Task 3: Essay 'To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?'

Teen magazines target a young audience because they are most impressionable, by doing this they are able to influence and present a way society has adapted and expected girls 'coming of age' to look, act and feel about themselves.

The 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' claims that we are completely controlled by the media, and what we read and see is what we want or believe. But to what extent can we blame the teenage girl magazines for the harm they can cause and the way we (potentially) view society? As a wide community and a large demographic, the market for teenagers is huge; it's a time where they are beginning to explore and experiment with themselves and begin to grasp an idea of how they want/think they should look. This creates a bigger sales market for clothing, makeup, fashion accessories and items that 'self improve' the buyer. This ideology of being self-improving and how we should be controlling our looks to achieve things really connects to Maslow's Hierachy of Needs, giving the idea that our 3rd level of belonging and love needs can only be achieved if you are ahead of yourself and have conquered the 4th level of esteem needs. This ideology of girls should be like this is one that is present in all five of my chosen magazine covers. They all link with the connection of girls should look a certain way to attract a certain type of boy and be socialising doing certain things that make them 'cool' and 'popular'. Magazines choice of wording and images that to relate to the ideas given all contribute to how a young girl grows up to view herself and feel.

teenVOGUE has less on the left hand third, however the Number with a Puff that it does have, presents a strong ideology of girls connections to the opposite sex that could alter their views on normality for their age. It slowly introduces the problem of young teens growing up to fast, adding pressure on boys to be paying for dates when they don't have jobs (a starter to debt problems) and giving girls the idea that guys want to settle down quickly with them and not giving them a realistic approach to how males think. This leads to girls who get upset because they can't find a 'perfect man' they have been told by such magazines exist, and don't understand why their boyfriends aren't proposing and committing instantly. It's not necessary for the target age, why do girls at 13 need male attention? It gives them no innocence, the government are constantly talking about the rise in teen/underage pregnancy, single young mothers who claim benefits, and how useless men are because they can't deal with responsibility - yet they are sexualising young girls and sexually orientating magazines aimed at young girls. They don't need to grow up so fast, as legal children they have adult years to worry about relationships and finding someone.
The Large Cover line about body image is connecting to the female audience as young girls going through the changes of puberty are likely to want the 'BEST BODY' they can, however trying to define their shape when their body is growing can have side effects and shape them unnaturally and alter their structure, which could look worse than if they had left their bodies to naturally develop. Having 'Self-Confidence' underneath and relating it to celebrities gives the ideology that girls aren't happy with their own being and need to look to an unrealistic idea of perfection to look good. The readers may not have been aware of how their looks could have an impact on their overview of themselves, until teenVOGUE has stated that their body isn't the 'BEST' it could be and by reading the magazine they will improve it.

Much like COSMOgirl's left third that have a direct link to the cover star Blake Lively. Having the words 'SEXY' and 'Perfect' give the ideology of how young boys are thinking (or not thinking) about them, again like teenVOGUE's cover it is making girls appear older than their years, by trying to shape them into sexual objects of desire, that are the idea of femininity and what males should want a girl to look like (Blake Lively). With a stereotyped pose for a female celebrity, the over the shoulder glance is to look flirtatious and attractive, using semiotics to manipulate the girls to behave accordingly, as she is to be their 'idol' and a role model of what to be like. The long hair and smile presents a very girly view on teens, as Blake Lively is meant to look classically timeless as a beautiful figure. She is what the boys are presented to want, and this isn't relying on natural beauty, it's about fakery (like the airbrushed cover star) using products and 'things' to make yourself look better, which is unrealistic for the age group as they don't have the money to buy everything the magazine says they need (like the perfect new jeans on the plug) and it's unlikely the parents of the girls would, what with adult expenses such as bills and transport to pay for. This can affect how girls feel about their status, giving them insecurities that they will not be liked by peers for not having all the luxuries that the magazine presents they NEED. Although they aren't necessary, the way the cover lines are worded sound as-though without them looking good is an impossibility. The mentioning of 'HOOK UP' and 'EX-BOYFRIENDS' shows girls should be immersing themselves in socialising with boys and having fun with them. This can affect girls who can't get a boyfriend, let alone have ex-boyfriends, giving them low confidence in their looks or made to feel like they aren't trying hard enough to look like Blake Lively. The cover star's looks are down to genetics not what the magazine has said she should do to look like that.

Similarly to Seventeen's cover star, who's genetics mean she's just born the slender petite size she is. However the cover line next to her face on the right suggest that you can achieve her looks with sans serif capitals 'LOOK HOT IN A BIKINI Get Flat Abs & A Cute Butt Here!' Giving girls false hope to get the airbrushed image themselves. Again the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' is feeding on young teens reading this, making Emma Roberts seem inspirational. Working the same pose as Blake Lively the perception on boys is shown through her smile and constructed hair.The cover line on the left third of 'Make Him Worship You!' Is responsible for the largest cover line 'GET PRETTY FOR SUMMER!' As if they weren't before hand. The use of the word 'Flirty' is making girls think about trying to attract boys, something a young teen might not have found overly important, but from the main image having so much airbrushing and the words 'Clear Skin - All Over!' Seem so realistic is it anyone wonder that girls think that this is all possible? The 3 cover so far all suggest that these ideals of what makes girls look nice is a recurring theme with ELLEgirl being no exception to the rule...

The glamourous cover star shows off the same blazing white smile, flowing hair, flawless skin and tiny frame. This cover doesn't present the ideology of boys, but it does focus on how girls should present themselves. Named 'THE HAIR ISSUE!' those girls who may not like their hair colour or style due to personal disliking or maybe peer teasing etc. will be drawn in by the line 'Find your perfect color' - a line that is encouraging girls to damage their hair with chemicals with a fake colouring all to look 'perfect' and essentially become more appealing. Hair dying has become trendy with older teens/young adults but is it needed? Adults dye their hair to prevent the look of prematurely aging with grey hairs, but it is unlikely that a young girl would need to do this, so why is this cover suggesting they should?
Mischa Barton's extravagant dress does not match the fashion that the girls reading the magazine would wear, we can see that they are school age with one of the cover lines saying '"I WENT TO FAT SCHOOL"' and underneath 'A radical way to lose weight' this idea of tackling weight issues is presented in a positive way, but those already underweight or healthy may misinterpret this and take it too far, a small signifier that could lead to anorexia or bulimia.

DOLLY magazine shows a very adult concept to a target audience as young as 13. Like previous examples it has a lot of ideology about boys presented on the cover with the top of the magazine having a plug for 'HOT BOY CALENDAR & STICKERS!' and the cover line with the use of number '20% more GUYS INSIDE' giving the ideology that girls should be very boy orientated, with how they look and sexually attracted to them, painting a vain and shallow picture that makes out that is what makes a guy worthy of your time. There is no mention of personality or intellect which shows distraction from education and obsession with how each sex looks to eachother. Miranda Kerr has a different look to her usual celebrity image, with a more natural look for her hair and a plain white T-Shirt that gives a 'girl next door' kind of feel. The cover line 'Expert tips that REALLY work' is selling the idea that girls should lose weight, another step towards young girls with eating disorders. The whole cover is about looking and feeling good revolving around boys, like the other cover examples the magazines present girls to be very self-aware and unhappy with their true state, manipulating them to change to get male attention, something of which they don't need to concern themselves about at this stage of life.

The magazine and media industry has a strong opinion on girls behaviour today and with both industry's being very visual and less academic, their focus on looks is clear through the magazine conventions that looks dominate our thoughts, beauty over brains and both boys and girls are shallow. It is clear that magazines should be blamed for the social ramifications and held responsible for the problems that can occur from the stereotypes it presents. As there are no alternatives to what they say and with girls of the target age category the readers friends would all be influenced by the same opinion, without these magazines to offer this 'information' the influences on young girls being diagnosed with depression from influences on their image, they wouldn't be getting these messages from friends of the same age or what they read because without these magazines existing their friends wouldn't know. The media's power over females is one that can control and emotionally affect the reader. There are of course other influences such as advertising and television, but this as a starting point for young girls discovering themselves and getting used to the changes of puberty, reading these magazines sets up their mindset throughout their lives.