How does your media product represent particular social groups?

1. How does your magazine
represent particular social
groups?
2

2. My T.A:
Social groups I had to account for were:
- Men
- Teenagers and young adults
- Middle class/Upper-middle class

3. Appeal with colours
Red is not gendered colour in the way blue and pink is. It appeals to neither men or women – thus, appeals to
the whole demographic. I made sure to use strong reds because washed out reds can look pink, which would
not necessarily appeal to a male audience.
The red would attract attention for teenagers and keep their attention because it is a powerful colour (and
younger people tend to have shorter attention spans) without alienating an older target audience or
bombarding them with subimages. This way I could appeal to a range of ages.

4. Appeal with models
The majority of the heterosexual male population are drawn to images of attractive women. Thus, I made sure
that my models were attractive in my final product. However, I did not overly sexualise them so I did not alienate
the heterosexual female population.
My models are slightly younger than the average age as they are 17. This would appeal to teenagers as they
would see someone like them on the cover. The article talks about how the girls formed their band in secondary
school, which is relatable for young, teenage musicians especially.
The girls look like anyone else. This would appeal to the middle class/upper-middle class as they can relate to
the average person who looks normal more than they can relate to an uber-hyped celebrity.

5. Appeal with costumes
The clothes the girls wore for the contents page/the front cover shot(s) were very casual and looked like
everyday outfits for teenagers. The dresses were not casual but they still aligned with a teenagers fashion sense
– as they were picked by teenagers. A young adult audience was also considered when choosing the outfits.
They are also still young and enjoy casual clothes but they would appreciate more mature outfits like dresses as
well.
The casual flannel would appeal to a middle/upper middle class audience because it’s casual and they look like
the average person. Once the girls are already established as ‘like everyone else in the beginning, it becomes
fine to show them in nicer clothes. Plus, the clothes aren’t particularly unaffordable. They are well within range
for a upper-middle class or a middle class person – which makes the girls more relatable.

6. Appeal with poses
The action shot would appeal to boys as they are stereotyped to like action and excitement. The invitational,
alluring faces would again appeal to a heterosexual male.
Their body language is relatively casual on the contents page and on the double page spread. This again makes
them seem like the average person and would appeal to a middle class audience by making them seem more
relatable.

7. Appeal with stories
When I wrote my coverlines I specifically chose bands that my survey had told me were popular. This especially
accounts for teenagers. The fanbases of these groups also contain a high saturation of young adults. Bands like
The 1975were universally recognised, thus running a story on them would be worthwhile and my target
audience would like that sort of thing. Other notable mentions from my survey were Vampire Weekend (who I
included in my strip) and Twenty One Pilots who also coverline.

8. Appeal with gifts
Initially, I was going to give away wristbands or posters as they were most popular with survery takers, however,
my one on one interview revealed that my T.A preferred free song downloads and this seemed to be more
popular in similar magazines of the same genre. I think people from the middle class would enjoy gifts as, whilst
they have enough money to purchase their own music if they have to, would appreciate gifts and free music
because they are average financially.