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

BUST-ed.

I thought I'd start off my reviews with a little pop quiz called "Which is Which?" It goes like this:

Which one is Elle, and which one is Bust, the positive image magazine? Have your guess yet?

...

 

A+ for you if you guessed right! As you can see, Bust looks pretty much like any other women's magazine. There's a pretty, skinny, youngish, female celebrity on the front. The front also says "SEX" in giant letters. So...does Bust live up to its positive reputation? To make the task easier, I decided to divide both my magazine reviews into three sections: Cover, Content, and Advertising. 

Cover: Yeah, Bust's cover has similar features to other women's magazines, as mentioned. But let's look at what ISN'T there: headlines about dieting, fashion, or beauty. Instead, the cover promises articles on sex bloggers, the top 10 adultresses of all time, DIY depression remedies, and tapping your own maple syrup, among other things. I liked the balance between the familiar "magazine-y" look and the unconventional headlines. It was nice that the cover designers didn't immediately assume I want to look pretty and lose weight. Also, the person on the cover, Portia de Rossi, may be similar to other "covergirls" in that she's attractive, blond, and has perfect hair, but she's also a lesbian. The cover isn't showing an image of women that screams "I want to attract men!" and I found that refreshing, too.

Content: Though the cover may look traditional, the stories inside Bust are not.This issue (Feb/March: the sex issue) featured stories on subjects ranging from the sexual politics of shaving to a pattern for a plaid cloak to Portia de Rossi to Christian anti-porn support groups for women. Very diverse, and very interesting. I read all of the articles and never once felt like the authors were intending that I behave in any certain way. I liked a lot of the regular features, too: lots of DIY projects, some recipes (none were for dieters), reviews of books and movies showing women in a positive or at least not submissive light. My favorite may have been the feature called "museum of femoribilia," which this issue explained "how bespectacled lasses got stereotypes for their glasses." Here's a peek at the table of contents and a few articles:

I love the hand-drawn illustrations for this article.

However, I did have an issue with some of the photographs accompanying the articles, like this one:

This is Swedish artist Lykke Li, shown half undressed in a submissive position. Some of the pictures of Portia De Rossi were similar. For a magazine that aims to show women as strong, independent, and confident, I thought the images could have been a lot less sexualized and submissive. Which brings me to...

Advertising: Let's talk about this in two ways: what's in the ads and who's in them. A variety of "whats" are advertised, mostly crafted accessories, menstrual products, clothing, and sex toys. LOTS of sex toys (but this is the sex issue). So, a mix of typical and not-so-typical products advertised to women. Though, generally the menstrual products advertised in women's magazines are not these:

Unfortunately, the women in the advertisements look like women in advertisements everywhere: skinny, white, and young. This one particularly evoked the little-girl/come-hither dichotomy we've discussed in class:

Overall, I enjoyed reading Bust and thought it walked it a fine line between a "regular" women's magazine and a completely feminist publication. I think the balance may allow Bust to reach a wider variety of women than the latter. I would read it again, but I would hope to see better physical representations of women next time.

Want to read Bust for yourself? Check out their website! 

Coming up next: my review of Elle.

~Jennielee

March: magazine madness.

Well, hello, and thanks for checking out our psychology of women (POW) blogging project. Each month, we plan to look at and record our thoughts on different media. This month is magazine month. Erica, Moani, and I will each be picking two magazines to review; one "typical" women's magazine like Cosmo, Elle, or Glamour, and one that specifically shows positive images of women.

I never really knew that positive image magazines for women existed (except for Ms., but the price tag is a little steep), so I was excited to check out the list Erica discovered on the Love Your Body campaign website. I chose to review Bust. I got it for about $4 at Barnes & Noble, since I've never seen it in a supermarket check-out line. For my "regular" magazine, I'll be using Elle. Check back soon for reviews!

~Jennielee