Reception Theory

This front cover of 'Vogue' shows a very well-known singer 'Lana Del Rey', 'Vogue' is classed as a high-end fashion magazine. For the majority this magazine is targeted towards young women/girls. It shows all of the new trends and information you would need to know to keep up to date. If the target audience is down to class, then I would say it could possibly be for everyone, as the student category is al the bottom of the income/status model, due to the fact they are full-time students and aren' earning much money, if at all, but also, the fashion they promote is usually very well-known and high-end, meaning you would possibly need some type of income if you wanted to buy these things. However this method of classifying audiences does not account for personal situations, meaning that no one can really fit into just one category, this is an unreliable method of classifying audiences.

From the 'Lifestyle Categories' I would say that the people who read this would fit into the categories of 'Trendies' or 'Groupies' as both of these categories want acceptance from their peers, I believe that due to the articles in the magazine, the people who read this want to keep up to date on whatever the celebrity on the front cover classes as 'trendy'. This magazine allows these people to achieve the acceptance they want as they will be up to date with all of the latest trends,

It is the editor's decision what goes on and inside of the magazine, it will come down to whatever they class as being most important to go on the front cover, what they believe will catch people's attention. Within the front cover, one of the first pieces of text people may pick up on is "Treat yourself" this phrase would apply to 'The Succeeder' category as they seek reward for the hard work they have done, seeing this may make them believe they have worked hard and deserve something nice in their lives. Underneath this phrase, is the works "Princess dresses and silver shoes" this is supporting the stereotype that all women and girls love dressing up and love fashion, this does not apply to everyone, this statement is also supported as lower down the cover it says "It's time to play dress-up with your hair" this is promoting the ideology that all women need to look nice in whatever they do, and that they need to take time to ensure that they look nice and well-presented. 

This magazine has been released as an 'Essential international collections issue' which would cause anyone who is a big fan of 'Vogue' to want to buy it in the case of it may be limited edition or there may only be so many released and they need all of the information inside of it. 

The biggest piece of text that will catch people's attention is the phrase 'Oh so pretty!', this is showing that Lana Del Rey fits into the category of what they believe society classes as pretty, due to the way she is being described, many young girls will wish they looked like her so that they will be fully accepted in society as being beautiful. This could also be seen as a way of complimenting anyone who dress/look like Lana Del Rey or that takes the advice out of the magazine on beauty and fashion and try to alter their views on the things this brand of magazine say.

The whole of the front cover is different shades of pink, this is a colour well-known for representing women and anything slightly feminine, this also supports the ideology that all women should be 'girly' and feminine. This colour promotes the idea of something being 'sweet' and 'pretty'.  

I can understand why certain groups of people would understand and fully accept everything this is saying as many women love the idea of dressing up and looking nice. Other people who may like this text could be people such as the category of 'Succeeder' as they feel as though they deserve something for all of the hard work they do. 

Many people will not have the same views as I do, they could completely read this in a different way, for example, people between the ages of 60-80 may see this as acceptable as before 'The Sex Discrimination Act' in 1975, women were seen as nothing more than something to look at, they were expected to stay at home and look nice and take care of the house and the children while the men went out and worked for the money. 

People who I could see having a negotiated reading would be men, many men would not understand some of the meanings behind the wording of the magazine. They may just see it as a normal magazine and not understand why people could be offended. Depending on how people have been brought up to view women, many could see this as a normal thing if they have been brought up with parents who thought this way.  Due to the fact that it isn't the whole magazine that is being portrayed this way, I could see many people relating to some but not all of it, many women like the idea of dressing up nice and looking good, so they would enjoy this type of text.

I can understand why people could find this offensive to women, groups such as feminists may see this as going back to how it was before all of the things they achieved, they could see this as people saying women should be seen and not heard, that they should look nice and be the housewife. Also, cultural up-bringing has a major effect on the way this could be viewed by people, if you have been brought up in an islamic viewpoint, could see this as discriminatory to women and feel like her body is to revealing.

I could see people using this text as a way of comparing their life to the celebrities involved in the magazine, it is a way of getting information, but only about fashion/beauty and celebrity gossip, so if you don't enjoy reading about any of this, you will not enjoy the magazine.

This would allow people to ensure that  they are wearing the right brands, it supports the need for status. 

People who read this will use it as a form of personal identification, it allows the individual to form opinions about the celebrities lives and compare them to their own. 

This would also allow for social interaction, as if there are a group of people, you would be able to 'gossip' about whatever has happened in the world of celebrities.