This magazine is called Dolly which is a play on the word 'doll'. Many girls have played with dolls in their childhood so it's a name they can relate to. Popular dolls such as Barbie and Bratz are well-known for having flawless skin, a slim figure, large baby blue eyes and lovely long hair. Some connotations of the word Dolly are plastic, fake, not real and innocent.
The cover girl of Dolly magazine is Jessica Hart an international model and Victoria Secret Angel. Jessica describes herself as a 'risk-taker' who is well-known for being a trendsetter and fashionable. Jessica is society's 'typical beauty' sporting blonde hair, flawless skin and long bronzed legs. Her body is similar to a doll's which links to the magazine's title 'dolly.' A vibrant orange and turquoise blue were used on the cover to give it a beachy feel for the summertime. Orange is a very warm colour which represents joy, sunshine and attraction. The main image on the cover, which takes up the majority of the page, is Jessica wearing a halterneck bathing suit. Her image is the main focus of the magazine as she is the cover star. This image of Jessica, with bronzed skin and a warm glow, highlights how girls should look over the summertime. Girls are drawn in by this image which promises to help them achieve Jessica's summertime look. Other images on the front cover include celebrities One Direction, Katy Perry and Luke Mitchell. These images were used to entice more readers to buy the magazine as it targets a larger fan base. The boldest tag line on the cover reads, 'be his best kiss ever.' This would interest teenage girls who are currently dating or interested in boys. Other features advertised read, '5 easy hair tricks, ' 'Inside the mind of a male actor, model and muso,' and 'We've got 2012 sorted.' This shows that Dolly magazine believes most teenage girls are interested in males, appearance, hair, fashion and advice.
Overall there were 20 pages of ads in the magazine but many fashion articles doubled up as a form of advertising. The majority of ads were for skin care, technology and stationary. Over 1/3 of the magazine was dedicated to beauty and fashion which shows Dolly magazine believes this is very important to teenage girls. The beauty section was title, 'Get Pretty!,' and this encourages girls to read the beauty pages so they can become more beautiful. The main article reads, 'How to go back to school a bombshell, ' it then goes on to list a series of products averaging around $20. Dolly magazine makes it prices affordable so their target market, school kids with little income, can afford the products featured. This form of advertising is degrading for girls because it makes them feel that they need these products in order to become pretty. Most girls are unable to attain that level of perfection because it's not normal. These 'perfect women,' have spent hours in hair and make-up before being shot in perfect lighting before being photoshopped. The advertisers are playing with the average teenage girl's fear of not measuring up and using it to sell their beauty products for a profit.
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| 'Smart Shopper is a monthy article which doubles up as an advertisement. It features clothes which can help girls achieve a desired look, e.g.70's Bohemian.
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The majority of articles in the magazine were about Beauty, Fashion, Relationships, Advice and Body Image. Each month they feature an eight paged special titled 'Guy Town,' where Dolly talks about guy advice, perfect date ideas and male celebrities. 'What his body language is really telling you,' is a feature article aimed to help girls understand guys better. 'Dolly Doctor' is a sealed advice section which gives readers advice about sex, boys, friendships and family. This section is portrayed as a safe place where girls can ask their 'burning' questions without being judged by others. By doing this the magazine is becoming a parental figure to thousands of teenage girls around the country. I think this is a good idea as many girls are uncomfortable asking friends and family 'embarrassing' questions. The articles in Dolly differ from more grown-up magazines (Glamour, Madison,Cosmopolitan) where the articles focus more heavily on sex, dinner parties and work.I flicked through a Glamour magazine and instantly found several articles titled 'The hot sex moves we promise you haven't tried, '4 Ways to give great dinner parties,' and 'How to be your own boss.' Chloe Mortetz, a 15 year old up and coming actress, is offered as a role model to readers. Dolly is 'crushing on Chloe' because she's grounded, has confidence and is secure about her imperfections. The magazine portrays Chloe as a 'normal person' by giving us information about family and favourite food. I think Chloe would be a good role model for young teens as she has a 'clean' image and a determined personality.
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| A Dolly Magazine Fashion shoot where plus sized models were used to give a better representation of teenage girls. |
I think the magazine has portrayed teenage girls both positively and negatively.
I think Dolly magazine provides a mixed message about what it is to be a teenage girl today. The magazine does feature one article about body image which gives '5 tips to instantly banish those body blues,' and there is a section titled, 'Body happy' which encourages girls to eat healthy and exercise in order to feel great. Dolly was also one of the first magazines to place a 'retouch free zone,' logo on photos which hadn't been photoshopped. The magazine has done this with the hope of increasing girls self esteem by making them feel better about themselves (although 99% of images in the magazine have still been edited.) The magazine is also starting to feature plus- sized models to give a more accurate representaion of teenage girls.
However on the other hand Dolly also portrays all girls as 'girly girls' which isn't a fair and accurate representation of society. They establish this is by dressing a lot of their models in pink which is regarded for being a feminine colour. The magazine often uses teenage girl slang and colloquial language in order to make the articles more relatable to the readers. Examples of this are, 'Lol,' 'BFF, ' and sayings like, 'hot guy alert.' There's a difference between represetation and reality because the magazine is trying to appeal to your 'average girl' but in doing so fails to represent 'all girls.' Girls in reality are not as perfect as they're dipicted in the magazine with straight teeth, perfect hair and a 'doll like' face. The magazine has done this on purpose because they know girls will buy the magazine in the hope of learning how to look as beautiful as the models.
In Dolly there are omissions as none of the models are disabled, overweight or seen with short hair. The magazine does try to represent different ethnicities although there are no asians, indians, africans and the majority of models are white/European. The magazine also assumes all girls are interested in boys which isn't necessarily the case. In Dolly we never see girls playing sport or riding a bmx bike which highlights the magazine's stereotypical view of girls. The magazine aims to make girls feel confident and happy about their bodies yet they're still advertising products which promise to make girls look prettier and more attractive. The majority of images within the magazine have been photoshopped which gives teenage girls a skewed perception of reality. Girls will compare themselves to this 'fake' image and be left feeling insecure and inferior. 'Tomboys' and non 'girly girls' may start to think there's something wrong with them because they don't fit into this stereotypical mold.
Dolly magazine leads people to believe that all girls are interested in beauty, fashion and make-up which is inaccurate.Because make-up and fashion are associated with ditzy models, society may percieve all teenage girls as unintelligent and girly which simply isn't true. Society and guys in particular, may get unrealistic expectations as to how girls should look, act and talk only to become disappointed when girls behave differently. By including so much material about beauty and 'appearance' Dolly magazine is reinforcing the message that beauty and appearance are of most importance. Dolly encourage girls to be themselves and to be confident however, they fail to acknowledge attributes that make a lovely personality such as humour, friendliness and a kind heart. By choosing to not include this Dolly conveys the message that having a good personality isn't as important as appearance
Dolly has a huge influence over the next generation of women with a readership of over 505,000 teenage girls. I think they should use this power for good by filling their magazine with encouraging messages about body image and self esteem. It's especially important at this age when girls are finding their identities, becoming interested in boys and coping with peer pressure.
By Ella McDonald
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| A 'Retouch Free Zone' symbol is used in Dolly magazine to showreaders the photo hasn't been altered. |
However on the other hand Dolly also portrays all girls as 'girly girls' which isn't a fair and accurate representation of society. They establish this is by dressing a lot of their models in pink which is regarded for being a feminine colour. The magazine often uses teenage girl slang and colloquial language in order to make the articles more relatable to the readers. Examples of this are, 'Lol,' 'BFF, ' and sayings like, 'hot guy alert.' There's a difference between represetation and reality because the magazine is trying to appeal to your 'average girl' but in doing so fails to represent 'all girls.' Girls in reality are not as perfect as they're dipicted in the magazine with straight teeth, perfect hair and a 'doll like' face. The magazine has done this on purpose because they know girls will buy the magazine in the hope of learning how to look as beautiful as the models.
In Dolly there are omissions as none of the models are disabled, overweight or seen with short hair. The magazine does try to represent different ethnicities although there are no asians, indians, africans and the majority of models are white/European. The magazine also assumes all girls are interested in boys which isn't necessarily the case. In Dolly we never see girls playing sport or riding a bmx bike which highlights the magazine's stereotypical view of girls. The magazine aims to make girls feel confident and happy about their bodies yet they're still advertising products which promise to make girls look prettier and more attractive. The majority of images within the magazine have been photoshopped which gives teenage girls a skewed perception of reality. Girls will compare themselves to this 'fake' image and be left feeling insecure and inferior. 'Tomboys' and non 'girly girls' may start to think there's something wrong with them because they don't fit into this stereotypical mold.
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| Rip Curl 'My Bikini' advertisements often feature in Dolly magazine especially over the summer months. |
Dolly magazine leads people to believe that all girls are interested in beauty, fashion and make-up which is inaccurate.Because make-up and fashion are associated with ditzy models, society may percieve all teenage girls as unintelligent and girly which simply isn't true. Society and guys in particular, may get unrealistic expectations as to how girls should look, act and talk only to become disappointed when girls behave differently. By including so much material about beauty and 'appearance' Dolly magazine is reinforcing the message that beauty and appearance are of most importance. Dolly encourage girls to be themselves and to be confident however, they fail to acknowledge attributes that make a lovely personality such as humour, friendliness and a kind heart. By choosing to not include this Dolly conveys the message that having a good personality isn't as important as appearance
Dolly has a huge influence over the next generation of women with a readership of over 505,000 teenage girls. I think they should use this power for good by filling their magazine with encouraging messages about body image and self esteem. It's especially important at this age when girls are finding their identities, becoming interested in boys and coping with peer pressure.
By Ella McDonald
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