HOW US WEEKLY AND PEOPLE CONTRIBUTE TO WOMEN’S STEREOTYPES BREANNA RACK

THESIS Demographics: Women who are employed by lower-end jobs, have children, and may or may not be married. These women are desperate to change class. Through a content analysis of the ads in the January 23, 2012 editions of US Weekly and People, I will prove that women are constructed solely in terms of physical improvement and domesticity revealing that the concentration on the “perfection” within the entertainment industry is a replacement of hobbies and increases the interest in fantasy.

VALUE OF WOMEN Beauty Insecurity 64 % of beauty ads contain the celebrities that the women who subscribe to these magazines read about. Out of 14 ads concerning beauty products, only 1 was a “higher end” product. The only beauty ad featuring a man was for chapstick, a couple was kissing. Out of 55 ads total, 14 of them were for beauty, or 25%. Domesticity None of the domestic ads contained any celebrities – removing that aspect of life from “celeb culture” and signifying an even greater disparity in their lives. 18 out of 55 ads (33%) were advertising feminine needs and domestic items. 47 out of 55 ads (85%) contained the product in them. The ads that did not contain a product were usually for birth control or tampons.

WOMEN’S HOBBIES DISPLAYED The only form of “entertainment” portrayed were ads for various TV shows. Either “reality” or “dramas” 5 out of the 55 ads (9%) were for TV shoes. These magazines are displayed for entertainment. These magazines portray the message that women’s lives suck, but there are still celebs who go through the same drama that they do– pregnancy, marriage, break ups, and other trials. The magazine also displays the wealth that celebs have in order to reiterate how different they really are from the women reading the article.

Overall, the lack of women’s hobbies displayed in the magazine are evidence that these women do not need hobbies because they are focused on the entertainment industry and highlighting what makes them different from celebrities. These women want to enter the upper class, but it is unlikely that they ever will achieve that so instead they focus on doing what they can to make themselves “feel” like celebs (by becoming more beautiful) while still having to focus on the reality of their domestic lives.