Danielle Gumina CMC 100 Fall 2010 Semester Paper 2 Professor Gournelos November 4, 2010 A content analysis on the construction of the “female fantasy” in bridal and teen prom magazines.

Introduction/Thesis For my first paper, I did a textual analysis on an ENZOANI ad in Martha Stewart Weddings’ fall 2010 issue. I examined the elements of this ad that constructed a negative portrayal of the “female fantasy” of “the perfect bride”. I argued that it opposed the media’s contemporary vision of “the perfect bride” (which is not necessarily representative of the entire female population) by highlighting darkness in her attitude, physical appearance, setting, and surroundings, thus delivering an alternate vision of perfection. For this second paper, I will concentrate on how each magazine (Martha Stewart Weddings, South Asian Bride, and Teen Prom) portrays elements of race differently in their ads and how each magazine constructs a different vision of the “female fantasy” in order to touch upon their demographics. I argue that these various views of race in each magazine exercise different applications of emotion, body language, and setting with regards to the “female fantasy”, which as a result, exemplifies diversity in contemporary “female fantasies”.

What is the “female fantasy”? The media’s definition or portrayal of the “female fantasy” is fairytale perfection. – (that does not exist). Whiteness, bright lights, family, friends, laughter, comfort coming from material goods, lots of detail, no conflicts, no drama, and in many cases a rare romantic bond between a male and female that conquers it all – a scenario that is all too good to be true. By emphasizing this kind of fairytale, the media makes people want to believe that reality shares this possibility and that it is achievable. So in that case, advertisers market their products so that they are associated in some way with the fairytale like “female fantasy”. This of course encourages more consumption.

Section 1: Demographics Martha Stewart Weddings = a VERY “white” magazine targeting a higher class. South Asian Bride = a VERY “ethnic” magazine also targeting a wealthier class but of middle eastern/Asian groups. Teen Prom = a VERY “young” magazine targeting teenagers of comfortable social statuses/middle class and up. ** Note: the ads that do include other races are pretty “white” for their race so you have to look more closely to see the racial difference, if it’s at all obvious. MS Weddings  6% SA Bride  65% TP  27%

Section 2 & 3: Emotion and Body Language 1. MSW  out of the 9 ads that show a race other than white, 33% show positive emotion – happiness and smiling. 67% show depressed/ reserved emotion SAB  out of the 31 ads that show a race other than white, 68% show positive emotion and 32% show serious emotion. TP  out of the 22 ads that show a race other than white, 64% show positive emotion and 36% show serious emotion. 2. MSW  no connection of body language with happiness; out of the sad ads, all figures are standing (mannequin like) with slight position of arms – not significant and not expressive, hence NOT sexual. SAB  the happy ads show figures with flexible movements but not too distracting. It can still almost act as a mannequin;/slightly sexual because of clothing; out of the serious ads (note: there is NO depiction of sadness in this magazine) body language is stationary and sometimes clothing is incorporated –ex. Covering part of face to hide facial expression. TP  all 14 happy ads show figures interactive with others in groups, very expressive with body; out of the serious ads, figures are shown both stationary and expressive. 63% (5/8) are expressive and 37% (3/8) are stationary. – there are some consistencies of sexuality in the serious ads.

Section 3: Settings & So What?  MSW  no connection of happiness with location; all sad ads have grey backgrounds = Dark fantasy. SAB  57% of happy ads are located in elaborate environments – ex. Wedding reception. 14% are outdoors – ex. Beach area. 29% are in front of a warm detailed patterned background. 70% of serious ads are placed in front of less detailed patterned backgrounds, sometimes blurred, and usually not warm but cooler colored. 30% of serious ads were also placed in certain locations like the outdoors or the fashion runway. TP  54% of happy ads are surprisingly placed in plain colored backgrounds, sometimes with animation icons but look fun. 9% are placed outside in front of the city skyline or in courtyard. 23% of serious ads are placed in plain backgrounds, 37% are placed in various locations such as in front of a city skyline, a residential area, or in a courtyard. So what? MSW  portray darker fantasies of marriage emphasizing “whiteness”, reserved/depressed emotions, in dark dull settings with little to no body expression = a dark fantasy and dress SAB  portray typical “female fantasy” of marriage emphasizing positive emotion, flexible/expressive body language unique for culture, and tying that with an elaborate setting. TP  portray typical “female fantasy” of prom emphasizing positive emotion, positive social interaction, in various fun settings.