To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?
I have found 5 examples from the internet of magazines aimed at teenage girls. I will be talking about the conventions within the front covers of the magazines and whether the magazines themselves should be held responsible for the way teen girls are represented and how it makes them view themselves. The five magazines I chose to look at are; Bliss, Teen Vogue, Sugar, Shout and Teen Now.
The colours of the mastheads on all magazines share the same girly and
feminine colours; of pinks, purples and turquoises. These colours are also
quite faded and not really bright and over the top. All of these colours are
stereotypically associated with females and young girls, if you were to look at
the front cover of a men’s magazine they would not share the same colour choice
as it wouldn’t appeal to them, the men’s colours would have to be dark and
masculine. I think pink has been used a lot for the coverlines scattered around
the cover, as this again reinforces the idea of being targeted at girls, it
also stands out and is clear to read and understand. On Teen Vogue one of the
coverlines read ‘Rock your style’ this has been written in pink and below the
information taken from the inside article is contrasting the use of girly pinks
and purples as it is written in black. I would associate black with a men’s
magazine or the inside text of most magazines. The girly colours have been used
to make them more attractive and appealing to their intended audience.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSL_PiFn3gpc-EHZTGUPdgwSxUye38XaQgEX7Vqt1dwSsIrJUhV_Cgj-ft9AaBdKERan_TIlYtMKd5RmKvohtYrTCO2bTr0-WTqLche1lhYaa1ginPYL3LagkT_tULe0KMjDTXDZSWjU/s320/SHOUT.jpg)
They are mostly images of relevant boy bands that are loved and crushed upon by many teenage girls so they have also taken into account the fact that girls also have male pin ups. They have been featured innocently unlike females would be featured on a men’s magazine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrfTOE-0Up4K5jFsZhk-fax6sqSHRQ9jJf4sNhji3l7kACIpL2MBphUsUepjBY89vGMCNW9-86nBFkYjqMBRHELwkoeclkkRKwtZBwnvoIP8W2rlqCJSaz4bZrF8P7Q3aKoYLrW2GBB5U/s200/teen+now+magazine.jpg)
I wouldn’t say that magazines are initially all negative, there are
positive aspects. Like there are pages with fashion available to keep young
girls in the loop of all the latest clothes and accessories, magazines are also
used by many to keep up to date with all the celebrity gossip. Teenage
magazines always contain some sort of competition where the winner will win
such amazing prizes that they may not otherwise be able to afford or obtain.
The use of help questionnaires and agony aunt pages within them help girls to
relate to each other and to realise that there are others feeling the same way
as them.
Magazine publishers should be held responsible for these effects on the
teenage girls as it is their fault these airbrushed celebrities appear on the
cover to create insecurities that some girls may never have had before. Also
the articles can sometimes be really extreme, things that will make girls
scared or just find what they’re reading is boring and has no meaning or
relevance to them. If I was a magazine publisher I think I wouldn't have so many
one sided fashion tips or ideas, I’d show a bigger range of clothes that most
people will wear and be able to afford. I think I would also use natural make up,
nothing over the top on the cover celebs that appear on every issue to show that natural beauty really is beautiful.
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