so in college i wrote a paper using seventeen magazine from the early 1970's, specifically 1972-1974, as my primary source (for all you history peeps out there). the magazines were my mom's when she was a young woman (13-15 years old). it was fascinating to dive into the issues, looking at what editors of the time thought seventeen readers wanted to read - and, in my opinion, what they thought they should be reading. they contained incredibly contradicting articles and advertisements. an article on your first period next to an engagment ring ad. quilting patterns next to getting into college advise (not that you can't do both). and noted: not a lot of sex advice. the seventeen of this time was evidence of a changing popular culture that tried to please both sides of the spectrum.
i am telling you about this because today i happened across a cover of the latest issue of seventeen, something i haven't payed much attention to since i was 15 or 16 (having switched to cosmo near the end of high school as i'm sure many of you did). i saw the cover in a people.com article about taylor swift - the latest teen to grace the cover. a few things from the cover caught my attention and i ended up heading to their website.
i mostly found that seventeen is still contradictory. on the cover of this issue reads a title 'flat tummy tricks' - which in my opinion isn't a title that should exist on a teen magazine. at the same time, there's a whole section of the website devoted to a campaign to help girls dispel negative body images.
i could go on but i'll stop. what you should take away from this post is that seventeen is an interesting magazine to look at through the years because it gives a glimpse into what is/was expected of young women in any given decade (that it's been in publication). you know - have your period? look for a husband! or please, be thin but don't get an eating disorder. it's bad for business.
ps--'Pretty Hair and Glowy Skin' - since when did glowy become a word? i just don't words that sound as ridiculous and incorrect as glowy should be on the cover of a magazine .
next time you're with seth you can talk to him about how much he hates the new editor of webser's dictionary because he wants to put everything (read: bootylicious) in the dictionary. it drives him nuts. glowy is next.
ReplyDeletehmmm...i tend to be pretty glowy after a few hours of wearing makeup. (sounds nicer than shiny.) then again i cant spell and favor numbers so my opinion weighs little in this debate.
ReplyDeletebootylicious should never be in the dictionary though. and neither should the word bling. (def: expensive and ostentatious possessions. like what?? im sure thats how 50cent would describe it as well)
microfilm 4 life.
love this post.
ReplyDelete