To what extent does Cosmopolitan offer a range of diverse images for women?
Look at the covers from the first four months of 2017.
Focus on:

  • the model’s story or significance in the world today
  • the model’s ethnicity, clothing and other artefacts worn by the model
  • the model’s body language
  • the words and phrases printed on the cover

Read an extract from the conclusion of David Gauntlett’s book “Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction”
Click on the image to access the extract

What does he say about what popular culture now offers us, in contrast with the past?

“In contrast with the past - or the modern popular view of the past - we no longer get singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities (although certain groups of features are clearly promoted as more desirable than others). Instead, popular culture offers a range of stars, icons and characters from whom we can acceptably borrow bits and pieces of their public persona for use in our own.”

To what extent does Gauntlett’s statement hold true then for Cosmopolitan?
How does this compare to the historical magazine you have studied?