Blog #3

               Print magazines, a prominent form of mass media, depict women as bold and capable members of society. Women’s health, beauty, and living magazines intend to persuade their female audiences that they will radiate mental/emotional strength if they act and carry themselves boldly. The age range of these audiences tends to be 15 – 25 years; this range is significant as it is the peak "mating" times in a women's life. Motivated by their desire to find a lifelong partner, women want to appeal to what society expects of them and thus go for the “bold” look. Women, as recorded in the Hockenbury & Hockenbury Psychology textbook, tend to have lower self-esteem than men, thus are constantly looking for ways to boost it (482). Women’s magazines prey upon this low self-esteem trend and aim to help women by giving them visual example of spirited beauty. A combination of empowering choice words and images conveys the persuasive message that strength is achieved through bold health and posture/physical gestures to female audiences.

                One of the more prominent women’s magazines, Women’s Health, recently ran an article about preventing sun damage. The article on their website is accessed through clicking on a cover picture, which displays a blonde young woman with a sun hat on her head and her hands on the hat. Her shoulders are spread apart and her smile radiates content – she is happy and appears to be completely “free”. This picture was strategically placed next to other non-human objects, such as a picture of carrots and another of the beach, in an effort to bring attention to the bold girl (she is appealing to societal standards and put on display as an example). As mentioned earlier, she is young and thus has a youthful aura about her – this youth appeals to young women who wish to prolong their child-like soft skin and facial features. The article goes on to include phrases such as “be a healthy woman” and “fight the sun.” The first phrase is rather explicit in meaning, referring to the “healthy women” depicted on the article’s cover – the audience is taught that they too can acquire that satisfied smile and high self-esteem by following the article’s advice. Thus, eating certain fruits, vegetables, and types of nuts becomes a more persuasive suggestion. The second phrase about “fighting the sun,” puts power in the hands of women, by suggesting that they can control their own exposure and reaction to the sun. Together, these textual phrases and the cover image convey the bold social trend and expectation of women.

                Though this is only one of many examples, it is evident that women’s magazines have an agenda to declare women as bold and capable. They achieve this, as suggested in the previous paragraph, by strategically placing images in their magazines and then picking out text that compliments the message being sent through the image. Ultimately, print magazines use images and words to teach young female audiences that emotional and mental strength can be obtained through bold actions and gestures.