LSN : Daily Signals : Stat: Media stereotypes impact men’s mental health

Glorious creates stylish content for women in sport

Women in Sport by Glorious Club

Global – New platform Glorious showcases women in sport through a more creative editorial lens, breaking free from the statistical nature of traditional athletic media.

The platform will feature articles and podcasts that explore the lifestyles and stories attached to world of women's sport. Embracing wider athletic culture, Glorious will also spotlight often overlooked sports such as skateboarding, cliff diving and dance. ‘Traditional sports coverage can be quite dry, there’s a lot of numbers and statistics,’ explains Alison Root, the platform’s editorial director. 'With Glorious, everything will be done through the lens of art and culture because so much of that, like fashion and music, is intrinsically linked to sport.'

As it seeks to elevate and celebrate women in sport, Glorious plans to launch a merchandise line that mirrors its visual identity. In future, it also aims to diversify its audience by encouraging all sports fans to join its readership regardless of gender.

In a similar vein, our microtrend Street Sport Rebels explores how women around the world are taking to unusual sports as a means of gender activism.

Experimental cosmetics that rework food waste

Lleig by Júlia Roca Vera, Spain

Spain – Designer Júlia Roca Vera aims to encourage less wasteful practices through her line of food waste cosmetics.

The four-piece range – Roca Vera's final degree project at design school Elisava – is dubbed Lleig after the Catalan word for 'ugly' and utilises fruit that would have been thrown away because it didn’t comply with supermarkets' cosmetic standards. While the designer considers that her process of extraction and reinvention can be applied to any fruits or vegetables, the first iteration of Lleig transforms parts of an orange into a moisturiser, soap, potpourri and juice for drinking. By repurposing every element of the fruit – including oils, peel and juice – Roca Vera shows how zero-waste practices can feed into creating sensorial beauty rituals.

‘I took one single orange to see how many different products I could make from only one piece,’ she tells Dezeen. ‘This way I could make the most of it and reduce the amount of waste.’ This holistic approach to sustainability also extends to the packaging, with each item presented in a refillable ceramic vessel.

As we look to the future, more skincare brands will convert food waste into desirable By-product Beauty, catering to the growing number of eco-conscious consumers.

Aldi’s emotive film highlights child food poverty

Aldi's child poverty campaign narrated by Marcus Rashford, UK

UK – Supermarket Aldi is pledging to donate 10 million meals to combat child hunger in the UK, with a campaign that uses a poetic narrative show how food poverty affects children.

The animated spot is narrated by footballer and activist Marcus Rashford, founder of the Child Food Poverty Taskforce, a coalition of charities, supermarkets working to reduce child hunger in the UK.

The Hunger Monster film showcases a child throughout their day constantly followed by the ‘hunger monster,’ a figure personifying the protagonist’s need for food. The short demonstrates that hunger is a recurring thought for the child, which hinders their capacity to be productive.

Revealed at the end of the film, Aldi is pledging to donate 10m meals for children via charity platform Neighbourly. 'Aldi aims to raise awareness of the increasing number of families struggling to put food on the table,’ says Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK. ‘We’re making it our mission to fight against child food poverty as no child should ever go hungry.’

Where governments are failing to act as a force for good in society, Civic Brands like Aldi are stepping in.

Stat: Media stereotypes impact men’s mental health

Anxy Magazine, US

Stereotypes in media and advertising are having an adverse effect on mental health among young men in the UK.

Research by media agency UM reveals that nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK males aged 18–34 think negative male representation in advertising does real psychological damage. When it comes to stereotypes, the representations that men find most offensive relate to perceptions about being a ‘player’ – with 91% considering the thought of being seen as ‘mean to women’ as harmful.

The research, carried out in conjunction with mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), also finds that younger males prefer not to see traditional stereotypes of men being ‘always strong’ or ‘a lad’ – around half (46%) see these ideas as detrimental and dangerous.

George McMahon, decision sciences manager at UM, says: ‘Men, especially those under 35, respond best to representation that breaks through the stereotypes. It’s absolutely in the best interests of advertisers to take greater responsibility.’

Traditional notions of masculinity are being rethought amid an increasingly genderless future – something brands should consider when targeting this consumer group. For more, explore New Masculinity.