Jennifer Rey
October 10, 2011
WST 3015
Professor Meredith Tweed
Women and Advertising Assignment
Authors Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey contend that “[h]ealth is a complex mix of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 207) and the October 2011 cover of Psychology Today only supports their claim. Judging the cover text alone are various articles about health issues that seem targeted for a woman: mental health is addressed by the article on ways to “Stop Self-Sabotage” for tips from procrastinating to overeating; physical health is discussed in the piece on “The Genius Gene” and the “Cure Indecision”; and emotional health is covered by the headline “What Your Partner Thinks About in Bed” and the piece titled “Get What You Want” about the “9 Keys to Persuasion.” (Psychology Today)
The picture on the cover is of a thin, flawlessly light-colored woman in an old-fashioned white and light blue polka dotted bathing suit, wearing bright red heels and lipstick, sitting 
on a large stick of dynamite, holding an oversized match, perpetuating the oppressive “ideals of beauty” (208). The woman on the dynamite stick appears to be in control of whether she lights the stick or not, inferring perhaps that women themselves make these issues relevant. The readers of this magazine issue do not have to be told that they likely “internalize ideal beauty standards” (208) when the headlined article on the cover itself paves the way to self-doubt in regards to partner bedroom behavior. The articles chosen for the cover assume its women readers are not dealing with issues of “infant mortality,” “toxic workplaces” or “tuberculosis” (217-218); rather these women are more likely to deal with issues of “successful aging” (221) and “obsessive dieting” (208).
on a large stick of dynamite, holding an oversized match, perpetuating the oppressive “ideals of beauty” (208). The woman on the dynamite stick appears to be in control of whether she lights the stick or not, inferring perhaps that women themselves make these issues relevant. The readers of this magazine issue do not have to be told that they likely “internalize ideal beauty standards” (208) when the headlined article on the cover itself paves the way to self-doubt in regards to partner bedroom behavior. The articles chosen for the cover assume its women readers are not dealing with issues of “infant mortality,” “toxic workplaces” or “tuberculosis” (217-218); rather these women are more likely to deal with issues of “successful aging” (221) and “obsessive dieting” (208).I see the objective of this magazine cover is to get white, middle-class women to purchase it (not to shamefully sift through the magazine publicly) and read its contents by playing on women’s sexual and social insecurities. While the articles do not state they are specifically targeting their content towards women, it would be a severely uncalculated bet to say that Psychology Today is counting on the majority of its revenue to come from men who want to become better decision makers or need assistance in how to persuade others, characteristics stereotypically thought of as for weak men. For a macro level, the psychology industry is becoming ever more linked to modern medicine (i.e. pharmaceutical companies) and it would not be surprising to find other advertisements that focus on relieving women’s ailments with some form of pill or cream since “[t]he Western medical model focuses on illness and disease,… often treating symptoms rather than causes.” (221)
Works Cited
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Women's Bodies, Women's Health." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 207+. Print.
Psychology Today October 2011: Cover. Print.
This is a very developed analysis. Good work.
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