Task One

Identify the four stereotypes about women according to Jeremy Tunstall

• Domestic
• Sexual
• Consumer
• Marital

Apply these stereotypes to the front cover, features and advertisements in the July 1965 Vogue. Which stereotypes are prominent?

• Front Cover- The representation of women on the front cover is showing the consumer by promoting the products. In relation to race, it shows the cover to be exotic through the use of makeup and the Turkish headwear.
• Feature: ‘Money: Questions and Answers’- The article focuses on consumers by writing a feature dedicated to money and money saving, therefore suggesting that the reader needs help and advice in relation to the subject.
• Advert: ‘Revlon: The applied art of eye-making’- This advert references consumers because it is promoting products to the reader and suggesting for them to buy it.
• Advert:’ Cutex: bare essentials’- The advert focuses on a consumer as it promotes the lipsticks as well as the image being sexualised through the use of “bare essentials”.
• Advert: ‘Imperial Leather’- The advert focuses on the domestic reader as it portrays a caring mother looking after her child, it therefore suggests a form of family home, which may also relate to marital.
• Feature: ‘Picnics Probable and Improbable’- There is a representation of a domestic household, with images depicting a family together, there is also a marital use with the sense of security within the family home- this is shown with the anecdote of Antonia Fraser’s own family memories.
• Fashion Feature: ‘Heatwave Holiday: Clothes new in the shops now’- These selection of images represents the consumer side of the magazine, with the fashion feature including lists of the products for the reader as well as references throughout the feature of ‘holidays’, suggesting that the reader has a disposable income.

Task Two

Use the Vogue July 1965 pack to answer these questions:

What messages does the Vogue magazine convey about female beauty?

The magazine conveys a message of ‘this is how you should look’ to the audience. It produces aspirers through the use of expensive clothing and other items as well as targeting readers that can afford that expense. The features in the magazine all include models wearing heavy makeup, a common theme throughout the magazine, suggesting that natural beauty isn’t the main focus of the photoshoots. The front cover includes Sophia Loren wearing extreme makeup, this portrays a sense of the reader having access to these luxuries as they are promoted throughout. The magazine images include predominately white models, showing the ideal female image as corrupt as it is not an accurate representation.

How is female beauty defined?

Female beauty is defined in the magazine as being wealthy enough to afford such luxury items. In relation to the front cover, it uses Turkish headwear which represents the model as exotic, however this could be considered as cultural appropriation in modern society as they have not included a Turkish model. The expensive jewellery and headwear is also reinforced by the feature focusing on money, portraying a form of status that is exhibited through female beauty. The front cover and Heatwave Holiday feature both define women as independent through the use of media language. The advertisements in the magazine focus on either makeup or skin care, suggesting that the overall health of a woman is not important and that she should look a certain way. However, the imperial leather advert is different because it focuses on caring mothers and therefore the use of makeup is not necessary.

How is the reader positioned in relation to the representations that the magazine offers? Are the models, stars or celebrities who feature in the magazine constructed as aspirational figures?

The representations of the models throughout the magazine offer an insight into the aspirers. The front cover includes an image of Sophia Loren presented as powerful by the size of the image, she is seen as someone to look up to for the reader. Sophia is wearing expensive earrings and clothing suggesting that her status is defined by money, she is also a successful actress which creates a form of personal identity and aspiring between the reader and the model. All the models in the magazine also offer personal identity for the audience as they are there to be looked up to. The magazine also makes it clear that money is important through the articles with the ‘question and answers’ article connoting a form of status and superiority. However, the magazine also underrepresentation of black models, this can be seen with the only ethnic minority representations are in the background of the images, representing them as inferior. The advertisements which feature in the magazine are promoting makeup, suggesting that a woman should care more about her appearance than health.

To what extent does the magazine define a woman’s value in terms of the way she looks?

The race underrepresentation sees non-white readers feeling irrelevant and unimportant as the magazine does not focus on the beauty of different ethnicities. With the magazine not being diverse, this creates a form of racism in the media industry towards the idea of ‘female beauty’. The magazine also defines a woman’s value with the exclusion of natural beauty and the overrepresentation of makeup, creating a sense of insecurity for the reader as not reaching societies expectations. However, it could be argued that the ‘Imperial Leather’ advertisement breaks these standards by suggesting that skincare is more important and presents a loving mother and child relationship as more important instead.