Explore How Gender Is Represented in ‘Bliss’ Essay

Bliss is targeted at teenage girls. The front cover of the magazine expresses this gender stereotype. An important stage in life is being a teenager. At this point in life, you start forming your own identity and it is hard to do when teenagers are immediately stereotyped and labelled. In particular, teenage girls are portrayed as either sweet and innocent or aggressive and acting too mature for their age. Teenage girls are perceived as being heavily involved in sex from a young age. The film ‘Cruel Intentions’ enforces this idea and encourages teenage girls to grow up fast and act beyond their age – the magazine ‘Bliss’ also encourages this. All teenagers suffer from these harsh stereotypes and compared to ‘Cruel Intentions’ the film ‘My Summer of Love’ shows teenagers trying to break away from these labels. From all the negativity that is being expressed by the older members of society towards the younger, teenagers look to magazines such as ‘Bliss’ for inspiration on how they should look and act. Firstly the title of the magazine ‘Bliss’ appears at the top of the magazine in a big, bold font and in the colour red to make it more vibrant as it is the first thing you pick up on. Its font is Sans serif which is straightforward and informal so the reader will relate to it more. Also, the actual word ‘Bliss’ means a state of perfect happiness so this is implying that the reader will be happy if they read this magazine. ‘Bliss’ is also a name you expect as it reminds the reader of something glamorous or girly which attracts the female stereotype of the girly teenager. In the centre of the cover is a photograph of Taylor Swift who is considered a popular role model among teenage girls. She wears red lipstick which fits in with the colour scheme of the cover (red). The dress she is wearing is in metallic silver and this is in contrast to the red and blue colours to make her stand out more. All the text is framed around the centre image to make the focus on her. She is also using direct address by looking into the camera; this is a form of interaction as the audience may feel connected with the image on the front cover. Also, wrapped behind the centre image is a ribbon with ‘Taylor talks love’ written on it. This is to enforce the idea encouraging teenage girls to learn about love but in this instance, from Taylor Swift. The ‘o’ in the word ‘love’ is represented by a love heart (there are also love hearts surrounding this text). This appeals more too teenage girls as it is implying this magazine issue is all about love and stereotypical teenage girls idealize about love. The ribbon is shaped in order to draw attention to the eye. Underneath the ribbon it mentions a quote from Taylor Swift saying ‘With boys, you have to learn the hard way†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ this is suggesting that girls haven’t learnt about relationships and boys yet, and is encouraging girls to grow up fast and act more mature. Also, the price of the magazine is cheap ( £2.99) compared to other monthly magazines and teenagers are most likely to have low disposable incomes so there is more chance they will buy it. Also, ‘Bliss’ is a monthly magazine so readers won’t have to buy it so many times, so they will save money, again this is more likely for teenagers to buy it. As the magazine is monthly, it will be more detailed and last longer than a weekly magazine so this is more reason for teenagers to read it. The language used on the cover is stereotypically used by teenagers (teenage girls in particular), for example, ‘(So. Much. Goss!)’ this will appeal more to teenage girls as they understand these sayings the magazine uses. Also, this quote is referring to Harry Styles who is part of the boy band One Direction who have a female fan base so to see some text on the cover stating they have loads of gossip about Harry Styles, is going to draw in their fan base which is primarily, teenage girls. In the bottom left corner of the cover is a list of celebrities that are popular among teenage girls. This encourages the male celebrities featured to be possible love interests and encourages the female celebrities to be possible role models. On the front cover, near the top, it states ‘horrifying real-life’ and then follows with a quote from a real life story. The fact they have chosen to feature a real life story applies to the uses and gratifications theory as teenagers can relate to it and identify with themselves. Also, along with the title at the top of page is the website address for the magazine. This shows that the magazine is technology adept and it also creates convergence on an online community. The modern day teenager spends more time on the internet now so it is likely that if they are interested in the magazine they will visit the website as well. At the bottom of the magazine are images of clothes. These images represent teenage fashion and create a desire for the products. ‘Bliss’ makes fashion an important issue and it supports this stereotypical idea that girls are obsessed with fashion and are trying to be mature which has been encouraged by the media. The front cover of any magazine is extremely important because when you are looking for which magazine you are going to buy it is the front cover that is what is going to attract you to each individual magazine. The stereotypical idea of the female gender is seen throughout the front cover of ‘Bliss’ by including features of fashion, gossip, boys and potential female role models. Also the colour scheme of red romanticises the magazine which encourages girls to grow up fast. There is a combination of presentational features used and attention to relevant content ensures the magazine will be extremely attractive to the female gender.