Research: Nick Lacey - Image and Representation

 
"the traditional image of the 'wife-mother-housewife' is now being replaced by images of sexually assertive, confident and ambitious women who express their 'freedom' through consumption."

This quote suggets that the image of women has now been changed however women are now being pressured with a new traditional image, instead of women being housewives they are now sexually assertive women.

"The exemplary female prototype in advertising, regardless or product or service, displays youth (no lines or wrinkles), good looks, sexual seductiveness, and perfection (no scars, blemishes, or even pores).” (Cortese, Provocateur, 1999)

The 'perfect' image of woman is described.

"She loves make-up and beauty products and will splash out on designer items, but when it comes to shopping for her wardrobe he's a shrewd bargain-hunter and is most likely to be found elbowing he way to the front of the queue in primark for the latest cat walk copy"

The lengths that women will go to to mantain the ideology of the 'perfect image'.

"In order to appeal to both its target audience and advertisers, must have a distinct idea of what it means to be female in her early twenties. This means that ' magazines inevitably draw up the boundaries of a fixed gender identity, which is turn is assumed to be the natural sign of an original sexual demarcation as female"

In order to attract an audience and appeal to them, the magazine industry create the image of what it means to be a female in her early twenties. Therefore after they have created a image they can then reflect all of their own ideologies onto the audience through this 'perfect' image that they have created.