Women's Magazines - Friend or Foe?

A new blog written by women for women called Vagenda  is gaining a lot of media attention.  It claims to be feminism with humour, taking a stand against women's magazines.  One such magazine is Grazia.  They claim it hinders rather than helps women.  One example is the continuous message that a woman cannot be single and happy whereas men move on.  Their target at the moment appears to be film star, Demi Moore who they insist on describing as "tragic" and how she is "obsessive" about getting her husband back to the point of having a breakdown in the 6th February 2012 issue.  In the same issue, it states how Heidi Klum's marriage to Seal failed due to her success.  Thereby making women believe they cannot be both successful and have a relationship.

Demi Moore on the red carpet with her daughter Rumer at Cinema for Peace benefit

Another message from Grazia to its readers is you cannot have a career and be a mother and do both well.  This is implied from the cover below with Sarah Jessica Parker.  Furthermore, last year, Grazia tweeted what is better a rich husband or a career?  Perhaps suggesting women do not need a career just a rich husband!  Essentially, the message is as long as you have a man everything will be okay! 

Vagenda also argues that these women's magazines only portray one body type - thin.  Therefore, implying other body types are unwanted resulting in women suffering from body image issues and low self esteem.  Not only this but these magazines promote cosmetic surgery as a way of eliminating these body issues they have helped create in the first place.

There are two current types of feminism - third wave and post-feminism.  Third wave feminists want to be treated equally to men.  Post-feminists believe that women are equal now and can do as they please and this tends to focus on women as consumers.  Which category do you think women's magazines fall into?

Let's take Cosmopolitan magazine, which Vagenda criticises for only discussing men, sex, fashion and beauty giving the impression that this is all that its readers should care about.  It tends to fall into the post feminism category as does Sex and the City:

"Sex and the City is able to exploit fully the glossy women's magazines' consumerist approach to sexuality, in which women's sexual pleasure and agency is frankly encouraged as part of a consumer lifestyle and attitude." (Arthurs 2003 p.85)

However, in Cosmopolitan's defence it is currently promoting its F Word campaign which is demanding equal pay for women which falls into third wave feminism.



So according to women's magazines, we have a choice to make so which is it going to be, a rich husband and children or a career?  Or stop buying these magazines?

The Portrayal of Women in Movies

When you go to the cinema to watch a movie, do you notice if women play an active role?  The bechdel test sets criteria to analyse whether a movie falls into this category as follows:

* is there two or more women?
* who speak to one another?
* about something other than men?
* for more than 60 seconds?

This does not make a film feminist, it is just the minimum required to classify a film as featuring active roles for women.  This has been brought about as women tend to be "the window dressing: girlfriends and sidekicks" (Silverstein 2011) or are talking about men.  More information is provided in the video clip below.

One issue is that many movies portray women in a stereotypical manner, in other words, as keen to meet a man, settle down and have babies as depicted in the romantic comedies think Bridget Jones, Sex and the City or any Jennifer Aniston movie.  There is little or no reference to women and their friendships (and where there is they only speak about men thus failing the bechdel test), their work and their families.

  

Carrie and Big, just married in Sex and the City movie

 

Women as consumers is another key concept in films such as Sex and the City and Confessions of a Shopaholic.  Essentially films (and television shows) depict women as only really caring about men, babies and shopping.

Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic 

Kristen Davis in Sex and the City Movie

In addition, the concept of 'male gaze' has been discussed as part of feminist film theory.  This is the idea that films tend to be shown from the male perspective, viewing women through a man's eyes as sex objects, rather than from a female perspective or as Helen Mirren phrases it when she says that the film industry is worshipping "at the altar of the 18 to 25 year old male and his penis."  For example, the advertisement below for Les Infideles has caused so much controversy that it has been withdrawn due to portraying women in a demeaning manner. 



Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher

Jessica Simpson in Dukes of Hazzard

A hugely debated topic is that women are viewed as past their prime at 40, in the movie industry, if not sooner whereas men are more in demand once they hit 40.  Think Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Tom Cruise and the list goes on.  However, think of women over 40 and ask yourself what has happened to Meg Ryan and Michelle Pfeiffer?  The only time you hear of Demi Moore now is in relation to her failed marriage to Ashton Kutcher depicting her as a sad and desperate woman and focusing on the fact that she is approaching 50, no mention of her as an actress and any upcoming roles.  However, Meryl Streep won best actress this year at the Oscars for her role in The Iron Lady at the age of 62, however, it could be argued that a young actress was never going to play the role of Margaret Thatcher.

It is not only how women are portrayed in the films, which is a cause for concern but women behind the scenes are few and far between.  Nevertheless, Bridesmaids was written by women and it is viewed from a female perspective, nevertheless, it was produced and directed by men.  Celluloid Ceiling figures for the top 250 US films produced in 2011 stated that women only made up 5% of Hollywood directors, which is a decrease of 2% from 2010.  More importantly, in 1998, the figure was higher at 7%.  So from the director perspective, things are not improving in fact they are getting worse for women!  Moreover, Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win best director at the Oscars and this only happened in 2010! 

Another consideration is that women are paid less than their male counterparts (Silverstein 2011) with Leonardo Di Caprio, who topped the Forbes chart for 2011, having been paid $77m compared to the highest earning actress, Angelina Jolie at $35m (only 45.5% of Leonardo's earnings). 

So next time you watch a movie, apply the Bechdel criteria, analyse if women are portrayed in a stereotypical manner and whether the film is viewed from a male or female perspective.

Dead Celebrities Endorsing Brands

My Week with Marilyn was released on DVD yesterday in America and will be available in the UK on Friday.  Marilyn Monroe is one of the most iconic movie stars of all time, even although this year marks the 50th anniversary of her death. The Marilyn brand (the licensing rights to her branded image were bought by Authentic Brands Group LLC in 2011) is about to go into overdrive.  Not only is there the film, there is a television show called Smash beginning next month, a London exhibition of costumes she wore and photographs, she is the official face of the 65th Cannes Film Festival, she has launched her own Twitter and Facebook accounts, there are rumours of Marilyn actually staring in a movie, Marilyn cafes, MAC are releasing a Marilyn range in October and apparently there are clothing and home lines in the pipeline.  The list goes on and on. 

Marilyn Monroe is not only now a brand herself, but due to her continuing popularity, marketers are keen for her to endorse their products even in death!  A key example of this is the Dior J'Adore advertisement below.  This also featured other dead celebrities (or 'delebs' as they have become known) Grace Kelly (there is now rumoured to be an upcoming movie about Grace Kelly with Nicole Kidman rumoured to be playing the lead role) and Marlene Dietrich. 

There are many advantages and disadvantages to using a dead celebrity to endorse a brand.  It could be argued that to use a dead celebrity to endorse your brand is a good strategic move as they will not charge you the now extortionate fees living stars charge and there are no concerns about what the celebrity might do to damage the brand's reputation.  However, is it in bad taste to use a person who died 50 years ago in this way?  Perhaps if she had only died recently then it would be condemned. If Whitney Houston suddenly appeared in an advertisement for Dior today, there would almost certainly be a backlash. However, the public appear more willing to accept the likes of Marilyn, Grace and Marlene appearing on their TV screen. This is perhaps because they all died some time ago and many viewers would not have been born when these celebrities were alive or were too young at the time to remember them. 

Marilyn at an awards ceremony in 1953

There is an ongoing debate about introducing a law (similar to California) which would create "publicity rights for dead celebrities whose names, voices, signatures, photographs or likenesses had commercial value at the time of their death." They could then bequeath these rights to their heirs and the rights would expire after 70 years.  This could raise problems for brands wishing to use the image of deceased stars.  However, would Marilyn herself have approved?  She was famously quoted as saying "What do I wear in bed? Why Chanel No.5, of course" not Dior.  Chanel is still associated with Marilyn thanks to this comment.  Also digitally altering her onto the advertisement has made her eyes look odd and that she certainly would not approve of! 

Marilyn and Chanel No.5

Do you think it is possible for a dead celebrity's image to be sold and to respect their memory?  Or is everyone just out to make money irrespective of whether the deceased star would have approved?  If so, would a new law protecting their publicity rights be a wise move?  Has our love of celebrity gone too far and become morbid?

Stella McCartney and Celebrity Associations

Stella McCartney's Autumn/Winter 2012/13 show at Paris took place on Monday to much appraise including from her father, Paul McCartney, who was quoted as saying "It’s so beautiful, isn’t it? But I’m probably biased."  This association with Paul has resulted in a backlash against Stella with claims she has only gotten where she is today because of her surname.  In 1997, for example, after Stella replaced Karl Lagerfeld at Chloé as creative director, he was quoted as saying "Chloé should have taken a big name. They did, but in music, not fashion. Let's hope she's as gifted as her father."

Stella with Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney as a member of The Beatles

Stella also returned to London Fashion Week last month to showcase her evening wear collection which was attended by many celebrities as can be seen from the video below.



It would be fair to say that celebrities are associated with the brand.  This association was evident from early on not only because of her father but at her graduate fashion show, Kate Moss, Yasmin Le Bon and Naomi Campbell were models.  How many fashion students can claim that!

Stella celebrating her 40th birthday party with her friends, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson and Kate Moss

Why would Stella adopt this marketing strategy?  Tungate (2008) offers some reasoning in that "the benefits are as binding as a spotlight: stars give brands a well-defined personality for a minimum of effort, and bring with them a rich fantasy world to which consumers aspire.  In addition, consumers have a 'history' with stars.  Even though they've only seen them on the screen or in the pages of magazines, they form an attachment to celebrities, regarding them as friendly faces and reliable arbiters of taste" (p.122).

However, Pringle (2004) provides a list of pitfalls for brands using celebrities including any scandal the celebrity becomes involved in, can have an impact on the brand.  One example of this was Kate Moss being dismissed when the cocaine scandal erupted in 2005 when she was to model in the advertisements for the H&M and Stella McCartney range to minimise negative press about the brands. 

Furthermore, it has been reported this week that designers pay these celebrities to attend their fashion shows to gain more publicity.  Of course, I do not know if this is a strategy at Stella McCartney.  I am sure she does not need to pay her friends or family, however, Rihanna, pictured below right, appeared at Stella's London show and Alicia Keys, pictured below left, appeared at the Paris show in one of Stella's dresses and shoes. 

Do you think it benefits a brand being associated with celebrities or is it not a wise move? Does it make the brand and celebrity look less genuine? 

Oscars 2012 - Who Wore What?

Who wore what to the Oscars probably generates as much discussion, if not more, than who won what.  So who do you think was the best dressed at the Oscars this year?  My favourite was Gwyneth Paltrow in a Tom Ford cape dress with gold Jimmy Choo "Koko" platform sandals, pictured below.  I think she stood out from the others due to the style which was unusual for the Oscars.

Another actress who stood out from the crowd was Jessica Chastain who stars in The Help.  She wore Alexander McQueen, pictured below.

Jessica's was one of numerous dresses which drew attention to the shoulders.  Strapless and one shoulder dresses were one of the main trends of the night as can be seen below.

                               

   Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton                           Ellie Kemper in Armani Privé

                                     

           Angelina Jolie in Versace                                Rose Byrne in Vivienne Westwood

                                            

                                            Milla Jovovich in Elie Saab

How do fashion brands such as Versace and Elie Saab, know what is on trend to dress celebrities on the red carpet?  Worth Global Style Network (WGSN) monitors trends through covering trade shows such as Première Vision, collating photographs of runway shows, street fashion and retail stores around the world (Tungate 2008 p.87).  As a result, WGSN has numerous fashion brands as clients.  On the one hand, consumers are regarded as creating the trends through street style and companies such as WGSN feed this information to designers which in turn influences their work.   This is known as trickle up theory (Dillon 2012 p.169). On the other hand, the fashion designers, by displaying their clothing on the red carpet, witness their clothing trickling down to the high street (trickle down theory) (Dillon 2012 pp.28-29). 

 

This Marie Claire article is interesting as it counts down the top 50 Oscar dresses of all time.   For a look back over the history of the Oscars, check out this website which also provides the reader with an insight into red carpet fashion from 1929 to the present day.