I need your opinions!

[tiffanytuesday]

Hi im Tiffany and im an A Level student studying the affect of teen mags on young girls socialisation for my media topic. Iv been looking at the content of magazines such as Mizz and Bliss and have a few questions id like to ask parents so id be extremely greatful if you could answer a few if you can find the time.

1. I remember reading these magazines when i was very young. What age are your daughters when the start reading these magazines?

2. Have you ever felt there was inappropriate content and if so what?

3. Many articles are about how to get a boy to like you and encouraging girls to change for a guy, surely this isn?t what a mother wants her daughter to think?

4. Do you think these articles affect a girls socialisation or is it just harmless fun?

5. How do you feel about the celebrities who are being used as role models such as Britney Spears and more disturbingly Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) Who at the age of 15 (she is now 16)had half naked provocative pictures of herself on the internet.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my little essay lol. I would be very greatful if you could answer some of these questions and add any other opinions you'd like. I hope you can find this useful too
THANK YOU!

1. I remember reading these magazines when i was very young. What age are your daughters when the start reading these magazines?
   late 13to 14

2. Have you ever felt there was inappropriate content and if so what?

yes there is lots of explicit sex in there which i thought was innapropriate - her reading of the magazine was inrequent event
usually down to DHs fuckwittedness.

3. Many articles are about how to get a boy to like you and encouraging girls to change for a guy, surely this isn?t what a mother wants her daughter to think?

thats not a question, its a statement - i think if you are asking us quetions and you are seriously not trying to influence the outcome of this research then you might want to think about re-wording it in your stuff for A-levels - just a tip

in answer to what i broadly think you mean - it would depend on the article and how it is worded.

4. Do you think these articles affect a girls socialisation or is it just harmless fun?

i think the most important thing in a childs life is its parents. if you have a good relationship with your parent s and are generally not messed up in any way becuase your daddy beat up your mummy or left when you were 9 - then its just harmless fun.

in other words, if one has a life trauma - anything in society can highten and influence that persons state of mind.

I firmly believe that this topic edges on psychology - and you may want to reference some quotes from that subject area - but my opinion is that a girl is usually suseptable to the influences of boys when there is no male role modle in her life - no 'alpha male'

5. How do you feel about the celebrities who are being used as role models such as Britney Spears and more disturbingly Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) Who at the age of 15 (she is now 16)had half naked provocative pictures of herself on the internet.

again leading question 'more disturbingly'

obviously not good role models - but i am sure you could equally use two other celebs who are !

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my little essay lol. I would be very greatful if you could answer some of these questions and add any other opinions you'd like. I hope you can find this useful too
THANK YOU!

good luck ! think about how you word your questions and keep then in an open and unambiguous style.

get an 'A'!

bump for you

help the girl out you fuckers

I dont have daughters but I do have teenage sons who have girls as friends and I have friends with daughters so I feel I can offer an interesting perspective.....

1/I myself read just 17 at about 13 and remember reading about masturbation in it and thinking it wasnt really a good thing to have in mags that young teens read....

My friends daughter has been reading what I consider to be teen mags since she was 11 i think the free gifts such as make-up charm bracelets and flip flops appeal to her.

2/I think its innapropriate the pictures of overtly sexual and 'perfect' girls they lead young teens to think they are somehow imperfect themselves bcos they dont look like a model all day - one girl i know gets up at 5.30 am to do her hair for school

3/ it isnt what mums of young girls want and imo it isnt what mums of young lads want girls to think and I certainly think that the attitudes girls seem encouraged to have are a 'put off' for lads these days.

4/ I think a lot of these girls seem to feel they have to 'act' out a certain persona and I see girls that dont quite fit the 'straight hair shiney teeth lipglossy'category and they really are sidelined not neccesarily unpleantly but not quite in the clique.

My 2 teen ds -ds1 is very open minded and seems to like gorls with personality and not neccesarily the 'fit girls' (although the clique girls are forever here and texting him etc) ds2 who definitely goes by looks will say to ds1 'shes a bit fat' that means shes not quite a size 8-ds1 will say he likes it when girls laff and joke and has dated girls who are all pouty and moody and he doesnt go for that - ds2 doesnt care if they talk so long as they look good.

5/ I think that in all eras role models havent neccesarily been the best idols and there is a lot of positive role model aspects today ....lilly allen.pink,coleen rooney etc are all imo good role models.

1. About 14/15

2. Yes, too much explicit and inappropriate sexual content for young girls (bearing in mind there are probably many girls a lot younger than my daughter reading these mags.

3. Well, even in my generation mags always had articles about 'getting the guy you want' etc, (eg Jackie magazine in the 70s).

4. Agree with Custardo. says it better than I can! But I do think there is a place for articles in these mags that may HELP teenagers going through traumas and feel unable to speak to anyone about it, could gie information as to where to get help etc.

5. I think most reasonably bright, educated teens can see through these 'celebrities', as you obviously do. However, for less informed teenagers and younger ones there is a really big problem with wanting to be rich and famous and thin for the sake of it. I would imagine B. Spears 'breakdown' recently and all the stuff written about that may have gone some way to showing teenagers it's not all its cracked up to be.

Any other info: I am worried that editors of these mags (prob 30something, no kids) are projecting onto their readership what they fondly imagine they would have liked when they were teens, some of it far too explicit and adult. They seem to forget you have to 'work up' to this sort of level. Also some teenagers aren't the archetypal 'teenager', some are geeky, some are quiet, they are all different and they don't all aspire to be thin, rich and famous!

Good luck with your course!!

Thanx for answering. And yeah i no some of my questions are a tad biased lol but iv got a point i want to proved and im worried some mothers will think im just ranting and im hopin to open peoples eyes to the affect these magazines can have on a young girls self esteem. I do accept these mags are both positve and negative tho.
Nd thank you for your pointers custardo i have referenced alot of sociology and psychology into my work.

Keep your opinions coming!

Thank you for your support. I just dont want all teenage girls thinkin they have to become so fake to get boys to like them and i feel thats the message these magazines are sending out. I hope i can highlight this topic for mothers so girls can read these magazines but you can also inform them that they arent always right.

1. I remember reading these magazines when i was very young. What age are your daughters when the start reading these magazines?

I was about 11. My dd who is 12 has not started yet.

2. Have you ever felt there was inappropriate content and if so what?

Haven't seen the modern ones as dd doesn't read them, but am happy to concede that the ones I read were extremely silly.

3. Many articles are about how to get a boy to like you and encouraging girls to change for a guy, surely this isn?t what a mother wants her daughter to think?

No but my Mum did not supervise my private reading. Agree with Custardo that you really must not put leading questions in a piece of research though- it will lose you marks!

4. Do you think these articles affect a girls socialisation or is it just harmless fun?

Had little effect on me, but I suppose that would depend on the child. For a confident child with good family relationships and access to good models of male/female relationships in real life, the influence is likely to be small.

5. How do you feel about the celebrities who are being used as role models such as Britney Spears and more disturbingly Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) Who at the age of 15 (she is now 16)had half naked provocative pictures of herself on the internet.

Well, I don't like it, but then I think the potential damage done relates to other influences in a child's life.

oo-er. This has prompted me to have a quick peek at my own dd's Mizz. I've never really looked closely before

1. I started reading Jackie at about age 12, then my mum banned it and anything like it from the house "disgusting, dreadful thing"

My dd is just 13, started reading Mizz a few weeks ago

1. never checked (until now)

It seems mostly mindless crap, not exactly desirable but it actually some thought-provoking stuff. Bit about mental illness in one issue, for example.

1. Leading question!!

No not ideal at all but banning or expressing disapproval makes it worse. She explicity avoids school discos and similar events so she's not into that sort of thing yet. This is where family background very important.

1. Recalling my own childhood - yes I think it is mostly harmless. It's a phase. All peer group read them so cannot avoid it - and same or worse in soaps, waterloo road etc. Banning them only makes them more desirable. Again importance of family & security to counteract influence.

1. From what I've overheard DD and friends talking, they don't exactly rate Britney et al. They can see them for what they are.

1. I remember reading these magazines when i was very young. What age are your daughters when the start reading these magazines?
   about 10 or 12 - whenever they were looking for more than puppy dogs and colouring-in

2. Have you ever felt there was inappropriate content and if so what?
   some of the sexual content is too explicit; also I thought that there was too much that promoted 'body art' possibly increasing the probability that girls will want tattoos and piercings

3. Many articles are about how to get a boy to like you and encouraging girls to change for a guy, surely this isn?t what a mother wants her daughter to think?
   I haven't read anything that was terrible, I thought most was along the general lines of how you can interact positively in relationships - necessary skill in all areas of life. I also read quite a lot about remaining true to your own character and preferences

4. Do you think these articles affect a girls socialisation or is it just harmless fun?
   my 2 daughter both read teen mags. They have entirely different personalities and this has had a hugely more important impact on their socialisation than what they read in magazines

5. How do you feel about the celebrities who are being used as role models such as Britney Spears and more disturbingly Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) Who at the age of 15 (she is now 16)had half naked provocative pictures of herself on the internet.
   Unfortunately images of half naked woman are much more widespread than Hannah Montana. There are images everywhere that a child and adolescent girl looks - even if they are not targeted at that audience

Hi Tiffany here's my 2p's worth.

1. I remember reading these magazines when i was very young. What age are your daughters when the start reading these magazines?
   My daughter is 11 and although I dislike these magazines generally she will occasionally get one into the house.

2. Have you ever felt there was inappropriate content and if so what?
   Yes I have, although maybe my view is biased because of my daughter's age and perhaps what I object to is in fact fine and normal for a 14 or 15 year old. Specifically I have a problem with Sugar and Bliss where they promote sexy clothes, lip gloss etc, various other aids to pulling boys, encouraging girls to obsess over their appearance/personality/weight. Mizz seems to have a more balanced view and their problem pages have a lot of advice about managing girl relationships and not letting boys run rings around you. A bit more emotional maturity there whereas the two I mentioned before have a different focus. Maybe they are aimed at an older market. Still dislike them all though.

3. Many articles are about how to get a boy to like you and encouraging girls to change for a guy, surely this isn?t what a mother wants her daughter to think?
   Well no. If all the upbringing a girl had was from these magazines then heaven help her. I suppose as long as the girl has another viewpoint from home then most girls are surely clever enough to work it out for themselves - possibly though a kid who was feeling a bit of an outsider may just feel that the way to be accepted is to emulate the ideas given there.

4. Do you think these articles affect a girls socialisation or is it just harmless fun?
   I do think they affect girls socialisation very much. You know how "cliquey" girls can be - if you haven't got the right hair, the right shoes, the short enough skirt, you;re not part of the gang and it is an unusual kid who is strong enough to withstand that.

5. How do you feel about the celebrities who are being used as role models such as Britney Spears and more disturbingly Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) Who at the age of 15 (she is now 16)had half naked provocative pictures of herself on the internet.
   Is poor old Britney a role model? I thought everyone just felt sad for her. If she can come back to her career after mental illness then maybe she is a role model and a good one at that. As for her overt sexuality that's another question. the celebrity culture is very ugly right now. It is appalling that Miley cyrus has done those pictures and certainly girls will see that as aspirational. I feel sad for little girls these days. Things used to be much simpler.

Agree the questions need to be changed, your teacher shouldn't be impressed. The majot influence on young teens socialisation is always their peer group and what older teens are doing.

1. I remember reading these magazines when i was very young. What age are your daughters when the start reading these magazines? Mine doesn't. Some of their friends - from 10 or so.

2. Have you ever felt there was inappropriate content and if so what? Bearing in mind that young teenagers read them yes, too much sex.

3. Many articles are about how to get a boy to like you and encouraging girls to change for a guy, surely this isn?t what a mother wants her daughter to think? How to get a boy to like you - why not? Girls have wanted boys to like them ever since Eve. Changing for them - depemds on what changes they are suggesting. Having clean skin - no. Having sex with them - yes.

4. Do you think these articles affect a girls socialisation or is it just harmless fun? Of course they do but teens always want to be like other teens.

5. How do you feel about the celebrities who are being used as role models such as Britney Spears and more disturbingly Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) Who at the age of 15 (she is now 16)had half naked provocative pictures of herself on the internet. Some of the teenagers I know have pictures on the net I disapprove of. Most media encourage that.

Hi Tiff,
my dds are your age and they don't read these mags, never have (at home anyway, maybe they have with mates)
so, I don't know too much about them from first hand experience.
However, in our family we are very critical of 'celeb' culture and I think that helps. When there are cosmetic ads on the TV we just take the piss.... dp and I try to help them see how ridiculous all these things are from the outside, IYSWIM, and always value dds for themselves and what they say and do, never for how they look.
So I think they are fairly immune to that sort of thing, which I'm pleased about.
I am so old that teen mags in my day were much 'milder' as someone said, Jackie etc, they also did talk about getting a boyfriend, and make up and clothes, but not so obsessively I think. Also the stories always seemed to feature young women about 10yrs older than the readers (ie 19-20is when readers were more like 13-14) which made the whole thing a bit unreal.
To answer your questions, I think if girls have another perspective then these mags may be harmless, but can't see the fun in them myself.
But then I am a humourless feminist

btw - why is everyone always studying teenage girls? Does it not occur to anyone that parents might also be concerned about the media's effect on boys!

Thank you so much for your comments and pointers, keep them coming! They are all very helpful for my study. And btw many people in my class are studying the affect of media violence on children (especially boys) and wether that leads to agressive teens but your right there is more work into girls socialisation.

I do advise you, Tiffany, not to quote 'fuckwittedness' and "fuckers" in your writeup (lol to Custardo).

I can't comment on current content as DD isn't old enough yet.

I wouldn't mind DD reading about masturbation when she's 10+. She has 3 brothers, she knows that they like to touch themselves. How could I joke about the baby doing it but then say she shouldn't?

Girls changing themselves (a bit) for boys -- why not? I sure hope my lads will be willing to change themselves a little bit for any girls they like.

Socialisation: yes, definitely they have that influence (they did on me). Not all a bad thing for our household.

Celebs: we are a very anti-celebrity household, hopefully DC are being raised to be independent minded enough that they will be quite critical of what celebs and other potential role-models get up to.