazine size, scope distance, I dunno, the delightful fragrance of spent propellant and hot gun oil?
But no.
These advertisements sell confidence. They sell protection.. They sell security. They sell thunder and power and assurance. The pictures are of tough men reaching for their guns while bodily shielding a pretty lady and her infant. Images of soldiers in the field. American flags and eagles abound. Except for the ones of pretty women with their T-shirts pulled tight and tucked, holding a large rifle like it's her favorite thing in the world.
Like most advertising, these ads are playing towards the insecurities of a consumer to convince them "I need this." And these are very specific insecurities in the case of the gun ads. They are targeting an audience that is insecure in their masculinity, uncertain of their abilities as protector and provider, men who lack a sense of personal pride, whose confidence is measured in possession instead of self, and yes, who doubt that their genitals are "sufficient." And yes, the target audience are men - in the ads with images, men are active, while women are either objects being protected, or passive gun-caressers. And it's worth noting that the only person of color in the magazine is that woman who's holding a baby. Even the baby is white.
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