Women’s Magazine, Essay Example

When I looked at the advertisements in the first 20 pages of my magazine, I was struck by the emergence of a few common themes: culture, cultural norms,  and since it was a women’s magazine, it was aimed specifically towards the subculture of females.  There were two constant values that were apparent immediately: the idea of appearing to be youthful, as exhibited by the skin and fragrance products that claim to be” ageless”,  “fresh”  and  “wrinkle-free”; and the  other theme that emerged was one of being powerful yet maternal.  The products that were designed to appeal to one’s wish to remain young tended to show luxurious or exotic environments, such as scenes from beautiful Pacific islands or lying on a hammock in some unknown but beautiful scenario.  The advertisements that tended to present the image of being powerful but maternal contained images of modern technology such as electronic equipment, briefcases, portfolios and other materials that would clearly be utilized by someone in the role of a professional In addition, the ads contained products for children who are about to return to school such as backpacks and other school supplies.  Particularly interesting was an advertisement for milk, which combined both values: the use of milk to enhance the smoothness and perfection of a complexion that is a result of drinking milk, as well as combining milk with cookies, reinforcing the idea of being a mother.

The obvious pattern that emerged regarding the skin products was the one mentioned previously, that of maintaining one’s youthful appearance and freshness by advertising fragrances that present an air of innocence and light, and skin products that claim to be proven and professional in maintaining one’s wrinkle-free face and other skin on the body.  The advertisements appeal to women, presumably, because they convey the idea that one can look young and beautiful, can travel to exotic and utopian settings, all the while luxuriating in baths containing soothing oils, followed up by applying creams and other products that will maintain and restore one’s skin quality as if they had not aged a day beyond age 20.  In addition, besides looking young and glamorous, the advertisements reinforced the notion of motherhood, because it also exhibited material culture by advertising products for their children’s return to school.

To some degree, there was an element of ethnocentrism in the magazine ads because they emphasize a cultural value that is not necessarily shared with cultures throughout the world: the emphasis on youthful beauty.  That is primarily a Western value in my experience, since in other cultures, older women and even elderly are valued and are perceived as beautiful, with the lines and wrinkles on their faces representing the wisdom and experiences  that they have accumulated and which are seen as valuable commodities to pass on to others.

The magazine that I used for my paper was Women’s Day, which was clearly aimed at a female audience including both professional women and mothers.  The nature of the ads reflected that target group in that they involved looking and feeling good as well as being competent in their roles as professionals and/or mothers.

The values that I utilized for this paper that appeared on the list provided are:

• Culture
• Material culture
• Ethnocentrism
• Values
• Subculture
• Technology