Preview

The Reinforcement of Hegemonic Ideologies & Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes Within Cosmopolitan Magazine Advertisements

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2232 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Reinforcement of Hegemonic Ideologies & Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes Within Cosmopolitan Magazine Advertisements
The Reinforcement of Hegemonic Ideologies &
Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes
Within Cosmopolitan Magazine Advertisements

Rebecca Mastine

Understanding Popular Culture
Tim MacNeil
December 15, 2010

Magazines have implicitly and explicitly been influencing humans for decades. They are continually more involved in the media, however the market is highly competitive. It is extremely important for magazines to maintain the readers’ interest and loyalty therefore they must excel in its appearance and content. Helen Brown created the Cosmopolitan magazine in 1965. It holds a spot as one of the most successful women’s magazines of all time, and proceeds to be the number one selling monthly magazine. (Ouellette, 360, 2005). According to Merriam-Websters’ online dictionary, Cosmopolitan means, “having wide international sophistication” and is also a popular cocktail (2010). Some synonyms include: multicultural; worldwide; sophisticated; urbane; glamourous. Therefore the word Cosmopolitan, it is unquestionably a suited title for a magazine that is geared towards young women looking for advice about sex, fashion, beauty and sophistication. The trends of its general content, glossy and seductive pictures, narrowed focused target audience, cross promotion and online magazine versions are key components to its ongoing successes; reinforcing hegemonic ideologies, gender and sexuality stereotypes. Cosmopolitan advances an unrealistic image and ideal, whereby women create identity through sexuality and through commodity exchange.

Cosmopolitan magazine, which offers 110 editions in an impressive 28 languages, reaches 36 million women worldwide with the slogan “for fun, fearless females” (Ouellette, 360, 2005). As such, it is the perfect venue to investigate representations of contemporary female stereotypes in the media around the world. To start off, David Machin and Theo van Leeuwen investigated the representation of female identity and practice in the U.K.,


References: Hasinoff, A. A. (2009). Genetic gender determinism in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Hearst Magazines. (2010). Cosmopolitan. United States: Hearst Communications, In. Machin, D., & Leeuwen, T. (2003). Global schemas and local discourses in Cosmopolitan McCleneghan, J. S. (2003). Selling sex to college females: their attitudes about Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazines Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (2010). Cosmopolitan. Retrieved December 9, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cosmopolitan. Nelson, M. R., & Paek, H. (2005). Cross-Cultural Differences in Sexual Advertising Content in a Transnational Women’s Magazine Ouellette, L. (2005). Inventing the Cosmo girl: Class Identity and girl-style American Dreams
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rres 351understanding Bus Terms and Research Partii
    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rres 351understanding Bus Terms and Research Partii

    • Cosmopolitan magazine sends out a cover in selected markets featuring a female model to half of its readers and a cover with a female and male model to the other half of its readers to…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jill Stark's Sick of Impossible Princesses, Real Girls Fight Back: Language Analysis
    • 583 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Jill Stark's Sick of Impossible Princesses, Real Girls Fight Back: Language Analysis

    In her article ‘Sick of impossible princesses, real girls fight back’, (The Age 19/01/2008), Jill Starks presents that the media does not present realistic images of woman in the media. In a discrediting tone she persuades the reader by firstly having a visual as well as anecdotes and real people’s experiences.…

    • 583 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Miss Representation: Mainstream Media
    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page

    Miss Representation: Mainstream Media

    Miss Representation, the 2011 documentary about how the mainstream media depicts women negatively in the United States, educates the viewers on the harmful media representation that is brought upon women. Females who are featured in the media are often depicted as a sexual image to men. When the film states that “the media is selling young people the idea that girls’ and women’s value lies in their youth, beauty, and sexuality and not in their capacity as leaders.” it informs the viewer that the media is a dangerous tool used to explicitly demand what women should do, say, buy, and look like. The audience is directed towards anyone who is interested in learning more about the ways the media adversely portrays women. The tone of the film alters…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Film Analysis: Miss Representation
    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Film Analysis: Miss Representation

    80% of women say that images of women on television, movies, fashion magazines, and advertising make them insecure (Dam). A visually stimulating documentary such as in Jennifer Siebel Newsoms’ documentary “Miss Representation” provides a logic supplemented presentation of gender in media driven by the emotions evoked from the images of the film resulting in readers thinking of gender in a more personal way as face to face interviews with teenagers who feel negatively affected by this problem are shown. On the other hand, a scientifically based academic journal such as in Rebecca Collins’ “Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media: Where Are We Now and Where Should We Go?” delivers an extremely logic based presentation of the gender discussion…

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes Of Women In Australia
    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Stereotypes Of Women In Australia

    Harmful stereotypes placed upon women continue to thrive in the media we consume every day. There are many issues surrounding the media’s portrayal of women in regards to their exploitation and the harmful stereotypes which are becoming an increasing concern. The emphasis on women’s looks is often the focus within the media and the impact is often overlooked. The growth of media platforms in recent years has had an enormous impact on how women are represented in Australia’s society. The media does not only influence society but it also holds the current views held within it. Common stereotypes of. Advertising and marketing have created a new type of woman that does not exist in the real world. You may have seen her before, but if not these…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Sociology Term Paper
    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Sociology Term Paper

    There are many different magazines targeted toward different groups of people. Women’s magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, direct many of their articles towards dating life, body image, and sex advice. Men’s Health, a magazine for men, is also a magazine that’s articles are directly oriented towards dating, sex and body image. The growing impact of pop culture is directly effecting what we read in magazines.…

    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Content Analysis Of Gender Stereotypes in Magazines
    • 2176 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Content Analysis Of Gender Stereotypes in Magazines

    It only takes a second to attach a strong feeling or idea to a character in a movie, advertisement, or video game. Many characterization used are based on the assumed stereotypes, and are usually one-dimensional characters. Typically, these characterizations usually come from inherited family values, education, and the media. While stereotypes existed long before mass media, the media machine certainly helped to accelerate the cultural growth of all kinds of stereotypes. It is beyond this paper to answer why magazines employ these gender stereotypes, instead this research is designed to analyze whether the content (writing, pictures, and advertising) in magazines employs the use of stereotypes in their depiction of gender.…

    • 2176 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Representation In Media
    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page

    Gender Representation In Media

    The most sensitive and controversial topics from time to time is gender representation. Gender representations in media often portray male and female stereotypically, in which they are depicted differently (Doring 2006, p. 173). Even though the representation of gender in media has already been developed lately, but women’s representation in media are still portrayed stereotypically in various ways. According to Amancio (1993), he stated that gender stereotypes are seen as social representations or collective ideologies defining model of behavior. Media do not simply reflect the reality in society about the gender stereotypes; it supports the ruling class’ ideology of patriarchy which controls the issue of gender all over the world by producing…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Where The Girls Are
    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Where The Girls Are

    The portrayal of women in the media has gone through a shift in the past 50 years. A shift incited by the feminist movement of the 1970’s in which women rebelled against their assigned role as the subordinate housewife. The media could no longer ignore the rising presence of feminism. As a response, it infused feminist ideals with traditional values to showcase an unrealistic standard for women. A standard, which Douglas argues in Where the Girls Are, that caused the “cultural identity crisis” many women faced (Douglas 1994). Women were told that they could have it all. They can be independent working women while being obedient housewives. While this depiction is optimistic and assumes women can have the best of both worlds, it fails to recognize…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Race and Gender Schemas
    • 2183 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Race and Gender Schemas

    As media becomes an ever more powerful force in shaping the world 's perception of itself, an individual 's struggle to maintain a unique identity and self-understanding apart from media influence becomes increasingly difficult. Damaging to the idea of the self are the racial, gendered, and class-based stereotypes (always artificial and frequently physically, fiscally, and emotionally unattainable), which are broadly perpetuated and, because of their persistence, are apparently not broadly questioned. The prevalence and power of gender (especially female) stereotypes in the media are addressed in this p…

    • 2183 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Skechers Ads
    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Skechers Ads

    Cosmopolitan’s target audience as a means to satisfy their desires to learn about sex, fashion, and beauty while continuing to subliminally reinforce the contrasting notion that women are flawed individuals and must change themselves to be more readily accepted by men and the rest of society. Cosmopolitan directs all articles and advertisements towards a specific target market. The magazine’s audience includes primarily single, white, upper-middle class women between the ages of 18 and 39.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Are Women Portrayed in the Media?
    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Are Women Portrayed in the Media?

    Every individual western female has been categorized into a select few genres within modern media, there is the ‘Superwoman…mother, wife and career driven’ (8), ‘the femme fatale…sex kitten, [and] the nasty corporate climber’ (6). All of these things dictate how a woman behaves or more how a woman is supposed to behave according to the media’s standard.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Media Defines Femininity
    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Media Defines Femininity

    Whenever we watch Television or consume any other media we get confronted with female stereotypes. Thus the media influences our view of the world and often even determine our view of the world. One particular example is the definition of femininity and portrayal of women in the media. So Whatever the role, televisions, films and popular magazines are full of images of women and girls who are typically white and desperately thin.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Gender In American Culture
    • 1296 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gender In American Culture

    Americans are exposed to an estimated total of 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day, therefore; the media play a significant role in our lives on a daily basis (Marshall 2015). The social construction of gender in American culture is predominantly molded through the media. Gender stereotyping has been a major part of society for a long time. Boys and girls are taught from a young age to act and even a dress a certain way solely based on their gender. Women are expected to be feminine, thin, and are often not supposed to think for themselves whereas men are expected to be very masculine and tough. The media perpetuate this by further promoting the idea that being male or female means a person needs to look and behave in a specific…

    • 1296 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Racial Identity
    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Racial Identity

    Women are objectified and sexualized in Cosmopolitan at a higher percentage than that of men in GQ. In the five variables that I outlined my research around the only element that Men in GQ outnumbered the women was in the overall size. Each of the other four variables women in Cosmopolitan exceeded a higher percentage through body display, clothing, movement, and identity. These results are important because It shows how there has been very little improvement made towards the objectification and stereotypes that surround women in media and advertisement through the years. Women of all ages read magazines, and see all the different forms of advertisement on tv and the example that the publishers are setting effects the way women view themselves and often times result in women having lower self esteem. Both men and women are held at a such a high standard set by society to look perfect in every aspect possible. Although there seems to be some progress made in raising awareness about the ways in which advertising and social media objectifies both sexes, there is still so much more improvement to be made so that future generations don’t feel the burden of living up to the harsh standards we have…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics