Female Teens and Magazines

As females grow from children, to being teenagers, to adulthood, we feel the need to learn and discover things about the world that pique our curiosity. This often involves how to be accepted, ways to manage careers, studies and living, and how to be content with ourselves. Often though, we find that in crucial stages of this growth from a child to a woman, we lack the confidence to ask people face to face. This is where the almighty magazine comes in. Ever since the 1940's when Seventeen Magazine came out, teen magazines have exploded in popularity of magazine genre.
As teen magazine popularity and markets have grown, so have the development of the media's control into what we read. The primary focuses of Teen Magazines are topics such as fashion, beauty, celebrity gossip, boys, and advice. However, the ways these products are advertised are very stereotypical.
Ads for flawless skin in teen magazines often have a model who is slightly older than the normal age that teens get pimples, and even so, this model is photoshopped to unrealistic degrees. In fact, even after the model has been airbrushed and given defined features, their features are further distorted to impossible proportions that supposedly are used as a representation of beauty.

The woman on the left has been photographed, then photoshopped to the point of exaggeration on the right. In magazines, people may or may not be as extremely photoshopped as this image shows us, there is absolutely no way the audience would know, but this image does illustrate the point that people CAN be changed to the point where these physical features are incredibly unrealistic. 

Imagine flipping through a magazine and seeing an image of the woman on the right paired with an advertisement for a skin care product e.g. moisturizer. The model looks beautiful and has flawless skin, no blemishes, wrinkles, nothing. We know she has been chosen to sell this product because of her beauty, so she is obviously a demonstration of what being beautiful is. And even though we know that the moisturizer may not work in a way that gives us skin as great as hers, we can still read this image as one to aim to be like in order to be classified as 'beautiful'. But the horrid truth is that SHE DOES NOT EXIST. Us poor, unsuspecting readers won't know this though. For all we know she has been given some light natural make-up, and been shot in front of a beige background. That's it. So now all the connotations of beauty and flawlessness we have associated with her image are no longer amongst the realms of reality.

So now that we have bought into this false reality, we believe that buying the product paired with it will somehow relate to the perfection we see before us. Furthermore, once the product is purchased and used, the consumer can only be disappointed when they find it does not have the effect they wished it would. But because we trust so much in the advertisment, in the words that say "Smooth skin you will love!", we buy more of the same or similar beauty products until we are satisfied. But satisfaction in our selves cannot be achieved solely by physically changing our selves or conforming to the ideal image of beauty, it strays from our natural selves and our subconicous knowledge of this even though we continue to move WITH the media's reperesntation of beauty, is actually quite scary.

Film Representation- Easy A

Easy A is a film that follows the story of how an 18 year old girl, Olive, creates a stereotype for her self. A rumour begins to spread that she is sleeping around, when really she is just confirming that she is to give the guys at the bottom of the schools social status a new more 'manly' reputation. This lie was never to benefit her self- she only held the persona of the school slut up because it was what people wanted to believe; she fed the idea to keep others happy. This shows us that really, Olive is a countertype character. Most teenage girls would not be comfortable with having such a widespread, untrue rumour being spread about them.

As a teenage girl, I know that one of the biggest, most degrading insults a girl can take is for someone to actually think and call you a slut. Teenage girls would typically be very upset about this stereotype, as it is also such a hard one to escape. So for Olive to take this in her stride and actually continue to strengthen the rumour just proves how against the grain her character really is.

Film Representation- Bring It On Cheerleaders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGwQTIV9b_4

In this video, the cheerleader stereotype is being exaggerated. The teenage girls cheerleading in this video speak of themselves as if they are every guys dream girl when it comes to looks.

"I'm sexy, I'm cute,I'm popular to boot.
I'm bitchin', great hair,the boys all love to stare.
I'm wanted, I'm hot,I'm everything your not.
I'm pretty, I'm cool,I dominate this school!
Who am I? Just guess,Guys wanna touch my chest..."

The lyrics that are associated with the girls we are shown tell us that they are the definitions of these words 'sexy' and 'hot' and 'cute'... and it even informs us these are the qualities you need to posses to be 'wanted' and what 'the boys all love to stare' at. Because this movie is largely aimed at teenage girls, the female audience watching will be viewing these messages and may begin to apply them to their own reality. At the same time, teenage males will see these messages as insight into what they should be pleased by and what they should desire in a girl.
Being a teenage girl my self, I know comparison to what we see and hear about other girls is a constant factor of how we perceive our selves.

"I'm not as tanned as the girl who is known as 'hot' in this movie... maybe that means I won't ever be wanted?" This is an example of a background thought that would run through our minds when we see movies that portray teenage girls in such a stereotypical light. Teen girls are constantly told be the media to be perky and hot and girly to be considered attractive, and  the media also tells us that being attractive is what makes you successful. So in order to succeed and be happy and accepted, we must buy beauty products and fashionable clothes etc until we ARE that way. Even after changing your appearance though, we find that there is no way to completely reach this goal. This only sets teenage girls up for more disappointment, more need for information on how to to be attractive etc, and creates more opportunities for the media to feed them whatever they want.

Commercial Representation.- Barbie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hhjjhYGQtY&feature=iv&src_vid=h8-avPUxyno&annotation_id=annotation_660006

"Barbie you're beautiful, you make me too. My Barbie doll is really real. Barbie's small and so petite, her clothes and figure look so neat. Her dancing outfit rings a bell, at parties she will cast a spell. Purses, hats, and gloves galore, and all the gadgets gals adore... Some day I'm gonna be exactly like you. Till then I know just what I'll do. Barbie, beautiful Barbie, I'll make believe that I am you."

In 1959 Barbie began her reign over childhood playtime. Little girls all over the world desired a Barbie doll to play with and be her own. Ever since then, Barbie has been of huge influence to little girls everywhere, even today Barbie dominates the toy market. Because Barbie is adored so much by female children, they begin aspiring to be just like her. In the very first Barbie Commercial, It insists that the children should pretend to be her and grow up to be her. "Barbie's small and so petite. Her clothes and figure look so neat..." Is a direct relation to exactly what being Barbie is all about. However, Barbie's physical proportions are unrealistic and have been ever since she was produced. This gives young girls an unattainable goal which could lead to illnesses such as Bulimia, Anorexia and Depression.
Also, when the commercial song from 1959 tells us "Someday i'm gonna be, exactly like you.." we are given a close up shot of the doll in a big wedding gown. And  in other parts of the commercial we are shown Barbie hosting parties and wearing pretty dresses and bathing suits. This relates to the affluent, glamorous lifestyle Barbie is advertised to have in today's toy market. She seems to always be completely feminine, wealthy, and looking 'perfect'. This gives young girls the message that there is no other option in life but to fulfill the 'duties' of being a girl. In 1959 this means getting married and being a perfect woman, today this means being rich, girly and beautiful also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmTJ2ykbPuY

Notice this modern Barbie television commercial only mentions being a girly, cutie, artsy, sassy, wild or glam girl. None of these suggest any other alternatives to what being a girl can mean. This gives young girls the impression that this is the only way to live their life as a female. In result, woman have been deprived the chance equal chances in leading positions and high status' at work, and also do not have as much opportunity to participate competitively in sports.

We even see teenage girls on the internet who are internationally famous for being able to obtain such doll like features. A girl called 'KotaKoti' is known hugely over china, japan, and the US as the human Barbie.

Girls today desire these unrealistic qualities because they are so unattainable, and to be able to come as close to looking these ways is an objective now in their lives. Some females even feel the need to actually change their permanent appearance to be more doll like. This could be facial treatments such as nose jobs and lip implants, to bodily treatments such as breast implants, tummy tucks and liposuction.
The media have given Barbie this image way to sell the fantasy of being a perfect woman. The commercials and representation of women through Barbie by the media induce young girls into feeling they need to be like her and are inadequate otherwise. Because Barbie is so hugely known as such an icon for women, the inadequacy caused by not being like this fantasy woman that Barbie presents can lead to depression and mental health issues. Society also has learnt to accept the representations women now have as normal, and both females AND males set this standard for women now in reality.
The young girls who want to be a part of Barbie's fantasy are absorbed by making her perfection a reality. It leads and develops into a life-time of no being acceptance if they do not conform. This creates a perfect market for sellers and an easy audience for the media to target. It also leads into beauty products, clothing, accessories, perfume, and more.
"My Barbie doll is really real..." states the 1959 commercial. But Barbie is not real, she is a fantasy. She sets a standard for young girls to look up to, and therefore sets them up to a lifetime of disappointment.

1959 Barbie and 2012 Barbie>

Music Video Representation- Taylor Swift

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw

Taylor Swift's 'You Belong With Me' starts out as a cute story of how a slightly geeky/nerdy teenage girl falls in love with her next door neighbour, the popular quarterback jock. Yes, it is the tale of poor old cinderlla and her prince charming. As the video moves on we see that boy does in fact enjoy Taylor's company, even when she is a nerd, but the catch is that he has a very glamourous girlfriend. The girlfriend is everything you would expect her to be; she sits side by side on the social throne of high school with the quarterback. She has a fancy car, she is head cheerleader, she wears make-up, straightens her hair, and greets her man with a possessive kiss.
Sadly, as the song moves on, the message takes a turn. And Taylor constantly compares her self to the boy's girlfriend during every chorus. The lyrics,


"But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers"

talk about the comparison of her physical appearance, then the different social status' they have. Taylor's intentions are meant to highlight how the girl who acts as her self and is normal has the true understanding personality that the boy should choose instead of the high maintenance and materialistic persona of his girlfriend. However, through the last chorus she finds that the only way to finally win him over, and have the confidence to step out and admit her feelings, she needs to dress up in a beautiful dress, take her glasses off, let her hair down, wear make-up, and stop studying. 
This only proves further that as a female we need to be man's object of desire and conform to the images and stereotypes females are given through the media. The more this message is fed to females, especially teenagers and young girls, the more these women try to change them selves because they know nothing else but to do so in order to succeed in life. It becomes self harmful in result because, as a female grows increasingly into their own person and further away from the stereotype of a female, they must betray their true persona to become this idealistic form that the world perceives as normal. It's unhealthy, and in some cases can lead to depression, self esteem issues, anorexia etc because the need to become the perfect female image becomes too strong. In Taylor Swift's music video, this intelligent, unique girl does conform to the stereotypical female image.
The intentions of this song and its paired music video are wholesome, but it has not escaped the strong influence the media has that creates a sense of insecurity in teenage girls who would watch this piece of film.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes. These are the common categories we use to cheat our way through the interpretation of a person's personality through their general appearance. Members of a social group or 'clique' are often slotted together under the same stereotype.

On a first impression we can make up our mind on how we perceive someone in just the first 3 minutes we meet them. This means what a person wears, what they say, how they hold themselves, their actions... all within only a snapshot of their lives. Quite often our initial assumptions about a person are wrong. So here we are, walking past a teenage girl with bright blonde hair, dressed in pink, holding a duffel bag in one hand and texting off her cellphone in the other. We take a look, absorb the scene, and then stereotype her as 'the dumb blonde'. Pretty, self absorbed, girl, materialistic... these are all connotations of her image that we see through the media is this dumb blonde stereotype. But this could be very wrong, there could be several reasons for how she presents her self and we don't know anything about her other than this appearance. So unfortunately we judge them based on this.

Why would we do this? Surely it has been drummed into us enough times that appearances aren't always what they seem? But unfortunately there is a conflicting message being  drummed even harder into us by the media. The media use stereotypes constantly to categorize the world into target markets and grouped audiences. This makes it easier for them to sell people products, ideas, films, opinions etc. It also works in the opposite way. Whenever a person wishes to read, watch, or purchase something produced by the media, they begin to subconsciously search for something that is then generally designed for their own 'stereotype'. Because we apply stereotypes to ourselves, and because it is so widely broad casted by the media, people begin to use stereotypes to categorize their own lives and, as I have mentioned earlier, 'cheat' their way through the interpretation of one's personality and our own personalities. With these generic personas formed in our minds, we feel we must conform to them and fulfill them even more. This means purchasing goods and services that help us live up to the stereotype or image we feel we fit.