Katelyn Broda
Mass Communication 102
Research Activity
“Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies.”
There are hundreds of magazines in today’s world that target female readers. I decided to focus on the magazine, Cosmopolitan, because I have read this magazine occasionally and it is targeted towards females around my age group. I found information from the magazine’s website, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/.
The Cosmopolitan website is separated into five major categories: Sex &Love, Style& Beauty, Hot Guys, Celebs &Gossip, and You, You, You. All of these categories are targeted towards shaping women to achieve the ‘perfect’ body. This magazine goes beyond the idea of just fixing your hair and applying some lip gloss to improve your looks. Under the Style and Beauty, readers are instructed to ‘Get tan and toned,’ ‘Perfect your complexion,’ ‘Pump up the volume,’ and ‘Sweeten your checks’ to name a few. Women use to think there was only fat and thin imperfections among women but the fashion industry has molded a whole new way to view every element of our bodies and how we need to constantly improve them.
In a Beauty Question and Answer section on the website, women ask how one can make their face look slimmer, and how to eliminate blackheads even though they have clear skin. The women who read this type of magazine are encouraged to strive towards the goal of a ‘perfect body.’ This ‘perfect body,’ however is an illusion that causes many men and women to have a negative view towards their own body. The magazine tries to provide reader with articles full of advice on ways to improve their images and self esteem. Oddly enough, these articles are illustrated with photographs of men and women with the ideal bodies.
Although the Cosmopolitan magazine works towards improving their readers’ lives, their stories, improvement articles and photographs cause readers to feel that they are not fit enough, tan enough or pretty enough to meet the unachievable goal of ‘perfect.’
Mass Communication 102
Research Activity
“Take a fashion website and put together a list of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies.”
There are hundreds of magazines in today’s world that target female readers. I decided to focus on the magazine, Cosmopolitan, because I have read this magazine occasionally and it is targeted towards females around my age group. I found information from the magazine’s website, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/.
The Cosmopolitan website is separated into five major categories: Sex &Love, Style& Beauty, Hot Guys, Celebs &Gossip, and You, You, You. All of these categories are targeted towards shaping women to achieve the ‘perfect’ body. This magazine goes beyond the idea of just fixing your hair and applying some lip gloss to improve your looks. Under the Style and Beauty, readers are instructed to ‘Get tan and toned,’ ‘Perfect your complexion,’ ‘Pump up the volume,’ and ‘Sweeten your checks’ to name a few. Women use to think there was only fat and thin imperfections among women but the fashion industry has molded a whole new way to view every element of our bodies and how we need to constantly improve them.
In a Beauty Question and Answer section on the website, women ask how one can make their face look slimmer, and how to eliminate blackheads even though they have clear skin. The women who read this type of magazine are encouraged to strive towards the goal of a ‘perfect body.’ This ‘perfect body,’ however is an illusion that causes many men and women to have a negative view towards their own body. The magazine tries to provide reader with articles full of advice on ways to improve their images and self esteem. Oddly enough, these articles are illustrated with photographs of men and women with the ideal bodies.
Although the Cosmopolitan magazine works towards improving their readers’ lives, their stories, improvement articles and photographs cause readers to feel that they are not fit enough, tan enough or pretty enough to meet the unachievable goal of ‘perfect.’
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