The Sourcebook on Violence Against Women reports that 14.8% to 36.1% of women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. They also cited studies finding that up to 26.4% of women have experienced intimate partner violence (Renzetti, Edleson, & Bergen, 2011). With approximately 1 in 4 women experiencing sexual assault or intimate partner violence, many scholars are trying to point fingers. There are several theories that have something to say on the matter. However, it is important to realize that at the heart of all theories is how they are applied in the daily lives of men and women. The media is a portal into how children are socialised, what consumers buy and the lifestyle choices people make (Tallim, J). There is no doubt that the media is thriving in America. Net magazine sales exceed $4.5 billion each year. The magazines are widely available to the general public. The Magazine Publishers of America found that 93% of American adults read magazines. The growth trend over the past five years shows that after the Internet, magazines show the greatest growth in media usage (Magazine Publishers of America & International Periodical Distributors Association, 2010). Most audiences would agree that American culture has become hypersexualized. Feona Attwood goes so far as to call the transformation a “‘pornography’ of the mainstream media… [with] women increasingly targeted” (Attwood, 2005). Some efforts have been made to combat this phenomenon by encouraging women's empowerment, but the results are still imminent. A comparison of Men's Health and Women's Health magazines, owned by the same company, shows how the media portrays men and women and perpetuates a violent sexual culture that cultivates v...... middle of paper... through abuse which teaches men are permitted to perpetrate. The media is a powerful source of information for people of all ages. Consumers spend $86 million per week on magazines (Magazine Publishers of America & International Periodical Distributors Association, 2010). The media should work to restructure how boys and girls are socialized and gender roles for men and women. Magazines should focus on empowering women rather than showing them scantily clad as sexual objects. Not all Men's Health and Women's Health articles follow stereotypes and enable violence or objectification of women; however, articles that perpetuate violence far outnumber those that set a good example for men and women. Men's health and women's health must step up and learn to empower women instead of leaving them vulnerable to partner abuse.