PURSUING WOMEN'S IDEAL IMAGE THROUGH MAGAZINES
By: Esther Kuntjara
Introduction
Approaching the end of the twentieth century people have been faced by the reality that the overflow of information has become the central part of human life. The media like television, the internet, and other new inventions in technology and sciences in dealing with communication are everywhere around us, offering huge of information that no one can even digest them all in one's whole life. Yet we all acknowledge the importance of information for our survival in this fast changing world.
One great source of information that still captures the attention of many people is the magazine. Even after many other types of sources of the media of information have either become obsolete, or start to boom like the internet that is getting more and more popular, magazines still stand out to be the source of information that will keep on growing as a mass market enterprise till the turn of the century.
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Printed media like magazines have many advantages that people cannot get from the electronic types of information sources. They are relatively easy to find and cheap and therefore affordable by the average people. There is no confusion of having to operate any electrical equipment in order to get the information. Because messages are printed on the paper, something that may catch our attention in the reading can be reread or traced back as long as we want and whenever we need. The information is there.
While magazines as a media of information have existed for a long time (Encyclopedia Americana mentions the origin of magazines dated since the 17th century), the critical analysis on how this type of media has played its role in human life is relatively new. I have always been intrigued to see the growing number of magazines that are published every year. I am particularly interested in the variety of women magazines that we have and surprised to see how a lot of women are so absorbed in reading them.
The gathering of data
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As I can see that many of the women magazines that are sold in the stores here have more or less the same type of women magazines that contain basically information on women fashion, foods, health, cosmetics, problems about women's life and many advertisements, I decided to look for one particular magazine that is the most popular that I can use as my study. My first step for doing my inquiry was asking people I know to list any three women magazines that they consider are the most popular in the US. However what I thought to be a simple enquiry turned out to be something that I did not expect to happen. From 13 American women and man that I asked, apparently they gave me more or less similar answers: "I don't read any women magazine."; "I'd prefer to read news magazines."; "I don't really care so much of how I look."; "There are other things much more important for women than just fashion, cosmetics, diet, or cooking."; "If I had some health problem I'd rather consult an expert than looking for some advice in the women magazines."; "I'm not worried about making men wild in bed."
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The people I was asking to are mostly adult educated women and man aged around 25 to 60. Eight of them were studying in their graduate program and were busy with their course work. But even if they had time they admitted that they preferred reading other magazines than women magazines. One woman who is a college professor felt that she was old enough to read such women magazines that are sold in the stores. So she thought that many women magazines are popular only among young women. Two house wives with children admitted that the women magazines that they liked were about homes and gardening. They would only read popular women fashion magazines in a waiting room to kill the time while waiting. Again they also thought that they were old enough to read the popular women fashion magazines. The youngest respondent is a woman who will soon get married. However, she feels that the women magazines sold in the stores are just exploiting women's bodies for commercial use. The last respondent is a career woman who works in an advertizing business. Because of her job, she did collect many women magazines but admitted that her collections were mainly for the purpose of doing her work.
As a matter of fact it could have been interesting to find out more about those women's reaction towards their rejection in reading women magazines, and do more investigation with younger women about women magazines that they read. However, I consider that from the responses I got, I can still continue to do my research in the content analysis of some women magazines and find out about their contents and see instead on what they have that have caused all the respondents reluctant to read them.
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As I still want to pick up two women magazines for my study, I turn my next step to finding out as to how many copies each of of the women magazines being mentioned are sold in every issue and then choose the one with the biggest market circulation. From the respondents I found out that there are some women magazines that they think are most popular, i.e.: Ladies' Home Journal; Red Book; Cosmopolitan; Vogue; Mademoiselle; Better Homes and Gardens; Good Housekeeping; and Vanity Fair. When they were asked to mention any women magazine that they might want to read and have read, two of them mentioned that they did read Better Homes and Gardens, four of them mentioned Ms magazine, one mentioned The Working Women, others would rather read news magazines or magazines for their hobbies in handicraft.
From the Gale Directory of Publication and Broadcast Media, the following information about the numbers of circulation are listed:
Better Homes and Gardens 7,616,270 copies
Good Housekeeping 5,032,901 copies
Ladies' Home Journal 4,705,020 copies
Redbook 2,851,493 copies
Cosmopolitan 2,559,853 copies
Mademoiselle 1,233,160 copies
Vogue 1,139,049 copies
Vanity Fair 1,118,467 copies
Meanwhile the directory has no information about Ms magazine and is only mentioned as not being able to locate. E. Barbara Phillips, however, mentioned that Ms claimed to have a circulation of 380,000 copies in 1975. (in Tuchman, 1978:118)
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Even when the numbers of circulation may not indicate that the one with the biggest number is the one that is the most popular or is read by most American women, they can at least indicate that the magazine with the biggest number of circulation may have the widest distribution and has the biggest demand in the market. And in fact two women I interviewed who mentioned "Better Homes and Gardens" admitted that they did buy and read it, whereas others confessed of not reading the other women magazines even though they assumed them to be the popular women magazines in the US. "Ms" magazine will also be used in my study as it seems to be a different type of women magazine that many of my respondents had read and might like to read.
Formulation of Problem statement
Most women magazines are targetted to women. Therefore I am interested in finding out what the two magazines I want to study contain, so that I may gain insight about the audience and about how the publisher present the magazines in order to attract the audience. Besides articles and pictures, magazines usually offer a lot of advertisements. Arthur Asa Berger maintains that "images and other visual phenomena and language in the advertisement have been used to shape a desired response - most typically some kind of 'persuasion'" (1993:69) Therefore, it would also be very interesting to find out what kinds of advertisements they have and how they persuade the audience. From the advertisements, I may also gain insight of what many American women would probably like to purchase. Berger in his other book also relates what many critics say about the portrayal of women in the media:
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Many critics argue that the roles that women play in the media are demeaning. They are treated, all too often, only as sexual objects, used for display or as dummies who get excited about some brand of toilet paper. They are seldom portrayed as professionals who can be productive and should be taken seriously. Frequently, they are not shown as active, but rather as passive figures who react to the initiatives of others, usually males. (1993:82)
With such negative comment that the critics say about women in the media, I am more curious to find out how this is revealed in the two women magazines, and what effects do they want to make to the audience.
Kay Ellen Rutledge (in Fox. 1994:206) wrote that "Images not only shape what we know; they affect our behavior as well. They drive us to buy, to vote, to protest, to join, to dislike, to admire, to desire." Rutledge also argues that professionals in media business influence people's behavior and perceptions with illusions they create. They distort reality in trying to impress their views upon them. With such strong argument on the powerful impact of media, I believe that people need to know what and how contents are presented in the magazines.
The Analysis
Better Homes and Gardens
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This monthly magazine was founded in 1922 and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Like the slogan written in the front cover : "Helping families live better lives for 75 years," this magazine has claimed itself as a media that has helped and will continue to help families to have better lives. Unlike other women magazines like "Ladies' Home Journal," "RedBook," and the like which often picture beautiful women for the front cover, "Better Homes and Gardens" more often picture delicious looking dishes that are seasonal, homes and gardens that are comfortable and artistic. For instance the July 1997 issue exhibits a picture of an all-time favorite BBQ dish arranged in a plate with the side dishes. The red big letters of BBQ combined with the alluring photograph of the barbequed ribs and salad and corn are certainly what a family will crave for their dinner. The September '96 issue exhibits a picture of a romantic garden and its enticing greeting: The Beckoning Path: Enjoy Your Own Romantic Garden Walkway. The February '96 issue exhibits a picture of a cosy room and its title: Decorating Secret: Pros Share Their Best Money-Saving Tips.
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Marjorie Ferguson (in Tuchman, 1978:99) maintains that the magazine cover "is like the margarine wrapper, the better it is, the more we sell." She also says that the magazine cover should be someone [or something] that the readers want to be like [or to have] and it "reflects the ideological implications of content that in turn reflect the producers' perceptions of culturally agreed-upon roles, goals, and values." Thus, I can see that this magazine must have believed that in the US, women's first and foremost roles are in the domestic sphere. So what else would such women want to have but a comfortable home and hearty delicious meals for their families. And what else could give such women more pride and satisfaction than making them have the ability of professional homemakers.
This 235 page magazine is in fact full of advertisements. They are in almost every page. The followings are the things it advertizes, the number of items, the number of pages used, and the percentage of distribution:
items: pages used: %
Foods 31 32.5 13.83%
Medicines & health care 14 26 11.6 %
Housing and house care 14 19.5 8.3 %
Cars & tyre 11 17 7.23%
Pet care 5 4.83 2.06%
Cosmetics 4 7 2.98%
Cigarettes 3 3 1.28%
Others (miscelleneous shopping stuff) 10.5 5.48%
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Total 120.33 52.22%
From the advertisements there are several things that I can analyze:
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1. Many of the advertisements try to take advantage of women's fears and anxieties like the fear of getting old or fat, and show to the readers the result of using the product. For examples:
Neutrogena (p.6)
Visibly Reduce The Signs Of Aging On Your Hands.
Fosamax (pp.90-91)
Thanks to FOSAMAX and its power to rebuild bone, Susan Brenner is still paddling her own canoe after 50.
Slim Fast (p.39)
Lose Weight and Feel Great.
2. Certain advertisements indirectly tell the readers that they take parts in making the product an acceptable one. This gives them gratification and pleasure. For examples:
Martha Stewart Paint (p.31)
Martha didn't just pick the colors, she picked the colors that go with the colors you pick.
JCPenney Home Collection (p.162)
At exactly which point in our lives did a long, hot bath go from being the ultimate punishment to the ultimate reward?
3. Many of the advertisements are also using the image of a wise mother who is able to know what is good for her family and choose the right product for them. So it gives mothers gratification. For examples:
Kraft (p.170)
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Mom knows she's totally in love with Mike ... And she's totally in love with Classic Caesar, the new salad dressing from Kraft.
General Motors Corporation (p.137)
Is your automobile as devoted to you as you are to it?
4. People basically like to be acknowledged that they are successful. So many of the advertisements suggest that one is going to be successful when she uses the product. For examples:
Capri cigrette (inside back cover)
She's gone to Capri and she's not coming back.
Prizm (p.61)
97% of Prizm Owners would Recommend Prizm to a Friend.
5. Due to the advanced technology in photography, many advertisements stimulate readers' fantacy with their fantastic pictures and poetic language that arouse readers' desire. For examples: