How does the front cover of the set edition of Woman reflect the socio-historical context in which it was made?

How does the front cover of the set edition of Woman reflect the socio-historical context in which it was made?

On the one hand I would say that the front cover of Woman magazine reflects the socio-historical context in which it was made because of the fact that the main image of the woman that is used on the front cover is a woman that would appeal to the target audience at the time the magazine was published. This is because most women at the time this magazine was issued would, stereotypically, have been housewives and very domesticated. They would have often taken care of activities such as: washing, cleaning, cooking and they were also seen as very maternal and, therefore, loving and caring for their children. The main image of Woman magazine appeals to this demographic because of the fact that she represents the ideal woman at this time. This is because of the fact that she is wearing practical clothes so that she can clean and cook easily and she is also wearing makeup and is clearly made to appear beautiful because of the fact that it was also a woman's job at this time to be beautiful for their husband. 

The magazine also communicates effectively with the target audience in a way that reflects the socio-historical context in which it was made because of the tagline: "Seven star improvements for your kitchen". This is because the magazine assumes that a common interest of women at this time was that they often cooked and they would always be looking for ways to improve their kitchen. This, therefore, appeals to the target audience and reflects the time in which the magazine was released because it effectively demonstrates what a common interest of women was at this time. 

Finally, the cover of Woman magazine reflects socio-historical context because of the ideologies that it is trying to convey. For example, the main image of the woman establishing direct address between the woman and the reader helps to communicate the ideology that if a woman was to read the magazine then they would be able to be as happy and content as the woman on the cover appears to be. The fact that the woman is also presented to be beautiful and the 'ideal woman' of the time suggests that somebody who regularly reads Woman magazine will be able to learn how to become the 'ideal woman'. 

To conclude, the cover of woman reflects the socio-historical context in which it was made by trying to appeal to the audience in ways that would have been effective in the 1960s. This means that the magazine uses common interests of women at this time and utilised what people thought a woman should be like in the 1960s to sell copies.

Secondly, the article about Alfred Hitchcock effectively reflects the socio-historical context in which it was made because it heavily imposed Hitchcock's views about women. This reflects the socio-historical context because of the fact that what he is saying is very shocking to anybody reading this from a modern viewpoint but it is how most people would have viewed women in the 1960s. The fact that he often uses lexis such as "they" and "their" when talking about women shows that he thinks all British women are the same and they are not individual in and way. This is because when it sounds like he is talking about one specific person, he is actually addressing all British women at once. Furthermore, the Hitchcock article shows socio-historical context because even though he often references women having prestigious careers (which would be quite a modern ideology) he says that they only have those careers because he allowed them to because he appointed them as actresses because they are beautiful. 

One of the images in the article is a medium close up of Hitchcock where he is wearing a suit to demonstrate his wealth and the fact that he is successful and formal. There is a direct contrast between the way he is dressed and the way his wife is dressed in a separate image because she is in a very low cut shirt. As for the anchorage of the image, the caption reads "tantalising beauty I call British". The lexis that is used here is very sexualised and, therefore, represents the way Women were always sexualised at the time this article was released. anchorage of the image is a caption that reads: "Naturally I chose an English girl for a wife".  The lexis in this caption constructs the ideological perspective that he cares more about the sex appeal of a woman rather than their personality because the phrase "an English girl" creates the idea that he doesn't really care who it is as long as she is English.

In conclusion, the Hitchcock article demonstrates the socio-historical context of the time when the magazine was released because it clearly shows women as objects rather than as people and any success that they have gained was only because a man allowed them to have that success. It shows that at this time women didn't really have a voice and even who they were married to was dictated by the man. 

Band 3: 8 C