pride

• Pride magazine


  UK monthly women's lifestyle magazine that targets women of colour
• Pride has been in publication since 1990 and has a circulation of over 30 000 copies per month and a readership of over 146 000
• Pride is distributed in the UK by COMAG, part of Condé Nast
• The word 'Pride' has become synonymous with the gay community over recent decades, but the modern gay movement has its roots in the black liberation movement of the 1960s with Gay Pride borrowing its name from Black Pride
• Women's magazines in the 1950s and 60s


  • Moved away from articles on homemaking and towards articles on beauty and fashion
  • Consumption became the top priority, with readers being reminded they should look and feel the best by purchasing the latest cosmetics and hair care
• Uses and Gratifications Model


  Suggests audiences interact with texts for different reasons: information, personal identity, social interaction and entertainment
• Pride's unique selling point

  It is the only black media company that still remains in black British ownership
• Title of the magazine, Pride


  • Connotations of self-respect, self-esteem, dignity and strength
  • Subtext of resistance and an affirmation of cultural identity
• Masthead


  • Some is lost behind the cover star's head, suggesting her dominance and showing how confident the magazine is that their readers will still recognise their brand
• Strapline


  • "Celebrating 24 years at the top!" - Encourages the reader to feel a part of something great, assuming they are reading one of the best magazines of its kind
• Colour palette


  • Red and black - Red is associated with pride and strength, black is a strong, bold statement, perhaps representative of their target audience, women of colour
• Cover star's pose


  • Hand on hip suggests confidence and sass
  • Photographer's trick to lengthen the appearance of the torso, helping to make her look taller and slimmer, trying to add to her beauty and further improve her body shape making it aspirational
• Cover star's gaze


  • Looking directly at the audience, adding to the more personal approach of the magazine format
• Many of the cover lines focus on body image, reminding readers they could and should look better, and that they will be judged on their appearance
• One cover line references Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) using only the acronym, assuming the reader will understand and have a certain level of social and cultural understanding of the practice
• The cover line "Bond And Beyond" suggests Naomie Harris' role as Eve Moneypenny in the Bond film was a defining role for her, even though her defining role was arguably as Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Black Lives Matter movement, which originated in the African American community, may have contributed to the huge number of Twitter followers and Facebook likes Pride magazine now has
• Around the time of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Black Pride was a response to dominant white cultures and ideologies, with the Afro hairstyle becoming a symbol of Black Pride and Power
• The cover line "The wig revolution" and Naomie Harris having straight hair rather than her natural curls could be related to the consumerist context of the magazine, which is likely filled with adverts for hair care products such as relaxers
• Using Naomie Harris as the cover star


  • Presenting a role model from the target audience's community, who had a 'normal' upbringing, making it easier for readers to aspire to be like her
• The magazine declares itself to be "the face of this new young black Britain; outgoing, confident and ambitious, whilst still maintaining pride in their culture and origins"
• Stereotypical representation of femininity, especially in relation to body image, is just as true of Pride as it is of other women's lifestyle magazines like Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle
• Cover lines like "How far would you go to be beautiful?" suggest the reader cannot already be naturally beautiful, there is always room for improvement
• The cover line about FGM happening on Harley Street suggests the magazine's only angle when covering this issue is wholly focused on beauty and body image
• The exclamation mark on the FGM cover line makes the magazine's point of view on the topic clear, illustrating a tone of shock