I found this image by David London, floating around social media, and it really resonated with me in response to my COP practical work. It is a very synical and satirical view of how women's lifestyle magazines, which is an overt way of describing certain methods involved within these publications.
Dieting and weight is a large part of weekly magazines, forcing women to criticise their own bodies and compare to the ones positioned on the cover. They usually offer many ways to improve the woman's overall appearance, usually playing on insecurities and accomodating 'diet culture'.
This image also depicts how women are presented with ways to make themselves more attractive to please the male gaze, promising happiness that probably will not exist. Due to the patriarchal values still ingrained in today's society, women are still expected to look a certain way and have a particular body type to please men. Sex is a major selling point for these magazines, again providing women with sex tips to fulfill the man's sexual gratification.
These magazines clearly promote unhealthy habits if read by an impressionable audience. From looking at this image it has helped inform my research for the written essay, and prompted me to look into work by David Gauntlett, who has conducted research regarding women's magazines.
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