Task 3: Essay

To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Women's magazines that are primarily aimed at teenagers, all follow conventions and methods to make their magazines appeal to the target market as much as possible. The front covers of magazines such as Company, Cosmo Girl, More, Bliss and Glamour all use similar visual effects that present the audience with a form of ideology of women and the stereotypical images and interests that appeal to them. 



There is an ongoing colour theme of pink and red throughout the mastheads, cover lines and puffs/plugs which connotes flirtatiousness, energy and even some sexual undertones. There are various images of glamorous celebrities that have been portrayed on the front cover of these magazines, they are all photographed looking slim with make-up and revealing clothes on to show the target audience what women should idealistically look like. This presents the readers of this magazine with a role model which suggests that all females are supposed to be skinny, girly and beautiful. Reflecting this stereotype onto the audience and bringing forward the idea that if their appearance is not similar to the celebrities displayed on the magazines, then they do not conform to the norms of the stereotype of femininity. 

Although these magazines are said to be aimed at audiences ranging from 18-30 years old, children as young as 10 have been found to flick through a 'women's magazine'. This means that teenagers and young girls are being exposed to make-up, tight outfits and 'idealistic' figures and these images being portrayed by magazines are telling them that they should look like this too. This has multiple effects on young girls. A 2004 study by the Dove Real Beauty Campaign states that 81% of 10 year olds are "afraid of getting fat". There has been a rise in the amount of young girls   wearing makeup on a regular basis, for example, teenagers have began wearing fake eyelashes, foundation and hair extensions; this is all due to the effect that magazines and ideology have on them.


 But it's not only the physical appearance that these magazines portray onto young girls that is having a major effect, teen magazines also give an insight into what stereotypical women should be interested in. Judging by the contents inside these magazines, women are interested in gossip, fashion, boys and sex. Cover lines such as "My sister slept with my boyfriend", 'Snog Swaps' and 'Naughty Sex Questions You've Been Dying to Ask' are all displayed clearly on the front cover. Advertising to the 'target' audience and young teenage girls what they should be interested in.


 Another cover line, '387 Hottest Back to School Looks' makes the clear assumption that school girls want to and should look 'hot' on a regular basis. This is causing girls to act and dress older than they are and to attract the wrong kind of attention from boys. Four out of 10 girls in England have underage sex, which is more than in any other European country. This suggests that the media, especially magazines play a large part in this, offering the readers 'Erotic Fiction', 'The Secret to Being a Great Kisser', posters of boys and even an 'Are You Too Easy? Quiz'.


On the other hand, this recent 'outbreak' of young girls wearing too much make-up and gossiping about boys isn't all down to the magazines they read and the images they are presented with. It is not even a 'recent outbreak', young girls have always aspired to look pretty and often experiment with make-up and dressing-up. 


But due to these glamorous magazines constantly displaying female stereotypes and ideology, it is certain that too many young girls are being told and shown what they should look and act like. In conclusion, I think that women's magazines are partly to blame for the social ramifications of the representations they offer. There should be some form of censorship to prevent younger than intended audiences from reading these magazines, or perhaps just a general awareness on behalf of the parents of these young girls that seem to be growing up too fast due to teen magazines.