“It is important to evaluate the messages, both actual and implied, that teenage girls take from the magazines they read.” This quote stood out to me because it reiterates the concept we have been learning all along--the importance to be able to critically analyze all forms of text and media. Men and women have an ideal image of what is considered attractive and will sometimes be influenced by outside sources to achieve this image. Teens are at an age where they begin to experience peer pressure and the importance to “fit in.” Many teens may develop eating disorders or other mental issues trying to conform to this ideal body image. So magazines showcase models that exemplify this ideal body image to attract people to buy their magazines. I believe that magazine companies can portray normal size models and write articles about how to be healthy and that every shape and size is attractive.
The article Teen Magazines Send Girls all the Wrong Messages discusses how magazines influence girls to get certain clothes or get a certain haircut to look “hott.” This article also mentions that girls will do anything to look beautiful, without considering the impacts it may have on their health.
Gibbons, S. (2003, October 29). Teen magazines send girls all the wrong messages. Retrieved from http://www.womensenews.org/story/uncovering-gender/031029/teen-magazines-send-girls-all-the-wrong-messages
Men's magazine and the construction of masculinity
Sauer, H., & Robles-Pina, R. (2003). Magazines: what adolescent girls are reading and the way they shape their body image. Retrieved from http://www.advancingwomen.com/awl/winter2003/SAUERR~1.html. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/men_and_masculinity/masculinity_magazines.cfm
You are so right, it is important for magazines targeted to teenage girls to use "real" models and run articles about living a healthy lifestyle. As consumers, I think we need to be a little more critical of what we purchase, and then maybe these magazines would be forced to change their focus.
ReplyDeleteI've seen more realistic looking models more often lately but even then they are still overly sexualized.
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