This literature review outlines the core themes of this dissertation ‘encoding and decoding: the construction of femininity in women’s lifestyle magazines,’ through identifying the key theories and theorists that will prove to be fundamental in achieving my aim to challenge the majority of feminist academics who blame women’s lifestyle magazines for constructing an unachievable depiction of femininity. Women’s lifestyle magazines can be understood as the popular genre of ‘glossies,’ including well-known titles such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Elle.
This literature review analyses the identity phenomenon in order to gain understanding of what femininity is and means. Conceptual analysis discourses such as ‘Encoding and decoding,’ and ‘Semiotics,’ will be reviewed in in order to understand the process of distortion regarding the construction of femininity from the writers, to readers, to academics. This literature review will then deconstruct the symbolic positioning of women in the mass media, particularly regarding magazines, in order to understand how prevalent this form of mass media is in altering societal understanding.
The literature review will conclude through theming categories of femininity negotiation commonly found in feminist research (such as sexualisation and oppression), followed by analysis from a post-feminist standpoint, in order to familiarise ones self with a more modernist approach, to support my aim of challenging feminist critics in the construction of women’s lifestyle magazines. Reviewing this literature will inform the development of my methodology, by clarifying how femininity used to be constructed comparatively to now, and the theory behind why.
Identity
It is important to firstly define the difference between sex and identity. Sex refers to the biological make up of a person from birth (Carr, 1998; Lucal, 1999) whereas identity is a more complex set of discourses, which interlink together to define what it is to be masculine or feminine (Greene, 1997 p.387). From a social constructionist standpoint, to present femininity is a learned phenomenon as a result of psychological, cultural and social influences (Butler, 1999; Goffman, 1977; West & Zimmerman, 1987). Therefore, gender identity is an unstable phenomenon (Butler, 1999) that is conditioned through social definitions (Goffman, 1977) and ‘’comprises aspects of self-identification of a deep and structural level,’’ (Ardener, 1993). Central to the theory of identity is the construction by ones self through the repetition of gender performance, theorised by Butler’s ‘performativity theory,’ (1990) drawing on work from Bornstein surrounding repetitive cues symbolic of femininity (Bornstein, 2013). Butler argues that gender is bodily, non verbal and fluid, as a discourse that is a ‘’stylised repetition of acts,’’ Butler, 1990, 2010. In order to perform femininity, it must be an active construction ‘’within the limits of existing social discourses or historically specific social institutions (Carr, 1998 p.528). Therefore, the performance of femininity in relation to influence from magazines must be prevalent. However, the notion that femininity is a reflection of ones self-identification through performance, there is also a presence on mass performance of femininity on societal negotiation of femininity, concluding that femininity is an interplay between self-identification and society.
It is also important to briefly define the difference between the feminist movement and the post-feminist movement, as this dissertation will adopt a post-feminist constructionist standpoint.
Feminism can commonly be defined categories into three strands: Liberal, Radical, Marxist and Socialist. Liberal feminism refers to the inequality in society between Men and Women, emphasising Male dominance and Female oppression. It is the process of ‘’reconceptualising, reconsidering, and restructuring,’’ (Tong, 1989 p.11). Radical feminism refers to the criticism of institutions for bias towards Men, in that male power is the ‘’root of the social construction of Gender’’ (Tony, 1989 p.4). Marxist feminism think that women will never gain equality due to the consumerist society that benefits from the oppression of women. Socialist feminism supports ‘’unity and integration,’’ (Tony, 1989 p.7) in it’s endeavour to reduce traditional gender roles in the home, in the aim to achieve equality.
Post-feminism tends to be categorised into ‘Liberal feminism’ and ‘Cultural feminism.’ Liberal feminism refers to feminism as a contextualised version of traditional understanding of feminism, whereby Men and Women have equal rights in the public sphere focusing on rights, over perfoming the same set of cultural norms (Alcoff, 1988 p.414). Cultural feminism celebrates the differences in men and women, and that in fact, men and women should have the same rights but should embody their differences, strengths and weaknesses (Alcoff, 1988 p141). This literature review will include feminist academics and literature, and criticise those with comparative to a post-feminist standpoint.
Discourse
The editorial content presented in women’s magazines ‘’plays an influential role in formulating, maintaining and altering how readers understand the construction of socially acceptable norms.’’ (Inness, 2004 p.125). Therefore, due to the convergent nature of magazines, it is important to analyse the concurrent and convergent messages of the texts as a whole (Courtney and Lockeretz, 1971). This section will investigate the methods by which the magazine text as a whole can be consumed by the reader through Halls’s ‘Encoding/Decoding’ theory and Saussure’s ‘theory of semiotics’.
Stuart Hall developed the encoding/decoding model as an alternative process to the ‘Hypodermic needle effect,’ (Fiske et al. 1994 p.267) This process was deemed problematic as it simplified messages to a one directional communication process. When applied to a multi-layered phenomenon such as identity, the patronising assumption that the reader is entirely passive is impractical. Stuart Hall coined the term encoding/decoding in 1973. Hall proposed this innovative way of consuming media power through introducing the reader as the active audience. Hall suggests that ideologies as meaning are undetermined by the sender (in this case, the editors/publishers of magazines), due to the polysemic nature of the message, and therefore the reader acts as the active-audience in order to consume the meaning through the process of decoding, including sociological, economic and cultural ideologies (Hall, 2001). This theory is integral to this research dissertation, as the aim is to consider how influential the messages encoded within women’s magazines are in the readers negation of femininity.
‘Semiotics,’ is a term coined by Saussure (Eco, 1976). Contrary to textual analysis, semiotics are concerned with the meaning of signs, as positive motivators of ideology (Barthes, 1983; Chandler, 2007). Semiotics includes a number of conceptual tools to analyse and break down visual elements within a text into primary components of signifiers and signified (Budgeon, 1993). When applied to women’s magazines, the theory of semiotics will allow the deconstruction of signs and signifiers to understand if the meaning follows the unconsciously shared culture of femininity (Budgeon, 1995 p.177.) In addition, it will enable us to confirm what particular texts within the magazines analysed are decoded as signifiers for sexualisation or oppression with regard to denotation and connotation (Van Zoonen, 1994).
Bandura’s ‘social cognitive theory,’ explains to what extent magazines possess the influence in shaping societies understanding of femininity by explaining how important ‘powerful’ figures are within the discourse of identity (Bandura, 1986). This observational learning concept demonstrates that magazines are a social tool for femininity, as during the phase of decoding magazines through consumption, Bandura explains that the content becomes internalised (Bandura, 1986). This theory explains the vast amount of writing that concludes the prevalence that women’s lifestyle magazines have on their construction of femininity (Jackson, 2005). It is argued that the influence of magazines on societal construction of femininity is prevalent to the extent that women’s magazines are a vehicle for societal conformity to the feminine norms, including those who do not consume magazines due to their ‘’omnipresent images’’ of femininity (Innes, 2004 p.125).
Media
Critics understand mass media to be a platform that is key in challenging pre-conceived notions of identity. In terms of women’s lifestyle magazines as popular form of mass media, they endure a platform that ‘’contribute to the wider cultural processed which define the position of women in a given society as a given point in time,’’ (Ferguson, 1983).
Magazines, unlike other forms of mass media, are notoriously gendered. Therefore, there is evidence to argue that the identity of a reader is preconceived before even opening the magazine to decode it (Holmes, 2007). McCracken (1986) suggested that the sole intention for a magazine is to manipulate their readers to negotiate, and in turn habitualise the construction of femininity as per their magazines. Therefore, in order to adapt the meaning-making processes of the construction of femininity, it is imperative that the editors of magazines keep their content current with societal understanding of identity (Wold, 1991 p.64). However, Inness (2004) argues that this process is more complex drawing from idea that women’s magazines are a vehicle to construct the readers own version of their identity, and their understanding of femininity, supporting Hall’s theory of decoding involving the audience as active (Hall, 2001). In addition, magazines are responsible for reinforcing the conventional understanding of femininity through the over-riding impact of featuring only those female models that adhere to the conventional femininity form that the audience is familiar with (Martin & Gentry, 1997). However, from a Marxist ideology, magazines can be viewed as a consumerist product whereby advertisers are drawn to magazines that feature models that reflect their target market so that readers aspiring to gain femininity as per the magazines are more drawn to reading (McDonald, 2013. Examples of magazines that have tried to penetrate the competitive women’s lifestyle magazine genre through depicting a niche, less represented or unconventional ideology of femininity, such as lesbians, transsexuals or even the disabled have often struggled (McCracken, 1986). A possible reason for this is that many women view magazines as a trusted relationship to guide women to be the most desirable construction of femininity, as per the models in the magazines.
Constructing Femininity
In order to resolve the aim of this dissertation through challenging the majority of feminist academics who criticise women’s lifestyle magazines for constructing commodified femininity (McCracken, 1986), it is first important to understand the building blocks of research that has already been undertaken that has lead these academics to these conclusions. For ease, the research on the content of the magazines begins with the process of constructing femininity through habitualisation, followed by categorising themes of femininity, drawing from Gill’s three pillars of femininity construction: Pleasing your man, sexual fronterism and feminist standpoint (Gill, 2007).
A great deal of the sexualisation of women within magazines derives from the advertisements. Adverts recreate and reconstruct society by communicating a version of femininity that is manipulated to entice the audience (Budgeon, 1995 p.56). Drawing back to the idea of the aspirational woman reader striving for conventional femininity, this theory explains the supply and demand of females consuming this manipulated version of femininity.
In addition, there is ample evidence to suggest that the body ideals presented amongst women’s lifestyle magazines are linked to body dissatisfaction through self-objectification and reduced body image (Ferguson, 2013). In addition, the great deal of emphasis amongst editorial content steers readers into a downward decline of self-loathe and anxiety (McRobbie, 2005). Examples of this include ‘agony aunts,’ ‘how to be better in bed’ features, and even advertorials (Cameron, 1996) which spur readers to invent problems they previously did not incur (Carter & Steiner, 2004 p.2). The snowball effect of self-objectification as a result of consuming women’s magazines can lead to ‘normative discontent,’ and thus, a construction of femininity as weak and insecure, to the point that glossies endeavour to ‘’convince readers of their own inadequacies,’’ (McRobbie, 1997 p.190).
There is also evidence to suggest the oppressive construction of femininity in a multitude of examples within magazines. Many feminist critics would go as far to say that even articles endeavouring to provide a hegemonic construction of femininity are oppressive. For example, Inness (2004) states in her book ‘Pretty Tough’ that all aspects of femininity could be viewed as oppressive, for example, an article from Cosmopolitan intends to advise women on career progression, but is juxtaposed with an image of a model dressed as ‘sexy secretaries.’ Articles advising women to ‘be selfish in the bedroom,’ or ‘how to fake an orgasm,’ relate back to Gill’s notion of ‘’pleasing your man,’’ (Gill, 2007) as opposed to sexual fronterism for ones self (Macdonald, 1995). However, it could be argued that this reverts back to the Marxist notion of consumerism, and by manipulating feminine weakness to create gaps for advertisements and generate profit, these magazines are able to sustain (Carter & Steiner, 2004 p2).
My methodology will be constructed from a post-feminist standpoint, whereby it is perceived and believed that ‘feminism’ is redundant and ‘’positively regressive (p.256)’’ and equality has been achieved (McRobbie, 2004 p.256) due. Gill suggests that the post feminist movement enhances and celebrates choice, freedom and individual empowerment (Gill, 2007). Gill suggests that the target reader of women’s lifestyle magazines are those who try to ‘’repudiate a feminist identity,’’ so reviewing this literature will be impactful to my methodology (Gill & Scharff, 2010). Therefore, my methodology will build on post-feminist work already produced surrounding femininity construction. This section will highlight key arguments amongst post-feminist themes.
Additionally, from a post-feminist standpoint, it would be deemed acceptable to suggest that many early feminist academics approach magazines analysis with cynical apprehension, pre-empting to find fault in the construction of femininity through concluding all representations of feminine identity as oppressive. This theory is termed ‘symbolic annihilation’ (Gerbner, 1978; Tuchman, 1979) where writers endeavour to advance ideologies in the construction of femininity, including articles on sexual fronterism or the inclusion of female minorities, but these advances are met with feminist critics who oppress them. In turn, this results in reducing all depictions of femininity as weak.
Gill’s theory of the ‘guilty preface phenomenon,’ (2004) surrounds the notion that readers consume and decode magazines with a tainted view of feminism due to the pleasure received during consumption of magazines. This supports research undertaken by Ballaster et al. in 1991, that confirms magazines must be pleasurable, otherwise there would be no supply and demand chain (p.162). A factor in the guilty preface phenomenon is the theory that femininity can be classed as a social group; readers who aspirationally endeavour to conform to conventional femininity, as per the magazine, consume it as a ‘’guide to femininity,’’ or a ‘’passage to gaining a sense of belonging within society,’’ (Ferguson, 1983). The nature of frequently released issues of women’s lifestyle magazines suggests that their construction of femininity is always current, and therefore is a reflection of societal construction of femininity (Winship, 1987; Barthel, 2010 p.13). When analysing the construction of femininity within magazines, it is therefore crucial that pleasure and ideology are integrated, as essentially, pleasure and ideology are intimately related (Ballaster et al, 1991).
It could be argued that magazines present femininity in this idealised form of conventional femininity in order to win consent of the reader (Gill, 2007). There is evidence to suggest that thin models receive positive social outcomes, which would further highlight the appeal for female readers (Garner & Garfinkel, 1997). This point strengthens the idea that women’s magazines are guide to femininity for some women (Ferguson, 1983). Women are not forthrightly objectified but instead are presented as active, yearning sexual subjects who choose to present themselves in a seemingly objectified position because it supports their liberated interested (Goldman, 1994). This post-feminist notion highlights the development felt within freedom of their bodies, and there must be a desire of readers to empower women by consuming the magazines otherwise the supply and demand chain would diminish. There is a clear and trusted relationship between repeat readers and the magazine editors, otherwise editorial content featuring sensitive topics of sex and relationships, juxtaposted with how-to’s from make up to careers wouldn’t be of interest to readers and there would not be the continuous consumption that remains to prevail (Gill, 2007).
Conclusion
This literature review has concluded that magazines are ‘’ideological juggling acts,’’ (Winship, 1987) through their contradictory content, which not only reflects the unstable societal understanding of femininity, but also that femininity is more diverse than we first acknowledged.
Reviewing the literature surrounding the discourse of identity has informed the grounds to which femininity is derived from, and when applied to my methodology, it will be important to implement the active nature of identity. The discourses of ‘Encoding and Decoding, Semiotics and Social Cognitive Theory,’ will provide an explanation for how the construction of femininity is negotiated from the magazine content, editorial and images, as well as the integrity of societal negotiation in performing femininity.
This review has illustrated the roles of feminism from both past to present and how the various standpoints effect the negotiation of magazines. It is clear that a great deal of research has been undertaken into analysing magazines from a traditional feminist view, most commonly with cynical intention, which proves that this dissertation will be innovative in challenging previous research by analysing contemporary women’s lifestyle magazines from a post-feminist standpoint.