Conventions of Teen Magazines
- There is a recurring theme through the coverlines of the magazine covers as the topics are similar throughout.
- Seventeen refers to 'flat abs' and 'flat tummy tips' therefore suggesting that people from even their teenage age should be conscious about their weight.
- Coverlines often refer to the idea of being sexy as the coverlines say 'sexy swimsuits', being 'hot' and 'sexy hair' which is more often referred to older women however teen magazines are introducing the idea very early on.
- Boys are another very common topic that is referred to through the magazines as if it's the subject that all girls should be and are thinking about.
- There is a clear theme of the colour pink throughout teenage magazine covers aimed at girls because at the younger age girls are stereotyped to love the colour pink therefore immediately the target audience is shown through the colours used.
- 'Clear skin' is referred to often.
- 'Love & Sex' is referred to which is something else that is more often referred to an older audience.
- The appearance of teenage girls in general is a big topic throughout the magazines in terms of fashion and how 'pretty' you are.
- The main model is shot looking their finest suggesting that beauty is very important.
To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?
Teenage magazines are often associated as being held
responsible for the consequences in health, self-opinion and social acts in
teenagers by the representation of celebrities and the encouraged ideas of how
they are supposed to be, look, act and what their interests should consist of,
this is a persistent idea which is pushed onto teenagers, especially in females.
Throughout teenage magazines coverlines often consist of the
idea of being skinny as in magazines like Cosmo Girl they encourage ‘5 ways to
a hotter body’ which is a clear example of a magazine encouraging weight loss,
this idea is a persistent occurrence and is often put into other teenage
magazines too, for example Seventeen give ‘flat tummy tips’, the encouragement
of weight loss can lead to eating disorders in the teenagers such as disorders
like anorexia and bulimia. To accompany the coverlines there is always a main
model idolised celebrity that is shown looking their best. Rachael Johnston
suffered from anorexia that she said was fuelled by celebrities in magazines,
she idolised super-slim models and celebrities from 13 years old. She suffered
from this disorder for four years and blamed it on what she had seen in magazines
that were prone to encouraging weight loss to achieve a hot body. She admitted
to have stopped eating because she wanted to be like what she saw in these
magazines as she idolised the celebrities, she also looked at these magazines
whenever she felt hungry to convince herself that she didn’t want to eat.
As well as feeling uncomfortable with body image because of
magazines, these teenagers also begin to feel self conscious and uncomfortable
with their whole look, as these magazines aiming towards being skinny, they
also encourage these teenagers to have ‘perfect skin’ and being beautiful like
the main model is as they give tips on how to get boys, how to understand boys
and how to dress and doll yourself up so that you attract the opposite sex,
these are also similar characteristics of magazines that are aimed at older woman
who seek the attention of the opposite sex so that they can settle down,
however in this context it is aimed at these young teenagers therefore
encouraging a sexual lifestyle, these ideas in the magazines can lead to many
problems to including depression because of self image and in contrast, teenage
pregnancy due to the common idea that these young females should be attracting
the opposite sex. Sexual intercourse throughout young people in Britain is a
very common occurrence and 80% of those who do take part say they did not use a
form of contraception, half of those who don’t are under 16 which just states
that underage sex is a regular subject and magazines have probably had an
influence on this.
To link with the underage sex there is often real life
stories throughout the magazine aimed at teenagers of similar content, for
example ‘naked pictures of me got sent round school’ in Seventeen magazine and
‘why I had a boob job at 16’ in Bliss, this could be seen as positive or
negative dependent on the child as they are seen as sexual comments therefore
they could encourage sexual behaviour as it is glamorized in the coverlines, or
on the other hand which contrasts, these stories may be seen as examples of
what not to do therefore having a positive effect on the morality of the
teenagers.
Another positive about the magazines is that the main models
throughout the magazines are often celebrities with a good reputation, for
example Taylor Swift who is idolised by a lot of young teenagers as she is seen
as a good celebrity that doesn’t take part in bad activity therefore encourage
teenagers to participate in better things as their idols influence them in a
positive way and represent a good lifestyle compared to the other lifestyles
mentioned throughout the magazines.
To conclude I believe magazines are heavily responsible for
the consequence of how teenagers are seen because of the representations of
lifestyle that they offer as it is actually shown to influence health through
eating disorders as Rachael Johnston is an example of that, I also believe that
it heavily influences sexual lifestyle as there is a persistent encouragement
and idea of sex and boys throughout all the magazines however, the
representations don’t necessarily consequence like this and the ideas may have
the opposite effect or give good lifestyle tips in forms of their idols, a
magazine that often contrasts with the average teenage magazine is Teen Vogue
as the main stories are far more different.
