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The Socialization Effects of Seventeen on Young Women, Page 1

The values, beliefs and norms of the teenage world can all be found in the pages of Seventeen. The magazine performs its socializing influence through images, peer narratives and advertisements. Furthermore, Seventeen uses these tools to illustrate the accepted behavior of young women. In these images, narratives and advertisements, Seventeen communicates the importance of beauty and fashion, the opinions of males and social awareness.

Colorful images constantly appear in teenage magazines. From images of fashion to images of celebrities, pictures can quickly and directly communicate accepted norms. In this issue of Seventeen, the most recurring image is a female model wearing fashionable clothes. This image has the capability of showing teenage readers not only what clothes are in style, but also what a female needs to look like to wear them. For example, from pages 46-50, there are pictures of models wearing the latest style of boots. However, the pictures are not just of boots, but which boot looks better on certain leg shapes; the pictures show which boots are fashionable and the body type a young woman needs to have to wear them. Although it is useful to know which boot would probably look best on which legs, the article basically teaches teenagers the belief that they can only wear particular things. What if a young woman with bigger ankles wants to wear a boot designed for small ankles? According to Seventeen, only those women with small ankles can wear particular boots. By telling teenage women which boots they should wear, Seventeen is also instilling a value of conformity: certain women with certain body types should wear certain things. If a young woman decides to wear a boot designed for a different body type, she risks not being accepted by Seventeen's standards.

Along with female images, Seventeen also includes images of males. More importantly, in Seventeen these images are of athletic, muscular men. Of course, almost all young women are going to look intently at these pictures. Also, almost all young women will then internalize the type of men they should be interested in; the type of men that are considered beautiful and worthy of a picture in Seventeen; and the type of men that are accepted in society. These images are telling young women that it is the norm to date or pursue men resembling those in the pictures. However, not all men look like models. Also, not all of Seventeen's readers will meet men who look like models, much less date them.

Peer narratives are another way Seventeen influences teenage women. In every issue of Seventeen, there is a section called "Trauma-Rama." In this section, young women send in stories telling about their most recent embarrassing moments. Personally, this section was always a favorite of mine. Reading these stories was always very reaffirming. No matter how much I had been embarrassed or humiliated, there was always someone who had gone through worse. In addition, I found most of the stories pretty funny. However, "Trauma-Rama" stories are more than just humorous. This section also conveys a certain belief. For example, there is a common theme in the stories: embarrassment or humiliation in front of males. In other words, the young woman's most embarrassing event occurs in front of her crush or boyfriend. If the crush of boyfriend does not totally disown her after the event, then she will at least carry a humiliating nickname. The belief a young woman could draw from these stories is that all of her embarrassing moments will dramatically change her social life in a negative way.

In addition, these narratives tell teenage women that boys' opinions are essential to their self-confidence. In the story "Dumping Ground" (p. 24), a young woman explains how she fell in cow manure and had to walk around for the rest of the day without changing her clothes. Needless to say, "her guy has not looked at her since." Basically, the girl did something embarrassing and lost the interest of her crush. This communicates to young women the value of the male opinion and how it can affect their lives.

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