Girls Life: Magazines as a Mass-Media Middle Ground

There are countless films, television shows, songs, and other kinds of mass media that could educate pre-teens and teenagers (and even adults) about relationships and sexuality. However, when I thought back to my own pre-teen years, I remembered a different medium that acted as a “super peer” for this sort of information. In late elementary school, Girls Life magazine was a major source of information and entertainment for many of my peers. I remember seeing it when my friends would check it out from the library (I was way more focused on books, which is still true). I remember girls reading about crushes, boys, and relationships before most of us were thinking about it, so I decided to revisit the Girls Life website to see what kind of content it offers its readers today. To give you a taste of what kind of magazine Girls Life (GL) is, here is a screen shot of their homepage:

Upon first glance, I knew that this resource most definitely has potential to act as a “super peer,” and not just for relationships. The magazine covers everything from boyfriends to fashion to family issues, taking a sort of older-sister approach in its writing, which is targeted toward pre-teen girls. There are two (!) advice columns that focus specifically on answering readers’ questions about guys. The article I looked at is titled “I’m 14 and I haven’t crushed on anyone, guys or girls. Is something wrong with me?”

Brown et al (2004) discuss the role of the media as a “super peer,” a way to gain information that peers don’t yet have, saying that the media present “a great deal of sexual information in a compelling and easily accessible format” without “laugh[ing] at stupid or awkward questions” (421). They add that media examples are “a relatively safe and less embarrassing way” to learn from characters who are more like them in interests and in their stage of life (Brown et all, 2004, 421). It’s certainly true that the GL reader who wrote this question turned to the media for a safer and less embarrassing way to find relevant information - her question “Is something wrong with me?” shows that she feels different and stigmatized among her peers for being uninterested in romantic relationships. However, her motivation for seeking information is very different from those in the Brown et al (2004) study. Brown et al (2004) focused their research on early developing girls who need information about sex and relationships because they were more interested in it than their peers. This GL article identifies a different gap in peer education than by highlighting a person who is not interested in sex or relationships, but probably surrounded by peers who are.

By providing answers to information-seeking girls, GL functions on a level between the Internet as a whole and mass media like film and television in terms of how much control teens have over the information they receive. Bond et al (2008) describe film and television as “passive media” because viewers don’t have control over what messages they receive, whereas on a space like the Internet, users can actively search and find information that’s relevant to them (p. 36).

In some ways, this magazine article aligns more closely with the practice of LGB teenagers studied by Bond et al (2008) than by early-developing teenage girls. Bond et al (2008) discuss how TV representations of gay characters were unhelpful for LGB teenagers, because they were so stereotypical that information-seeking teens were unable to relate. In a similar way, the girl who wrote in this question probably would not have been able to find the answers she needed on television or in movies, so for Girls Life gave her more control over the information she received.

However, though the article sheds light on a side of sexuality rarely seen in the media, the advice it offers is actually very limiting. The positive side is that it tells the girl “nothing is wrong with you,” showing no stigma toward her, but the rest shows an obvious bias toward heteronormativity. Though the girl who wrote in said she wasn’t attracted to guys or girls, the magazine did not even consider an alternative sexual preference from heterosexualit. Instead, it offers this advice: “At some point, I’m sure you will meet someone and have feelings for that person. And frankly, time is on your side because as guys mature, they tend to become more crush-worthy anyway.” Their solution for her non-attraction to boys is that someday she will be attracted to boys, and then she’ll be “normal.”

The GL article I analyzed definitely serves as an information source for girls, but identifies a reason for the “super peer” than Bond et al. Though GL gives readers more control over what information they learn from the media, and offers a safe space for non-conforming girls to gain information, the advice it gives out is still very stereotypical and heteronormative, which undermines its effectiveness as a resource in my opinion. Although it takes on the tone of an all-knowing and non-judgmental older sister, I think the Q&A columns like the one I looked at could do as much harm as good for non-conforming teens looking for answers.

References:

Brown, J. D., Halpern, C. T., & L'Engle, K. L. (2005). Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(5), 420-427. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.06.003

Bond, B. J., Hefner, V., & Drogos, K. L. (2009). Information-seeking practices during the sexual development of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: The influence and effects of coming out in a mediated environment. Sexuality & Culture: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, 13(1), 32-50. doi: 10.1007/s12119-008-9041-y