To What Extent Should Magazines Be Held Responsible For Social Ramifications Of The Representations They Offer?
In this essay I am going to discuss whether magazines should be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer or not. I will explore the dominance of some of the ideologies included on magazine covers, and to what extent they are affecting teenage girls.
One of the main features of any teenage girl’s magazine is the main image of a well known celebrity. They are often of a similar age, or are involved in something the target audience are likely to be interested in, for example films, music, television programmes etc. The celebrities on these covers are always featured looking beautiful and made over. The ramifications of these images are that they suggest to the target audience that if they don’t always look beautiful and made over, then they have no chance of being a celebrity, or that they need to change.
On each of the five magazine covers I studied, all of them had cover lines based on 'fashion.' This is a dominant ideology, and suggests that the 'stereotypical' teen girl is going to be very interested in the clothes she wears. However, they mediate this so the girls feel pressured into wearing the clothes advertised, as it is only this way that they will look 'hot,' 'be a style sensation.' Although it is normal for teenage girls to take an interest in fashion, surely pressuring them to dress and look a certain way isn't? Teenage girl’s magazines have a big influence on the way they dress, when surely they should be still be being creative and getting their own inspiration for their styles.
There were also cover lines on all 5 of the magazines about 'beauty' and their appearance. For example, 'how to get perfect skin,' 'sexy hair.' Firstly, why should young teenagers be concerned about their hair and skin? Also, the word 'perfect' suggests that if they don't have hair or skin like shown in the magazine, then they need to change it. Most of the images in a magazine are airbrushed anyway, so surely no one actually has perfect skin? Similarly, the word 'sexy' connotes all the wrong ideas to a teenage girl. Young girls shouldn't be making themselves look 'sexy,' as this is an adult term, referring to sex; something the target audience shouldn’t be think about. Therefore, it could be argued that these magazines have something to do with the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and under age sex, as some of the features in these magazines tell young girls a bit too much information.
Each of the magazines advertised 'real life stories,' about other girls of similar ages. This could be a good thing, as they are getting to hear about other people the same age as them. However, all these stories involved some horrific story. For example 'I was almost killed on the way home from school.' These stories can educate teen girls, making them aware that they have to be careful and know how to react in certain situations. However, to have every magazine including some these stories, surely they are frightening and shocking teen girls to a certain extent.
Boys are also a main feature on teenage girls magazine covers. Whether it’s topless celebrities, or quizzes or specials about finding or keeping the ‘right boy,’ there is plenty about the male species. Teenagers are young adults, and even though love and relationships are going to become a main part of their lives, should girls of about 13 really be worrying about finding the ‘right boy?’ Also ‘4 Steps to Summer Lovin’’ was a cover line on one of the magazines. Surely this is insinuating the wrong thing to teenage girls. The magazines treat boys as an accessory, or a ‘must have,’ telling the girls that have boyfriends, how to keep hold of them, and the girls that don’t, how to get one. However, the magazines also mediate boys in the wrong way too. For example there was a cover line saying ‘crazy ex-boyfriends.’ This implies that some boys are ‘crazy’ once you’ve split up, again either frightening girls, or making them laugh at boys.
Overall, although teenage magazines work well at appealing to the target audience, when you look closely, they actually are full of unhealthy and unrealistic portrayals of life and relationships. The ramifications for each magazine are all similar, revolving around boys, fashion, looking ‘perfect’ and real life stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment