Sign-In
Cart
Cosmo Woman: The World of Women's Magazines
Paperback
Business of WritingWriting InstructionGeneral Sociology
ISBN13: 9781861712851
Publisher: Crescent Moon Publishing
Published: Oct 1 2010
Pages: 168
Weight: 0.54
Height: 0.36 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
COSMO WOMAN
This is one of the few full-length explorations of the women's magazine market. Focussing on Cosmopolitan magazine, Oliver Whitehorne considers every aspect of the women's magazine, from themes and issues to images and style. The feminism in women's magazines is discussed in detail, and is related to second wave feminism and third wave or 'postmodern' feminism.
As well as Cosmopolitan, the author also studies many other magazines in the women's magazine market, and related magazines, such as lifestyle magazines and men's magazines.
The author looks at the use of advertizing and consumerism in women's magazines and other lifestyle and consumer magazines, drawing on many examples of ads which are deconstructed in detail.
EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER TWO, THE COSMO WOMAN
Let's start with the typical front page of Cosmopolitan. As with most other women's magazines, Cosmopolitan features a woman, a model, smiling. It's not a movie star, or someone with a name (the model, we see inside, is called 'Rohini'. Models/ supermodels are known by their first names: Naomi, Claudia, Kate). The imagery of the woman is 'positive', 'exuberant', 'young', 'tanned', 'smart', 'in control', 'self-confident'. The photographs on the covers of women's magazines speak of healthy living, clean-washed clothes, where white is truly sparkling white. Teeth are perfect. There are no wrinkles or unsightly flabby bits of skin. The models' skin is blemishless. Jewellery is perfect and there are no 'bad hair' days for cover stars. This woman is nameless but she is also 'Cosmo woman', centrepiece of the image chosen to sell this month's issue of the magazine. The model is selected to portray the mood and aims of the magazine, and to leap out of the other magazines on the racks. She is, of course, also the mirror of the audience, but a stylized, idealized mirror. The cover of Cosmo shows the would-be buyer and audience what they could be like. It is a piece of advertizing, the magazine cover. It invites the browser into the world of the magazine. It has to make a direct and instantaneous appeal to the potential buyer. Booksellers know that the most important aspect of a book's sales potential is its cover. Magazines have developed cover design to a refined artform, and each magazine has its house style, its code of subtle laws that consumers read in a very sophisticated manner. There may not be much to read on the cover, but it takes a while to really explain and understand the significance of every aspect of a cover. Like a movie poster or a burger bar menu, a magazine cover is a highly stylized product (physical details of the magazine cover include type size, shape and colour; size and texture of paper; the sell-lines; the lay-out; it's also crucial where the magazine is displayed - high or low, or next to particular magazines).
Also in
Writing Instruction
1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round
Attenberg, Jami
Hardcover
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Paperback
Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
The Well-Spoken Thesaurus: The Most Powerful Ways to Say Everyday Words and Phrases
Heehler, Tom
Paperback
Blasting Through Blocks: An Artist's Way Guide to Unleashing Your Inner Creativity
Cameron, Julia
Paperback
Paying for College, 2027: Everything You Need to Maximize Financial Aid and Afford College
Martz, Geoffrey
The Princeton Review
Chany, Kalman
Paperback
The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper
Wright, Alex
Hardcover
Libro de caligrafía para adultos: Explorando la belleza de las letras - Mi primer cuaderno de caligrafía creativa
Style, Life Daily
Paperback
Write a Novel in 100 Days: The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing Your Book Fast
Purcell, Kim
Paperback
The Modern Guide to Querying Literary Agents: From Rejection to Representation in 8 Steps
McDonald, Patrick
Matesic, Alyssa
Paperback
Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing (Large Print Edition)
Coben, Harlan
Paperback
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition)
Ackerman, Angela
Puglisi, Becca
Paperback
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
Brody, Jessica
Paperback
Sit Write Here: 6 Mindfulness Practices to Help You Write More and Suffer Less
Dávila, April
Paperback
Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing
Kaufman, Sarah L.
Hardcover
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Paperback
Page One to Done: Finish Your Novel in 30 Days with the Fast Drafting Method
Brody, Jessica
Paperback
Take It from Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch
Habib, Alia Hanna
Hardcover
The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects
Sedita, Joan
Paperback
Seberson Method: New Sat(r) Vocabulary Workbook: Over 700 High-Frequency Words to Master
Seberson, Katya
Paperback
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
Ahrens, Sönke
Paperback
Read These Banned Books: A Journal and 52-Week Reading Challenge from the American Library Association
American Library Association (ALA)
Paperback
AP English Language and Composition Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Online Practice
Schanhals, Michael
Paperback
Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less (Revised and Updated)
Allen, Mike
Schwartz, Roy
Vandehei, Jim
Hardcover
Publication Manual (Official) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Hardcover
Princeton Review AP English Language & Composition Premium Prep, 21st Edition: 8 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
AP English Literature and Composition Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Online Practice
Schanhals, Michael
Paperback
Handwriting Practice Book for Kids Ages 6-8: Printing workbook for Grades 1, 2 & 3, Learn to Trace Alphabet Letters and Numbers 1-100, Sight Words, 10
Hippidoo
Lalgudi, Sujatha
Paperback
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers
Turabian, Kate L.
Paperback
The Vocabulary Builder Workbook: Simple Lessons and Activities to Teach Yourself Over 1,400 Must-Know Words
Lele, Chris
Magoosh
Paperback
Korean Stories for Language Learners: Traditional Folktales in Korean and English (Free Online Audio)
Damron, Julie
You, Eunsun
Paperback
Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Burroway, Janet
Stuckey-French, Elizabeth
Stuckey-French, Ned
Paperback
Scriptnotes: A Book about Screenwriting and Things That Are Interesting to Screenwriters
Mazin, Craig
August, John
Hardcover
The Vocabulary Workbook for 7th Grade: Weekly Activities to Boost Your Word Power
McLellan, Kelly Anne
Paperback
Princeton Review AP English Literature & Composition Premium Prep, 27th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
King, Dave
Browne, Renni
Paperback
Lonely Planet French Phrasebook & Dictionary: Learn Essential Phrases & Vocabulary 3,500 Word Two-Way Dictionary Pull-Out Fast Phrases Card Travel wit
Masclef, Jean-Pierre
Janes, Michael
Carillet, Jean-Bernard
Paperback
Learn Russian with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Russian to English
Van Den End, Kees
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
Gettys, Serafima
Paperback
Print and Cursive Handwriting Workbook: 35 Lessons to Improve Your Penmanship
Sanders, Sally
Paperback
Word Power Made Easy: The Complete Handbook for Building a Superior Vocabulary
Lewis, Norman
Paperback
The Ultimate RPG Villain Backstory Guide: Prompts and Activities to Create Compelling Antiheroes, Enemies, and Bad Guys
D'Amato, James
Apelyan, Dillin
Paperback
Thinking Through Writing: A Guide to Becoming a Better Writer and Thinker
Kaag, John
Van Belle, Jonathan
Paperback
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry
Laux, Dorianne
Addonizio, Kim
Paperback
Fact & Fiction: How to Write a Novel Inspired by Family and History
Matsumoto, Constance Hays
Paperback
The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need, Updated Edition: Your One-Stop Source for Mastering English Grammar
Thurman, Susan
Paperback
Violent Phenomena: Essays Toward the Future of Literary Translation
Bhanot, Kavita
Tiang, Jeremy
Paperback
1100 Words You Need to Know + Online Practice: Build Your Vocabulary in Just 15 Minutes a Day!
Gordon, Melvin
Carriero, Rich
Bromberg, Murray
Paperback
Chinese Writing Practice Book with Pinyin: Tian Zi Ge Notebook: Tian Zi Ge Notebook with Pinyin: Tian Zi Ge
Comtebarcelona
Paperback