ExpELLEd!

Reading Elle just wasn't as much fun for me as reading Bust. For one, there was less to read. For...two...much of the magazine's heft came from advertisements for things I will never be able to afford. And it probably goes without saying that women were not represented particularly positively.

Cover: The cover of Elle shows Katy Perry with her shirt unbuttoned practically to her waist:

Yay for Katy Perry. It's pretty much what we're used to seeing on women's magazines. Not that that makes me care for it.

The headlines depressed me more than the picture. The cover lets us know that inside we'll find answers to pressing issues like why we (women) hate our looks, why we're always angry, and how to get a love life:

God forbid I like my looks.

Could it be headlines like these?

Why?

I was troubled by the assumptions implicit in these statements: that women hate themselves as they are, have little right to be angry, and desire a love life above all else. The one about hating your looks is followed up with "and how to get over it," so, to be fair, I attempted to find and read this article to see if it said anything positive. I couldn't find it in the table of contents or in the magazine. Maybe I'm just not practiced enough in the art of searching through the ads. I'm sure it's in there, but it continues to elude me.

Content: I started with the editor's letter (which, though one of the first pieces in the magazine, doesn't appear until page 142 because of all the ads). Most of it laments all of the accusations Elle has received recently for altering the appearance of cover models, whether by lightening their skin, decreasing their waists, or only showing young women (all are denied). In actuality, claims the editor, Elle shows "women of diverse body types, skin colors, and ages such as Rihanna, Julia Roberts, Diane Keaton, J.Lo, and Drew Barrymore" (March 2011). I see that J.Lo and Rihanna are supposed to represent ethnic diversity while Diane Keaton represents middle-aged to older women, but I don't see any evidence of diverse body types. Or, if that is a diverse spectrum, I must be an extreme outlier. The entire letter was defensive and unhappy-sounding.

In the letter, the reader is referred to an article on "the importance of beauty to one's self," so I flipped to it (as it was one of the few multi-page articles available). In it, the author discusses feeling simultaneously guilty and joyful about her use of Botox, and she wonders how she can justify her use to her daughters, whom she constantly teaches about inner over outer beauty. Botox makes her feel hypocritical, but she doesn't plan on stopping because of the 2-3 day "high" she experiences right after application. She also talks about listening to feminist speakers explain that outer beauty isn't the end-all be-all of everything, and takes a tone of "well, that's okay for them, but they don't have my line of work." In the end, she decides that every woman must decide for herself how far to go in bodily alterations. The whole thing just made me sad--there was that defensive tone again and the author's dissatisfaction with her body, particularly surrounded by glamorous co-workers at Elle, was painfully apparent.

Even the title implies that beauty is a matter of life and death.

Another article talked about Bollywood make-up. The author got made-over by the preeminent Indian make-up artist, including dark kohl lines around her eyes. Though she acknowledges that health-care practitioners warn against eyeliner inside the eyelid (it can lead to irritation and swelling of the glads in your eyelid), she dismisses it with, "it's in my character to practice bad habits." This suggests that women should prize looking beautiful over their physical health. No pain, no gain? No thanks.

Advertisements: They were numerous. Have I mentioned that yet? Elle is at least half an inch wide, and I'd be willing to bet that two-thirds of that comes from ads. Most were for designer clothes, shoes, and accessories. There were also several for engagement rings (because we all need that romance...) and plenty for cosmetics, particularly anti-aging cosmetics (what is the average age of an Elle reader?). As we've discussed in class, the models were, with one exception that I found, white. They were also thin and young. They did not encourage me to spend money I don't have on clothes that will not fit me, by the looks of the ads.

Why is her face the only thing covered?

The man is active and strong, while the woman only gets to look on and be looked at. Also, where are the clothes I'm supposed to be craving?

She is literally an object: a doll.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with Elle. I will own up to the fact that I'm just not as interested in fashion as the target audience likely is, but the fact remains that within these pages, women are treated as though only their external characteristics count for anything and that these are probably lacking and need to be changed with make-up, procedures, or clothing. It says that the way you are just isn't enough, and hides this as the "freedom" to express yourself with fashion. I don't think there's anything wrong with personal expression through clothing and accessories, as long as it's just that--personal.

Think I was too hard on Elle? Make up your own mind by checking out their website.

~Jennielee