Pride

• Pride magazine


  A set text for GCSE Media Studies that could appear in component one section a as either a media language question or a representation question
• Masthead


  • The title 'Pride' tells the audience how they are supposed to feel - encouraged to feel proud of themselves and the magazine is proud of them and the readers
  • The masthead is positioned behind the cover star's head, a common convention for lifestyle magazines to draw attention to the cover star as the most important part
• Strapline


  Celebrating 24 years at the top connotes that the magazine is successful and well-respected
• Colour palette


  • Mostly red and white, powerful and strong colours that may connote challenging gender ideas and appealing to strong women
• Cover star Naomi Harris


  • A confident, powerful pose looking directly at the audience
  • The way she is standing draws attention to her body, which may suggest women's bodies are an important part of the magazine
• Many cover lines communicate the idea that appearances and bodies are important
• Cover lines


  • Unlike typical women's magazines, this magazine openly talks about how women's bodies are objectified, mocked and sexualised, suggesting a more political and modern approach
  • The use of the FGM acronym suggests the audience is educated on the issue
• The choice of a black female cover star and mention of black women's bodies


  Suggests the target audience are black women, which is unconventional for mainstream media
• The magazine represents a typically underrepresented group - black women
• The article about the 'wig revolution'

  Suggests black women should hide their natural hair and conform to Western ideals of beauty, which is common in media
• The cover star Naomi Harris is a conventionally attractive, slim woman, perpetuating ideas of beauty
• Cover line 'How far would you go to be beautiful?'


  Suggests women could/should change their appearance to look 'better', despite the magazine also critiquing the objectification of women
• Inclusive language


  • Use of 'we' and direct address 'how far would you go' engages the audience and makes them feel part of the magazine
• For a media language question, you need to analyse the colours, body language, facial expressions, connotations of cover lines, and how conventional or unconventional the magazine is compared to typical women's magazines
• For a representation question, you need to compare how women, ethnicity, and bodies are represented in this magazine compared to an unseen magazine provided by the exam board