magazine Project!

 Representations with in teen girl magazines

All of these magazines have many things in common with one another, so are they very similar. As not only are their target audience the same and are primarily teenage girls but also all there stories are similar and link to things you would suggest what girls generally talk about; such as boys, fashion/looks and love. They are the typical subjects that girls supposedly talk about. They portray their targeted audience in many ways displayed on the front covers of their publications. one way they use to attracted the young feminine audience is by using bold feminine colours such as pink and purple as they are colours you associate with girls. As apposed to magazines for more mature ladies, magazines for teen girls use much brighter and bold tones,mainly the colour  pink as you accociate pink with girls.

 Each of these covers that i have chosen use a recurring image used as their main image on the front cover: usually a young, attractive and women who is a celebrity who is current and in the public's interest. They do this to tempt the reader to buy the magazine as young teenage girls who read this may aspire to be like these celebrities, therefore tempting them to buy the magazine as they think that they will find out tips and secretes to look like these women and become attractive. Also present on all five of these covers are images of clothes or captions about style fashion or appearance. The colours of the clothes are bold, bright and girly like the colours used on the magazines and link to the current fashion and target audience. On most of the covers, a price is usually linked with the clothes shown and uses words to make these seem good value such as "only" and "under". These words also connect with the target audience as it is thought that girls are always looking for good deals or a bargains.                     

Also they put in images of celebrities and their fashion and clothes and show cheaper alternative for the readers and also show where you can buy them so readers can go and buy them to wear and look like these celebrities that they aspire to look like.However these magazines may end up have a negative effect on its readers as there are no real message to influence them being more comfortable and happy with themselves. such as on this issue of 'ELLE' magazine it says "GET SHINIER HAIR, SMOOTHER SKIN, A SEXIER BODY" this is an example of a caption of how to look/improve your appearance. But in none of these magazines does it say how to be happy and comfortable with your own body. This is displayed by using attractive however not "natural" women as they have lots of make-up one so called perfect skin and perfect bodies which are usually edited and airbrushed so teens think that they should look like that however its not so easy for girls to make themselves look like that, however they still think they can achieve that.

There are no images with in the magazines which represent the natural women of society that are referred to as more "real" or that are slightly bigger in size. furthermore magazines like this can end up leading its readers in to developing disorders such as anorexia and bulimia and making them conscious of there own bodies. Another negative effect of these types of magazines and there stories is that many of the stories inside are mostly made up and rumors  encouraging its readers that this information is fact, however even though we doubt it. Its like the effects model theory we are sort of being brain washed and we are passive and we accept the media and info we read we read. By doing this it tells the  young readers, that it is okay to twist the truth and also believe everything they read in the media. Furthermore, it introduces stories of unfaithfulness in relationships, sexual ways of dressing/revealing outfits that young girls may want to copy, as these celebrities are accepted and loved in the public's eye and they feel as if they should do the and look the same to be accepted in society. This is a problem as young girls should know how to mature steadily and not before they have grown into their bodies correctly. so teenage girls feel they need to edit and modify there body image to feel normal and be accepted in society.