Oh Comely: Representations
1) How do representations in Oh Comely challenge stereotypes?
The front cover model is an androgynous female, representing a more tomboy look and boyish culture. The image of the star is a medium-close-up, where the focal point of traditional magazines would be the whole body to advertise products.
2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?
Oh Comely doesn't use traditional hegemonic 'models' or stars featured in their magazine. They use BAME women that are marginalised. An example of this is using a Somali female at the front of the 'Speaking Out' column, a race that hasn't been represented all that much in mainstream magazines or even niche magazines like Oh Comely.
3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?
Non-hegemonic representations of physicality is seen in the magazine. Physical natures of women aren't seen to be representation in the traditional route. The body positivity blogger Megan Crabbe is a plus sized women that is proudly embracing her body.
4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).
This magazine is about empowering women, it is not highlighting issues that concern men, probably purely because a large amount of the demographic won't be the hegemonic representations that a magazine like Men's Health promotes.
5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?
There are both examples displayed in the magazine. The front cover of the magazine would normally have a social media handle, or even a hashtag to allow the audience to engage in some sort of online activism; so maybe this is evidence of post-feminism.
But the are talking about sectors of work and education where women make up a small percentage of workers in the technology sector. This magazine features an article on programming - perhaps following celebrities like Karlie Kloss who does the same thing. So the idea that we live in a post-feminist world isn't real, there are still mainstream and niche feminist movements existing to fight for equality.
6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition?
It challenges the idea that gender is fixed by featuring a personal article on gender fluidity. The magazine highlights that gender is controllable.
7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features.
The front model appears to be androgynous, subverting the performance of females that are stereotypically used to show visceral pleasure of physical features in traditional female lifestyle magazines. The traditional gender roles in mainstream magazines are to be looked at, the male gaze, to be presented as objects - mainstream magazines like Cosmo give tips on how to be better in bed.
8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour?
Oh Comely doesn't use visceral pleasure of highlighting physical features, it focus' on the accomplishments that these young women have made. It's more to do with social changes for others such as the FGM campaign and the coding for females campaign in schools. Cosmopolitan coverlines are to do with physical relationships with men, and by using physical features and 'improvements' to empower women.
9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint?
Oh Comely does support this, it uses the transgender shifts in the article as an example of gender becoming more fluid. Niche magazines may start the trends of social change that later mainstream magazines embrace when consumer ideologies and beliefs on issues like gender fluidity tend to sway more to the left of the political spectrum.
10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?
Oh Comely features more controversial topics in mainstream media such as transgender articles and gender neutral models. I agree Oh Comely is a much more open magazine than mainstream outlets.
The front cover model is an androgynous female, representing a more tomboy look and boyish culture. The image of the star is a medium-close-up, where the focal point of traditional magazines would be the whole body to advertise products.
2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?
Oh Comely doesn't use traditional hegemonic 'models' or stars featured in their magazine. They use BAME women that are marginalised. An example of this is using a Somali female at the front of the 'Speaking Out' column, a race that hasn't been represented all that much in mainstream magazines or even niche magazines like Oh Comely.
3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?
Non-hegemonic representations of physicality is seen in the magazine. Physical natures of women aren't seen to be representation in the traditional route. The body positivity blogger Megan Crabbe is a plus sized women that is proudly embracing her body.
4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).
This magazine is about empowering women, it is not highlighting issues that concern men, probably purely because a large amount of the demographic won't be the hegemonic representations that a magazine like Men's Health promotes.
5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?
There are both examples displayed in the magazine. The front cover of the magazine would normally have a social media handle, or even a hashtag to allow the audience to engage in some sort of online activism; so maybe this is evidence of post-feminism.
But the are talking about sectors of work and education where women make up a small percentage of workers in the technology sector. This magazine features an article on programming - perhaps following celebrities like Karlie Kloss who does the same thing. So the idea that we live in a post-feminist world isn't real, there are still mainstream and niche feminist movements existing to fight for equality.
It challenges the idea that gender is fixed by featuring a personal article on gender fluidity. The magazine highlights that gender is controllable.
7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features.
The front model appears to be androgynous, subverting the performance of females that are stereotypically used to show visceral pleasure of physical features in traditional female lifestyle magazines. The traditional gender roles in mainstream magazines are to be looked at, the male gaze, to be presented as objects - mainstream magazines like Cosmo give tips on how to be better in bed.
8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour?
Oh Comely doesn't use visceral pleasure of highlighting physical features, it focus' on the accomplishments that these young women have made. It's more to do with social changes for others such as the FGM campaign and the coding for females campaign in schools. Cosmopolitan coverlines are to do with physical relationships with men, and by using physical features and 'improvements' to empower women.
9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint?
Oh Comely does support this, it uses the transgender shifts in the article as an example of gender becoming more fluid. Niche magazines may start the trends of social change that later mainstream magazines embrace when consumer ideologies and beliefs on issues like gender fluidity tend to sway more to the left of the political spectrum.
10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?
Oh Comely features more controversial topics in mainstream media such as transgender articles and gender neutral models. I agree Oh Comely is a much more open magazine than mainstream outlets.
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