Can women’s magazines, focusing on the case study of Cosmopolitan (UK edition), ever be considered feminist?
February 2013 - Cover star - Kimberley Walsh (Girls Aloud Singer)
180 pages of which 38 are fashion/beauty adverts = 21%
For
100% Confident - Regular Feature (pg20)
- This feature often includes inspirational quotes from famous female celebrities which encourage the readers to be confident women.
- This promotes women as living up to the tagline of the magazine, which is 'For For Fearless Females'
- "Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want and to do what makes you happy." Demi Lovato
Alpha Female - Regular Feature (pg20)
- This feature often includes advice from a successful working female about the industry they work in
- This advice encourages the readers to focus on their career choices
The Secret of Perfect Naked Confidence (pg 76-81)
- This article is about women who feel confident shedding their clothes
- The section of the magazine the article is in is 'Cosmo loves your body' and it seems the article wants women to feel good about themselves, no matter what their size is. It also wants women to be happy with their bodies for themselves, not for anyone else.
- This article is about women who feel confident shedding their clothes
- The section of the magazine the article is in is 'Cosmo loves your body' and it seems the article wants women to feel good about themselves, no matter what their size is. It also wants women to be happy with their bodies for themselves, not for anyone else.
Cash & Careers Clinic - Regular Feature - (pg 90-91)
- This regular feature helps women with a different topic regarding their work every issue, inspiring women to focus on their careers.
- Gives women reassurance, tips, and real life examples of certain situations. Can help to build women's confidence in work, an topic that other magazines may not touch on.
- This example is about working abroad.
So You Think You Want My Job? - Regular Feature (pg 93)
- This regular feature often explores unusual occupations that readers may not often know about
- Again, it promotes the importance of having a good job to the reader, giving them confidence to achieve whatever they want. The feature also gives advice about how the reader can get in to that profession.
- This issue the job is a wedding blogger.
Catwalk to Curvy - Regular Feature (pg 121)
- This regular feature shows how women with curvy bodies can still wear the catwalk trends
- This feature shows the readers that any size body can be beautiful
- However this feature only takes up 1 page of the whole magazine, there should be more pages focusing on the bodies of curvy girls rather than the pages full of thin models
Against
Men on 22
Men vs. Fashion - Regular Feature - (pg 25)
- This is a regular feature where three men rate what they think about what four female celebrities are wearing, also featuring the Cosmo fashion verdict, which can be quite different from what the men think
- The article does state, "we don't dress for men, but we're often curious about their fashion sense."
- However this article still suggests that we should consider what men would think of our outfits and what is 'fashionable', rather than wearing what we want to, and what we feel comfortable in
- The article also is an example of the magazines fixation with celebrity culture and body image
- The celebrities are often criticised for making bold moves or wearing unusual fashion choices, giving the reader the idea that we should all be dressed the same to be considered fashionable
Never Be Tagged in the Same Look Twice - Regular Feature (pg 39)
- This fashion feature suggests we should be obsessed with what we wear, and that it is a bad thing to wear the same outfit twice.
- It suggests we will be judged on Facebook by the outfits that we are wearing, rather than opinions shared.
- This encourages women to splurge on new clothes, causing unnecessary worry
What's the Best Way to Find a Man? (pg 68-72)
- An article giving advice from two different dating books, which is tested out by a Cosmo writer, as she tries to get a guy.
- At a distance, this article suggests that women need to find a man.
- However, the article does not force women in to finding a man, as it gives advice, but this is only if you are looking and only if you're interested in keeping him, meaning that Cosmo wants the readers to do as they wish. The writer even starts with: "Yep, I know I don't need a man to make me feel happy and successful, but they do come in handy every so often, and they can be quite nice to have around."
Body News 165
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