Representation of Gender in Women's Magazines

This is a 'well worn' research investigation - proving to be a popular choice year in, year out. There is an abundance of research available about the representation of Gender - and much of it concerned with how men and women are displayed to us in glossy print magazines. This project has the potential to be straightforward and a great way of showing off your understanding of some staple media theories. It can also be done with ingenuity and originality... it can also be done in a predictable and boring way!

Research Investigation

There is almost too much to choose from when it comes to this essay so you have to be very specific about which theories of representation you are going to cover and which issues you are going to look at.

Consider these questions carefully:

Are you going to...

•  analyse the representation of men, women or both?
•  discuss how magazines use stereotypes in their contents?
•  to make a hegemonic reading of magazines?
•  to explore how the audience is positioned and possibly stereotyped?
•  look at the ideologies presented about men and women through the mode of address?
•  look at the issue of body image?

There are many more questions to ask and decisions to be made - once you have an idea about your area of study you need to consider which magazine(s) you will select as case studies - this can be any of the countless women's titles out there but be careful if you decide to choose two to compare and contrast that they are at least similar in some aspects.

Please always label your research with your name and Representation Gender in Women's Mags

Media Product

You must create a cover and three inside pages of a typical women's magazine.

This sounds pretty straightforward - and in fact it is. Anyone with a decent grasp of Photoshop and access to a camera and some willing friends can sit down and emulate the style and content of a magazine - however this is not necessarily going to get the marks that are needed to succeed in this project.

Yes - your product must look professional.

Yes - your product must look and feel like the genre of magazine you have studied

...but to get the marks...

The style and content of your new magazine must have been informed by what you found out when you were writing and researching the essay.

This means that every decision that you make will have been influenced by the essays you've read and the conclusions that you've made. And I mean everything!

Including: the name of the magazine, the colour schemes, the choice of models, the types of photos used, the language used, the ideologies promoted, the names of the journalists, the celebrities featured etc etc etc

This is where you will need to pay a close attention to detail and be able to justify absolutely everything. A middle of the road effort will get a middle of the road mark out of 45! 

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