Bliss - Live it, Give it -- #3

Magazine Survey

Does the media effect how a girl thinks of herself? In my opinion, yes, for some. When you look through a magazine, you see pictures of girls and women portray what they think is “perfect” or the “ideal image”. It raises the standards for girls on how they think they should look like, or even how they should act. And with that, it also changes their interests and their dreams. What they want to be when they get older or just their goals for the year or even semester. The media has a big impact on what girls and women think of themselves.

When I create characters for books I create what I think is an ideal person. Someone with values I think are important, such as, leadership, friendship and passion. And lots of times I look at my characters that were supposed to be after real people, say… me, and I have transformed them into what I want them to be, not what they are.

And that happens with people, not characters; they try to change themselves for what they think are the better. Just because of what they read or what they see. I have conducted a survey of one of my favorite magazines Justine! and I have learned much about this magazine through this survey versus just reading it. I would strongly suggest doing this same survey for a magazine that you read.

 

 

            Magazine: Justine Magazine

            Month and Year: April/May 2013

            Count the number of ad pages

            11 Ads for beauty and makeup products and services, including perfume

            29 Ads for fashion and accessories, including jewelry, handbags, shoes

            6 Ads for other products and services

            Count the number of pages with editorial content

            18 Editorial or non-ad pages

            Survey the subjects or topics addressed in the editorial content, aside from beauty and fashion

            0 Arts and culture  1 Charity work, philanthropy  1 Travel

            0 Architecture, home décor  0 Dating and relations  0 World affairs

            3 Celebrity news, gossip  2 Health and fitness   16 Other

            2 Careers, business  0 Money management

Count the number of:

0 Women in photos who look like you

2 Women in photos doing something active like kayaking, biking, tennis

1 Women in photos who are or seem to be working

4 Women whom you would describe as looking “perfect”

5 Articles about women that you are interested in reading

1Ads that seem to reflect your values and standards in some way

2 Articles that seem to reflect your values and standards in some way