Teenage Magazines

Ever since Seventeen magazine appeared in the United States in the 1940s, teen magazines have been one of the most successful type of magazines, in the United States and all over the world. Bravo in Germany, Belles Filles in France, Cioè in Italy, More in the United Kingdom, and Faze in Canada are just a few examples of the several magazines aimed at teenagers, especially girls. In fact, a teen magazine intended for teenage boys does not really exist; unlike the adult-to-teen crossover of women's magazines (Cosmogirl from Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue from Vogue), spin-offs of men's magazines have not been successful (MH-18, which was a spin-off of Men's Health, folded within a year). Adolescent boys usually read magazines targeting older male audiences, or magazines targeting particular interests, such as music or video games. Adolescent girls are instead avid readers of teen magazines; according to several surveys, approximately 70 to 90 percent read them. Indeed, it should come as no surprise that social studies have begun to identify teen magazines as one of the most important sources for discovering how teenage girls build their identity.

One of the most analyzed aspects is the representation of girls' sexuality. According to some scholars, the representation of sexuality in teen magazines is too limited because it almost always covers only heterosexual issues. Moreover, the sexual message to teen girls is that boys should govern the sexual relationship and that girls' sexuality rests only on being good-looking and appealing. According to other scholars, the representation of sexuality is not so chauvinistic and poor. Scholars such as Angela McRobbie argue that magazines created after the 1980s in particular portray more assertive girls; they are not only a passive figure in the sexual relationship, and they are able to be treated equally by men. This change in the typical representation of teenagers is also explained by a general turn of conscience on the part of teen magazine journalists. Many of them have been influenced by feminism and they see themselves as part of the community they write for, notes James Curran, David Morley, and Valerie Walkerdine.

Moreover, through the magazines, teenagers can obtain sexual information, even on health problems, that can be difficult to obtain in other ways and can be embarrassing if sought from parents. Rather than a repressive and passive representation of sexuality, these magazines may offer an oppressive and active sexuality, compelling girls to a frantic pursuit of pleasure, even when they do not want it. In fact, it is possible to argue that the representation of this new girl has probably gone too far; examples of articles from the most unscrupulous magazines include “Sleazy! I'm 15 and addicted to Group Sex!” “School Bully Slept With My Mum,” and so on (Nice 2007). This, of course, raises concerns about the sexualization of the young readers of these magazines, who in some cases could be as young as nine. In fact, apart from the classic teenage magazines, generally aimed at readers aged between thirteen and seventeen, a new type of magazine, aimed at readers between nine and twelve, the “tweens,” has recently appeared. These new magazines face the same criticism that classic teenage magazines faced, with the aggravating circumstance that no longer is the targeted audience adolescent boys and girls but rather pre-teen children.

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