To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Magazine coverlines are shocking. All five magazine covers used as examples aimed towards teenage girl’s state one thing: teenage girls should never be happy with theirselves. From “148 ways to be fashion fabulous!” to “look pretty now!” these magazine covers are just not happy with teenage girls’ appearances and how they present themselves to the public. 

All magazine covers use well known, highly airbrushed, celebrities to get their point across: you should either aspire to be them or be with them. These range from Demi Lavato, known for going to rehab due to her breakdown fairly recently, to Zac Efron, supposedly one of the most sought after men in the world. None of the cover girls/guys are put on there for being nice and down to earth. Lucy Hale is referred to as “”Queen Bee”, Katy Perry as “ballsy” and Zac Efron as “perfect.” Are any of them used because they are “normal?” The answer to that is no, teenage girls shouldn’t be normal. 

Even with cover stars aside, the coverlines theirselves are still reinforcing the image that teenage girls need to better theirselves appearance wise. “Hair that makes you happy!” as if having nice hair is the key to happiness, “Mum’s always getting her boobs out” is this the type of role model to put on the cover of a teenage girls magazine? And “Yes you can look like Vanessa!” because that’s the kind of pressure, to look like someone who is always airbrushed and has lots of money to spend on beauty products, every teenage girl needs when they’re going through some tough, and sometimes, life changing  times. Extra pressure to look good is not needed for these girls.

It’s not just teenage girls that are represented in this “un-perfect” way, teenage boys are also represented in a way that I’m sure is very far from the ordinary. From coverlines like “Boys come clean: the dirty flirt tricks we use on you” to “how to cope when he wants a grope,” boys are depicted in a very “stereotypical” way: they are only after one thing and will stop at nothing to get it. Boys are also represented in an ideological way. They are viewed as “perfect” from simple headlines like “fit boys” to the posters of Nick Hoult, Zac Efron and Shayne Ward, all tanned, toned and totally unrealistic! 

The social ramifications of these magazines are that girls, apart from the ones on the front covers, aren’t perfect and so they should do everything they can, like trying to look like Vanessa Hudgens to buying a whole new wardrobe to “loving your curves” (suggesting all teenage girls are “fat”) and having hair that makes you happy, to make theirselves look as fake and airbrushed as possible. Another social ramification is that girls need to be liked by men and should be interested in them, are the early teenage years really the right years to be concentrating on looking “sexy” for males?  Another thing is the reaction from Bliss magazine to Katy Perry’s quote: “I was born with balls” referring to her no-nonsense, slightly head on approach to life. Bliss replied with “Blimey!” as if it were a shock that a female can act like a man and get what they want rather than being the damsel in distress. 

So to conclude, teenage girls from 11/12/13+ have to deal with looking good, being interested in boys and having everything handed to them because they are too weak to get it theirselves, because that’s what all magazines aimed at them are telling them to do. “Blimey!” Perhaps in future, magazines should write fewer articles on how to find the right lip gloss to match your complexion and more on how to pursue your dream profession. Give girls brains, not beauty.

Example of magazine covers aimed at teenage girls

Examples of magazine covers aimed at teenage girls

Example of magazine covers aimed at teenage girls

Example of magazine covers aimed at teenage girls

Example of magazine covers aimed at teenage girls

Analysis of Rolling Stone cover from December 2009

From looking at the front cover, the target audience could be said to be female, as Taylor Lautner would be an interest for the female gender rather than the male. However, the Rolling Stone’s stereotypical target audience gender is generally male as it is mostly associated with music with particular genres such as rock. Females are most likely to be attracted to the front cover of this issue of Rolling Stone, not just from Taylor Lautner but from the article that will be going alongside him. Teen wolf, and Twilight, is an area of interest for many females. 

The font of the magazine is quite big and bold, making it stand out and catch your eye. With it being red, it also makes you notice it when glancing at a magazine stand or walking past it on a shelf, it stands out from the other magazines and hooks your interest. The red font could also be a signifier to the emotion passion or romance, with Taylor Lautner being an attractive male role model and many females being attracted to him. Taylor Lautner is wearing a simple outfit as his clothes aren’t the reason for him being on the front cover, the main reason is his attractiveness and his muscles, which are visible in the main image, making females want to buy the magazine. The rugby ball could be used as a way of telling the audience that he is very fit and energetic and good at sport.

Even though the masthead is obscured by the main image, you can still tell what magazine it is as Rolling Stones is so well-known and popular that the masthead doesn’t need to be on display for people to recognize it. The coverlines are all very bold and noticeable and each share a similar size of font, even though the “Teen Wolf” words are bigger than the rest of the text, this could be to grab the audience’s attention and make them look at the rest of the text to see what it is about. Taylor Lautner being in the Twilight saga makes him famous for being a teen wolf which could be another reason as to why they have put those words in a bigger font, so people can immediately associate the image of Taylor Lautner and his biggest acting role so far with the words “Teen Wolf”. There is one puff at the bottom right of the magazine which is used to highlight something important in the magazine, in this case Barack Obama. The sea in the background could be an indication that this issue of the magazine will be quite calming and relaxing or it could have been used to place Taylor Lautner in an everyday place and make him seem laid-back and natural. The beach is also where many sports are played which could link him back to the rugby ball in his hands and the idea of him being sporty and a fan of exercise.