Role of Advertising in Conveying a Feminist Message

I found that the Steinem and Brumberg pieces we read for this class were related to how advertising and marketing techniques affect the ways in which girls and women perceive how they should act and appear. The piece by Gloria Steinem also explored the role of advertising in a major magazine and the narrow line that exists between earning money by soliciting advertisements while attempting to preserve a message and mission that is feminist. Because of the important influence advertising has in the media, it was interesting to learn about the care, attention, and time Steinem and others at Ms. magazine used when determining which ads they would pursue and which they would accept, depending on how the particular company portrayed women and products marketed toward women.

When reading Steinem’s article in particular, I thought about advertising that is targeted toward young girls through magazines. The only magazine subscription I have ever subscribed to was American Girl during elementary school. I don’t know if American Girl could be considered “feminist,” but the magazine did not contain any advertisements (the company had a separate catalog for their own products) and did not promote an “unnatural focus on appearance, weight, or popularity. In this way, the magazine provides an excellent alternative to other publications that push agendas that are toxic to a young girl’s development” (Boland, feministreview.blogspot.com link). A NY Times article (linked to this post as well) from February 2011 explains the role of advertising in children’s magazines, and the complicated nature of advertising to children, who perceive ads in different (and possibly unintentionally incorrect) ways than adults because of differing cognitive development. Children’s magazines face the same types of struggles Steinem experienced while operating a feminist magazine. As Clifford quotes in NY Times article, “ ‘Instead of just a straight selling of a product,’ Ms. Malley said, ‘it’s all about how we tell the message in the magazine and how we engage with the kids.’ ” Children’s magazines as well as feminist magazines are trying to convey a particular message which will align with the sentiments of their readers (or readers’ parents). Even though many articles in American Girl appealed to domestic sensibilities for girls (cooking, crafts), the magazine also displayed girls in unconventional roles and published work submitted by young readers. The magazine conveyed what I interpreted as a “as girls, you can do anything” attitude which was empowering to me personally.

Feminist Review of American Girl magazine

NY Times article: "A Fine Line When Ads and Children Mix"