Decoding Women’s Magazines

This analysis focuses on the strategies by which the commercial structure shapes the cultural content, the magazines' repetitive attempts to secure a consensus about the feminine that is grounded in consumerism, and the contradictory semiotic structures at work within and between purchased ads, covert ads, and editorial features. This is a study of more than 50 glossy publications for women in the United States today, including the beauty and fashion titles, the service and home magazines, those aimed at minority readerships, new female workers, and women with special-interests and spending power. The analysis focuses on the strategies by which the commercial structure shapes the cultural content, the magazines' repetitive attempts to secure a consensus about the feminine that is grounded in consumerism and the contradictory semiotic structures at work within and between purchased advertisements, covert advertisements and editorial features.