2. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?
Age
I have represented age on my magazine by using stereotypes of what people
would associate with teenage girls. I have used the idea of using make up on
my model especially the idea of bright red lipstick as this portrays femininity
and also sexuality which is one stereotype placed on teenage girls in society.
I have also done this in what the models are wearing in the pictures. On my
front cover she is wearing a dress with a belt around the waist which also
shows femininity as it emphasises their curves and body and a stereotype
presented onto teenage girls is about their body image and this could show
this. Also on my contents page the model is wearing a blouse and skirt
which are both very feminine. On my double page spread my model is
wearing a dress which also shows femininity but also sexuality. Also on my
double page spread I got my model doing things such as putting on make up
and make up is associated with the age of teenage girls through society. Also
all of the pictures I have took, the models are posing and positioned to the
camera or looking away from the camera and this also shows the teenage
youth as teenage girls can be represented and have a stereotype of showing
off and this shows this as they are confident in what they are doing and also
the idea of posing is a very feminine connotation and stereotype of the age
of teenage girls.
3. Gender
I have presented the idea of gender through my magazine as very female
dominant and very feminine. This is because from my audience research, the
majority of responses were female and so would be interested to see female
dominance in a magazine as they could look up to them as role models. Firstly, I
have shown the gender of girly as all the models on my pictures are wearing in
make up and so this is something which is stereotypically put with the gender of
females that they all wear make up and so my magazine uses this connotation
throughout. Also the clothes of which my models are wearing show the gender of
female very clearly as the are wearing dresses, skirts and blouses. This shows the
gender of females as these are associated with this gender and only this gender.
Also clothes like this show off their body and females have a stereotypical
connotation linked with them that they show more skin and show of their curves
and I have presented this idea in my own magazine. Also to show gender of
females I have used small props in my images such as a make up brush which links
back to the idea of make up which is stereotypically put with the gender of
females that they all wear make up. Also I have used the small prop of a mirror
which is featured very clearly in the image on my contents page. This represents
the female gender as the girls can have a stereotype attached to them that they
are vain and so having my model looking into the mirror shows this very clearly.
Also my models have long hair which also shows the stereotypically
representation of gender. The model on my front cover and double page spread
has long blonde hair and blue eyes which is the connotation attached to the
female gender and this links into shows Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze.
4. Class
My magazine represents the Middle Class. I firstly represent this as my models
have a healthy appearance on them and so this shows that they are middle
class . Also representing the class of middle class in my magazine is that my
models are dressed fashionably and so can be seen as a high street/designer
clothes and so would stereotypically be associated with the middle class. Also
it could be seen that they are the latest fashion trends and this kind of topic is
more common and a connotation with the middle class. Also representing
middle class in my magazine is the idea of wealth. This is due to that firstly, my
magazine is priced at £2.00 which from doing my research I found that £2.00
suited my audience best and also that it is in the middle of the price range of
magazines, it is not too expensive but it is also not really cheap. Also showing
wealth is that on the front cover the model is wearing a gold belt, and the
colour gold carries the connotation with being wealth and so this implies that
my model is wealthy and this implies the middle class as they are not too bad
off with money and so will be able to relate to this. Also to show middle class
could be the language I use in my interview on my double page spread. The
language I choose isn't very difficult to read and follow so it would attract a
wider audience whereas, if I made the language to complex some people
might of found it more harder and more of a challenge to follow. However, if it
was too basic and simple, the audience of the older teenage age might feel like
they are reading something that was published for kids or it could even leave
them too fell like it is slightly patronising for them. Also for a middle class
language, I have used no swear words and from my research I found that this
was a more common theme in a working class magazine.
5. Social Group
My magazine doesn’t really have a direct intended social group which can be
categorised into something as a compressed category such as indie, hipsters ect
however, I would categorise it as a girly and feminine social group more aimed
for the teenager group. This is due to the idea of all the connotations about
make up, fashionable clothing, how the hair is styled and also the idea of how
the models are posed in the images. Also to show that my magazine has girly
features I have used girly font colours such as on the contents page I used the
tool in Photoshop where the words ‘Sound’ and ‘Exclusive first interview with
Abi Lee’ I matched this colour with the colour of the lipstick featured on my
model. Also font style to get across the idea of femininity as in the contents page
I used the font for ‘this week’ as very fancy and what would be associated with a
more feminine font. The ethnicity of my social group would be more dominantly
White British. This is due to the idea of that my models are all White British and
so support and get this across. Also the language I have used throughout shows
a White British ethnicity as I have used a more traditional style and tone of
language as it is more standard English which is more common through the
White British ethnicity. Also the social group of female White British ethnicity is
suitable for my magazine as looking as looking at the uses and gratifications
model, Denis McQuill looks at the common reasons of why people use the
media such as time entertainment for relaxation and escaping form problems
and also such as finding out information and that people also use media to help
find a personal identity and also for social reasons such as finding a conversation
topic and so this all applies for a white British social group as they have an easy
access to these and also is a common feature in the way they live. This shows
that my magazine, models and all are representing a more white British ethnicity
and also showing a female teenage social group.
