Reading Between the Lines: An Analysis of Women’s Magazines

Reading Between the Lines: An Analysis of Women’s Magazines

By Fiona Smith

ZOONAR RF VIA GETTY IMAGES

I have a confession. Sometimes, I read blogs (think this blog, but less substance). Hell, I even write my own blog. Blogs offer a glimpse into a stranger’s life. They expose private tastes, like favourite sulfate-free shampoos, or secret sea salt chocolate chip cookie recipes, or even relationship intricacies. Ultimately, blogs welcome the peeping Tom lurking in all of us, with open arms. What’s not to like!?

My reading habits extend past blogs. I also relish reading the occasional women’s fashion magazine. When flying, I curl up in my stiff plane seat like it’s a cavernous armchair. With honey-roasted peanuts in one hand and a copy of Vogue in the other, I soar through the clouds, dissecting Mario Testino’s latest “Towel Series.” Why Vogue, you ask? Because the chances that Blake Lively is on the cover are as high as is the cruising altitude of my plane. I like to look at the meticulously styled photographs with the intensity of a five year old drawing in a colouring book. I am also a genuine fan of the writing featured in Vanity Fair. When reading these periodicals and blogs, one cannot ignore the overwhelming presence of women in the industry. As a young woman, it is truly encouraging to read the work of strong women.

From the cult of domesticity to the cult of Warren Jeffs, the publishing industry has enabled women to sculpt a niche for themselves in media. Women’s magazines have adapted to the desires of readers since their inception in the 1600s. These publications have given women a voice and earned a rightful place in American history. For this, I am grateful. On the one hand, there has been a transformation from the first British women’s magazine founded in 1693, The Ladies’ Mercury, to the major publications that dominate the fashion industry today. Yet, in many ways, these magazines remain unchanged. As I read my daily roster of blogs the other day, a sinking feeling grew within my gut. What is opinion and what is the paid influence of advertisers? And why do we allow products to dominate the conversation of precious article space instead of occupying it with meaningful and empowering stories? Maybe it’s my growth into adulthood, or maybe it’s my recent introduction to the world of business, but the blatant advertising and unapologetic praise of material goods recently struck me as something that is also growing, like me (...sort of, I think I’m 5’7” for life, though).

The more I considered it, the more I questioned it. The downright worship of materialism in certain magazines is soul-crushing. They pitch the intangible: the promise of happiness. This incessant focus on materialism is often funnelled toward female clientele.

Much of society runs on conspicuous consumption. On top of this, though it may be shifting, women are objectified and taught to self-objectify. Why should I comply to someone else’s standard of beauty and why is beauty held on a pedestal as the most sought after value anyway? If we live in the shadow of an arbitrary standard of beauty that many women cannot comply to, this manifests in the form of increased competition and, in some cases, unhealthy habits. This is no longer revolutionary and thankfully it is now a topic of discussion in public, mainstream media. It’s important to be transparent about advertising and photoshopping. Let’s not encourage self-hatred here. Many women’s magazines feature gorgeous women under the premise that readers should want to be like her. I understand that magazines are not as two-dimensional as it may come across in this article, but the dynamic deserves attention regardless. We become that upon which we focus, right?

By no means do all women’s magazines fall into this trap. In fact I do recognize the positive benefits that these magazines offer. They are just magazines, after all. I am simply pointing out that we should continue to question the influence of these institutions to which we’ve grown accustomed. Just because it’s a “women’s magazine” does not mean that it refrains from objectifying women.

I was feeling pretty down and out about publications that label themselves as “women’s.” But then, I came across Darling Magazine... At first I was suspicious: an entire page devoted to a mission statement declaring their efforts to light a fire to the outdated mould of womanhood? The name “darling”? But after reading the inspiring articles written on the platform, I changed my mind. There is hope for the future of women’s publications, after all.

Favorite Women’s Magazines:

HuffPost Women
Darling Magazine
Man Repeller
Rookie

Fiona Smith

THE BLOG 

07/06/2015 04:40 pm ET Updated Jul 06, 2016

Analysis Questions

1.     When was the first womens’ magazine formed and what was it called?

1693, The Ladies’ Mercury

2.     Does the author enjoy the photographs in Vogue or not? Find a quote to support your position.

Like to look at the meticulously styled photographs with the intensity of a five year old drawing in a colouring book.

3.     Would you describe the tone of this article to be for or against womens’ magazines? Explain your answer.

Yes, because she is describing her frustration of the fact that in these magazines women are potreyed as very superficial and materialistic.

4.     What are the main issues the Author has with womens’ magazines?

-       How women are objectified

-       How women are represented as superficial and materialistic

-       The way Photoshop is used to make women look, in a way that for society’s standard is sexyer and beautiful.

5.     What do you think the author means by the following quotes?

·       This incessant focus on materialism is often funnelled toward female clientele.

That females are represented as more materialistic than men

·      magazines …  pitch the intangible: the promise of happiness.

Magazine show everything in life as perfect, they alter reality.

·      Much of society runs on conspicuous consumption.

People read information and see things in magazines and they just assume that what they see is right and correct and they just accept it without even checking that what they have seen is true and reliable.

·      women are objectified and taught to self-objectify.

That women are used and treated like objects, and they are taught this from a young age, so the voluntarily do this

Choose one of the following statements and write one paragraph that states your reason for agreeing or disagreeing with it. EXTENSION – refer to specific titles of magazines to support your position.

Option 1 – In women’s magazines beauty is ‘held on a pedestal as the most sought after value’?

Option 2 - If we live in the shadow of an arbitrary standard of beauty that many women (and men) cannot comply to, this manifests in the form of increased competition and, in some cases, unhealthy habits.

Option 1 – l agree with this statement as we can see this on nearly all magazines. On the majority of magazines, not only women targeted ones, the females in the front cover are represented as stereotypically beautiful. They are tall, with silky hair and smooth skin, and this suggest that a normal woman should look perfect, because women were made to be beautiful. The fact that most magazines like vogue use Photoshop highlight the importance of women looking physically attractive, as it suggests that it is wrong for females to have imperfections on their bodies and they should do anything in their power to hide anything that it is not considered acceptable for society’s standards of beauty, as it makes them attractive and so less valuable.