Women’s Worlds

The media genre of the personal account: rhetorical and linguistic construction of the socio-cultural setting

“…A set of images and representations constructs an ideal reader suggesting no differences within this firmly established uniformity. The uniformity of participants provide a discourse in which a sense of community and shared interest is established through a variety of tools, ranging from genre forms adopted by magazines to their intimate and friendly language style (Ballaster et al 1991, Hermes 1995 or the use of specific vocabulary (TesoCraviotto 2006). The imitation of solidarity and friendship makes readers feel comfortable and constructs a friendly agreement regarding basic presuppositions of what it means to be a woman.…”

Voguein Britain: Authenticity and the creation of competitive advantage in the UK magazine industry

“…According to Ballaster et al: "In the 1920s and "30s, women"s magazines continued to develop the use of advertising, but they were still regarded by advertisers as insignificant by contrast with newspapers and general interest magazines, and could not command the same volume of advertising and revenue as other periodical literature." 65 Although the traditional description of the inter-war years as the halcyon era of editorial freedom for British women"s magazines from the influence of advertising has been questioned, it is clear that American magazines such as Hearst"s Good Housekeeping gave much greater attention to the advertising material carried within its pages than their British rivals. 66 Due to Vogue's initial difficulty in establishing a suitable editorial direction, in the UK it had been Hearst"s National Magazine Co. which initially most successfully utilised advertising as a central element in its strategy by launching the British version of its Good Housekeeping monthly magazine in March 1922.…”

From Fashion Colours to Spectrum Analysis: negotiating femininities in mid-Victorian women's magazines

“…This emphasis on outward appearance could easily have undermined the magazine's initial moral and domestic projects, had it not been for the Beetons' excellent marketing strategies. While, at the same time, he 'dispensed with the other characteristic features of the "society" magazine, including articles on politics and science', 46 a second practice, the combination of fashion plates with descriptions to recreate the garments, also helped to reconcile any possible contradictions. 'Alongside the fashion-plates Isabella provided detailed description of the modes not only in terms of their visual effect but so that the reader understood how to recreate them for herself.'…”

“…Careful analysis of the structural and thematic relationships between the Ladies' Treasury and the Treasury of Literature not only illustrates that notions of gender difference and models of femininity in women's magazines are often fragmentary and multiple, but also helps us to understand more generally how constructions of femininity are defined, contested and transformed in the nineteenth century. 4 Edited by a certain Mrs Warren, 5 the Ladies' Treasury primarily addressed an audience of lower-middle-class women of different age groups. 6 It customarily harboured a 'Young Author's Page' , a lengthy feature on such basic domestic concerns as 'Breakfast and its Accompaniments' and 'The Dinner Table', recipes instructing readers how to make 'pudding à la Reine', 'Normandy pippins' or 'Horseradish sauce', 7 articles on needlework and the fashions, gardening columns, amusement, notices to correspondents, exchange columns and the 'On-Dits and Facts of the Month', as well as general articles and fiction.…”