Women’s Magazines. Editorial Practices and Cultural Recommendations
Women’s Magazines. Editorial Practices and Cultural Recommendations

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to analyze the relationship between the internal philosophy of two successful Romanian cultural products aimed at the female public – the magazines Unica and Avantaje – and their perception of said public, reflected in the cultural recommendations and news sections. These magazines are analyzed from the perspective of critical feminist theories in their capacity as media culture products but also that of indicators for the tastes and lifestyles of their readership. The conclusion drawn is that Avantaje magazine oscillates between recommendations of personal enrichment literature and casual, rainy day, cinnamon scented evening literature as well as gift-worthy books, concerts (including children’s concerts), reality TV shows. Movie and theatre recommendations are, however, almost entirely absent. These are the elements comprising the practical guide of the “Avantaje woman”, a superwoman who manages to handle her family life, her career and, why not, her personal development. Unica’s recommendations section is, on the other hand, much more diversified in all fields, aiming for a readership of strong women, eager to succeed in all endeavors, looking for a new way of life. The magazine becomes the feminine readership’s counselor in this undertaking, proposing a new model of consumption-sanctioned femininity, this time through the consumption of cultural products.

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