Task 3: Essay!

To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Teenage magazines are becoming more popular day by day, but how are they affecting young girls? With the constant pressure of having the perfect hair or wearing the latest fashion, are magazines to blame for the increase in low-self esteem on young girls?

Magazines frequently discuss the latest trends, boy gossip and male-up issues but it is argued that this is having a negative impact upon many of the young girls in modern day society. According to watchdog, teen magazines are to blame for the young sexualisation of young girls. Girls as young as 10 are consistently reading magazines which inform readers on the “4 steps to snogging” which is shown on a cover on ‘Sugar’ magazine whose readers have an average age of just 14. Young readers of ‘sugar’ magazine can read about “the truth about your teens; virginity, puberty, divorce”. Ed Mayo, chief executive of Consumer Focus said, "There is no doubt that some of these magazines are responsible for the early sexualisation of children." Girls who are below the age of consent are already being given tips on grabbing that perfect boy immediately putting pressure on them over their sexual activity. The media create this 'perfect' image of what a natural and normal body should look like using photo-shop but how achievable is it for young girls to actually reach? Dr Helen Wright said, referring to teenagers, "they are under a huge amount of pressure buffeted by these images and messages." Photo-shop can completely change what someone looks like, erasing spots, changing hair colour and even changing the shape of a person's body. When the celebrities are photo-shopped into having the ideal body shape often the readers will try to achieve this with 79% of teenage girls who self-purge frequently reading women's fitness and health magazines according to http://www.raderprograms.com/causes-statistics/media-eating-disorders.html. A shocking 81% of ten-year old girls experience a fear of being fat, so are these magazines aimed at young girls actually having an affect on the way they see themselves?

Although many people point out the negatives that magazines have on young girls, they do also contain useful information and give the readers something to look forward to. Although the ‘Sugar’ magazine cover which contains “the truth about your teens; virginity, puberty, divorce” could be seen negatively, it could be argued that it informs young girls on the next few years of their life. Although the idea of divorce probably won’t be on 14 year olds minds, it is important that they read about it. Reading that article could give these young girls an insight into the down side of growing up showing it’s not all ‘fashion’ and ‘snogging’. It will give them a sense of reality and also give advice on any future problems. Surely if these young girls are buying magazines, they enjoy reading them? It gives them something to look forward to each time the latest edition is released. It could also be argued that at least they’d be reading rather than continuously playing on the computer. Many magazines also have an ‘agony aunt’ section where young girls can read and seek out their problems, so surely it’s better to educate them rather than keep them in the dark?

Magazines do have both their positive and negative impacts on society and they change the way many teenagers view themselves, but are magazines the only thing to blame when it comes to how young girls perceive themselves? Catwalk models are often seen as the ‘size 0 girls’. They represent the most glamorous body and are sometimes viewed as the ‘ideal’ girl. Recent figures suggest that 1 in 100 women has a clinically diagnosed eating disorder (http://anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/information-and-statistics-media_ ) and it’s even been reported that girls as young as 7 and 8 have been treated at Great Ormond Street hospital for eating disorders. Cultural secretary Tessa Jowell said that "young women need role models that look like real women, not stick insects on a catwalk." This shows that other factors aside from magazines are having an impact upon the way young girls see themselves and view the way they should look. 

In conclusion, although magazines do contribute to the way young girls view themselves and are often accused for sexualising them too early, there are many other factors that also add to anorexia problems, depression and low self-esteem issues. Magazines also give many girls something to look forward to each week and give them a variety of activities to do and can be useful to give young teens advice.