Girlfriend Magazine

Girlfriend Magazine March Issue

Girlfriend magazine is an Australian teen magazine that targets girls between the ages of 12 and 17. It's content is a mix of entertainment, fashion, beauty, advice and lifestyle articles.

According to a 2006 report done by Magazine Publishers of America, 78% of teenagers read magazines. (http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall07/Moorhouse/impact.html). It has been revealed that girls rely on these magazines as a way of expressing themselves and getting inspiration for beauty and other advice. More shockingly, research has shown that almost half the girls between ages 12 and 15 thought of these magazines as as good a friends as their closest friends. (http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall07/Moorhouse/impact.html). If magazines have this much influence on young teenage girls, then isn't it our duty to be more worried about what messages they are sending.

This years March issue has Lea Michele as their cover girl. As most teenage girls know, Lea is a well known actress from the hit TV show Glee, with her also just recently releasing songs for her upcoming album. However its not her creative artistic abilities which have thrown her into the media recently- it was the tragic death on July 13th 2013 of Cory Monteith, Lea's boyfriend at the time that suddenly made Lea and Glee a household name once more.

Lea is a white skinned, beautiful young adult with a picture perfect face and flawless skin. She's portrayed in the media and especially in this magazine as the ideal role model for young girls. On this cover she looks almost inhumanly perfect- her hair is wavy, styled and healthy, her skin is flawless, her makeup is styled to perfection in a deceivingly simple way and her toned body is flaunted in a crop top exposing her midriff. To the young girls looking at this magazine Lea Michele is portrayed as the ideal girl who everyone wishes they could be. The magazine wants you to believe that her beauty is something attainable that you should aspire to have- they want you to flick through their magazine and need to buy all the products their advertising because they will help you become more like Lea Michele. But what most of these girls will fail to notice is the little stamp on the bottom left corner of the cover that states that "this image was supplied to us retouched". It's great that Girlfriend magazine has stated this but I can't help but think that it was put their out of tokenism. The magazine wants to be known as a business that doesn't promote unattainable beauty but in reality it is in their best interests to have girls flick through their magazines and want to be just like the cover girl and beg their parents to buy the latest beauty product that the magazine is advertising. Girls wouldn't be drawn to magazines like girlfriend if all they were looking at was something they see everyday- they want to believe that there is something bigger and better that they can aspire to be in life.

The name 'Girlfriend' in itself comes with multiple connotations. The magazine wants to be your bestfriend and a source of information that has to be true, because after all they are your bestfriend. They want you to believe that everything that they see must be true and is a trusted source to find the information on how to live your life. They use pink and purple as the cover scheme which immediately will attract any young girls eye (thats if we're going by the absurd stereotypes that society has set for girls). They advertise articles by introducing them in ways that a friend would tell you a secret, such as- "Psst! Get the secrets to a happy life" and "love-me syndrome. Do you have it?". This draws the readers attention by using topics that girls are thinking about at this age. It get's the girls on side and attempts to build up a trust that will let the magazine influence you in anyway they want. 

With a target audience of 12-17 year old girls you'd hope that this magazine would be attempting to portray positive messages about body image, relationships and other things that girls of this age worry about. Instead this magazine plays on these insecurities by having articles based on improving these qualities instead of accepting them. In this particular issue most advertisements were selling clothing/jewellery items and beauty products for the skin and hair, and the majority of articles talking about relationships with boys and advice as to how to get boys. What does it say about a magazine that claims to be your bestfriend but wants you to change everything about you. The articles about boys are possibly the most disturbing part about this magazine. They have made the assumption that all girls in that age range are desperate for a boyfriend and would change anything and do anything to get one. If girls read this they could get the idea that these opinions are the norm and of course they should be thinking like this too.

This magazine is full of stereotypes that you see all over the media. For example the image of a teenage girl that they portray as normal is innocent, girly, fit and healthy, boy obsessed and willing to change everything about them to get a boy. This is obviously a completely inaccurate representation of teenage girls and sets a bad example to anyone who reads the magazine. Boys who may be reading it could also create an idea of a perfect girl that is impossible for anyone to live up to. 

You can't expect a teen magazine to be able to include every minority and group known to man but it's unacceptable to have the majority of its articles and pictures only being of white pretty girls. Some groups and topics they have failed to represent are the disabled, sexual preference, career choices involving politics and positions of power, and girls of colour. The one page that is dedicated to a girl of colour is solely based on fitness. You'd think it would be in the best interests of the magazine to try and relate to as many teenage girls as possible, so I struggle to understand why they would only represent such a small group of people. 

In my opinion this magazine, and in fact most teen magazines today are having a strongly negative impact on its readers. Girl's especially learn that there is only one way to have a fulfilling life and that's to be popular, pretty and to have a boyfriend. The pages are covered with pictures of gorgeous girls that have the intention to make the readers feel insecure about their bodies so when they flick to the next page and see an advertisement for a product "that is sure to make you feel beautiful", they can't help but buy it. In order for girls to feel happy and secure in themselves the media needs to stop posting unrealistic representations of the typical teenage girls.