In the 1940s, different industries began to view the teenager as a dominant force in shaping pop culture. Companies started to market products towards teenagers and the teen magazine was born. Society was also changing rapidly and no one was addressing the next generation of women who needed to better understand the changing roles of women and their active participation in the prominent events occurring. Very soon after The Teen Bill of Rights was published, Seventeen magazine was created. The Teen Bill of Rights basically stated the social responsibilities teens should have and what they represent for the future of America.
During its’ earlier years, the magazine seem to be a positive source of media which helped shape young teenage girls into important aspects of society. The covers on Seventeen magazine used to promote more admirable causes. The magazine covers didn’t just represent ways in how to change one’s physical appearance, but they promoted a female role model for young girls to emulate. Each cover seemed to promote an acceptable female lifestyle, which usually encouraged young girls to play an active role in society, while still promoting the dominant ideologies of that time period. Seventeen magazine covers have demonstrated a digression by encouraging girls to currently be more passive participants in society rather then active ones.
The very first issue of Seventeen magazine presents a non-threatening looking teen-age girl, who you could imagine many young girls looking up to. The very first cover, demonstrates the common theme of presenting an image of a teen-age girl, whom every young girl wants to be and every boy wants to be with her.
The cover does not contain headlines all over it, but it simply says at the bottom “Young fashion and beauty, movies and music, ideas and people”. The use of the word “ideas” encourages a more active role for the reader. It doesn’t advertise ways to loose weight, or clothing to make you look skinner. While the magazine itself may have contained some of these concepts, the cover promoted something that was more superior than today’s Seventeen magazine covers. There is also an artistic side to the cover of the magazine. It isn’t about what it says, but the beauty of the young girl, the artistic numbers, and the palet of beautiful pastel colors. Why have we lost this artistic aspect of fashion/teen magazine covers? Every detail of this cover is geared towards targeting teen age girls from the use of the color pink, to the flowers on the numbers.
Below is the intended purpose of the magazine stated by the first editor Helen Valentine, in 1944.
"Seventeen is your magazine, High School Girls of America — all yours! It is interested only in you — and in everything that concerns, excites, annoys, pleases, or perplexes you.
You're going to have to run this show — so the sooner you start thinking about it, the better. In a world that is changing as quickly and profoundly as ours is, we hope to provide a clearinghouse for your ideas.
As a magazine, we shall discuss all the things you consider important — with plenty of help from you, please. Write us about anything or everything. Say you agree with Seventeen or disagree violently, say we're tops, say we're terrible, say anything you please — but say it!"
http://www.seventeen.com/fun-stuff/special/65th-anniversary-cover-archive#ixzz0ZRzGEjX2
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