Magazines: Oh Comely - Representation
1) How do representations in Oh Comely challenge stereotypes?
In Oh Comely, the representations evident through the stories and cover stars challenge stereotypes in society, which are often reinforced in mainstream magazines. For example, the cover star is deliberately positioned and dressed to look a certain way- she is not sexualised, and she is portrayed as androgynous- in between femininity and masculinity. We call this a liminal space. The fact that she is not presented in a sexual way also subverts the stereotype that the biggest factor women have to offer in society is their appearance and sexuality.
2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?
Race: a positive representation, Oh Comely use a variety of women from a different background, many of these women have achieved something in their lives at a young age.
Ethnicity: a positive representation, presents a diverse range of wome
Nationality: a positive representation
3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?
Oh Comely offers an alternative representation of femininity in their articles; unlike mainstream magazines that sexualise women, Oh Comely presents them in a way so that their achievements are celebrated more than their appearances; this creates a new, positive representation of women.
4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).
Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men because the magazine is aimed at a niche audience of women; therefore, Oh Comely aims to provide content for them, things they find appealing, rather than having content aimed at men (who are largely aimed at by the media)
6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition?
It challenges the idea of binary opposition as it suggests that gender changes over time and is not biologically fixed.
7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features. One of the obvious examples included is on the front cover; the model used is presented with androgynous feautures to challenge the idea of binary oppositions in gender. Also, the fact that she is a female star all covered up challenges the idea that females should be focused on their appearance and enhancing their sexuality.
8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan orGlamour?
-The model on Oh Comely is more covered up and professional looking whereas Glamour presents their cover stars as mostly naked and sexual.
-Cosmopolitan and Glamour use celebrities whereas Oh Comely uses academic members of the public.
10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?
I somewhat agree with this statement- this is because Oh Comely displays alternative ideologies and content to mainstream magazines, therefore readers are exposed to new ideas which enables them to think about it, therefore they are more likely to interpret it in their own way as they are not familiar idea. Looking at mainstream magazines, we can see how they support this idea, as everything they produce revolves around existing, accepted ideologies therefore the readers are familiar with the content and are more prone to accepting it.
In Oh Comely, the representations evident through the stories and cover stars challenge stereotypes in society, which are often reinforced in mainstream magazines. For example, the cover star is deliberately positioned and dressed to look a certain way- she is not sexualised, and she is portrayed as androgynous- in between femininity and masculinity. We call this a liminal space. The fact that she is not presented in a sexual way also subverts the stereotype that the biggest factor women have to offer in society is their appearance and sexuality.
2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?
Race: a positive representation, Oh Comely use a variety of women from a different background, many of these women have achieved something in their lives at a young age.
Ethnicity: a positive representation, presents a diverse range of wome
Nationality: a positive representation
3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?
Oh Comely offers an alternative representation of femininity in their articles; unlike mainstream magazines that sexualise women, Oh Comely presents them in a way so that their achievements are celebrated more than their appearances; this creates a new, positive representation of women.
4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).
Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men because the magazine is aimed at a niche audience of women; therefore, Oh Comely aims to provide content for them, things they find appealing, rather than having content aimed at men (who are largely aimed at by the media)
6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition?
7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features. One of the obvious examples included is on the front cover; the model used is presented with androgynous feautures to challenge the idea of binary oppositions in gender. Also, the fact that she is a female star all covered up challenges the idea that females should be focused on their appearance and enhancing their sexuality.
8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan orGlamour?
-The model on Oh Comely is more covered up and professional looking whereas Glamour presents their cover stars as mostly naked and sexual.
-Cosmopolitan and Glamour use celebrities whereas Oh Comely uses academic members of the public.
10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?
I somewhat agree with this statement- this is because Oh Comely displays alternative ideologies and content to mainstream magazines, therefore readers are exposed to new ideas which enables them to think about it, therefore they are more likely to interpret it in their own way as they are not familiar idea. Looking at mainstream magazines, we can see how they support this idea, as everything they produce revolves around existing, accepted ideologies therefore the readers are familiar with the content and are more prone to accepting it.
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