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Images and Editorial in Women’s Magazines. Sian. Images of women in magazines - Vogue. I looked at images in ads and fashion shoots in Vogue and Grazia I looked at images of women with “character”, images of women in highly sexualised or undressed poses, and women with blank expressions.
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Images of women in magazines - Vogue • I looked at images in ads and fashion shoots in Vogue and Grazia • I looked at images of women with “character”, images of women in highly sexualised or undressed poses, and women with blank expressions. • The totals? In Vogue, 20 women had character, 48 women were naked or sexualised, 55 had blank expressions
Images of women in magazines - Grazia • In Grazia I measured the same image types. I found that: • 7 women had character • 12 images were highly sexualised • 14 images had blank expressions
The copy accompanying the photoshoot: • “Lara Stone is reclining in layers of Oscar de la Renta black tulle for Mario Testino. Not a murmur passes her pornographically full lips…she’s meant to be shy, but she has just growled like a big cat…a face and body of a seventies Playboy Bunny…it is hard not to stare at the naked Venus with the 32D breasts”
Negative and Positive Headlines • I looked at a range of weekly magazines over 3 weeks: • Heat, Grazia, Look, Star, OK, Reveal, New, Now, Closer • And looked at whether the headlines were positive about women, negative about women, positive about men or negative about men. • Some headlines were neutral or about men and women
Some headline examples • Stacey Pushed too Far (Now) • Jordan hits rock bottom (New) • Tearful Cheryl (Star) • Posh and Cheryl Fight for their marriages (Closer) • Cheryl’s Crisis (Look) • Tina O Brien’s Split Misery (Closer)
And my FAVOURITE! • Coleen’s Tears after 3 hour labour (Closer)
The Positive Headlines - women • The majority of the positive headlines were about weight loss and having a baby. • These are, of course, achievements, but no mention or celebration was made of the women’s careers or successes beyond their body and family status.
The positive headlines - men • Most of the male headlines were about X Factor contestants and Peter Andre • A lot of the stories with Peter Andre involved him criticising his ex wife Jordan for going on I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here, despite the fact that he had also been working the celebrity circuit.
Conclusion • According to magazines, women need to present a sexualised expression of their bodies, or have no expression at all. • Magazines tell us that women are always in crisis, falling apart and on the brink • The only successes women have are weight loss and having a baby • In magazines men can criticise women for behaviour they do themselves