Masters Theses

Date of Award

3-1984

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Communication

Major Professor

Jack B. Haskins

Abstract

The nonfiction content of 17 issues each of Seventeen, Mademoiselle, Redbook, and McCall's from 1962 through 1982 was analyzed to measure three things: the stereotypic femininity or masculinity of female characters; the proportion of feminine, neutral, and masculine occupational options presented for women in content; and the morbidity or degree of negativity exhibited by major story themes. The first two variables were analyzed in relation to each other and over time; the third was analyzed only in relation to time. These magazines were studied primarily to determine whether portrayals of women's personalities and the presentation of occupations for women became less sexually stereotyped over the 21 years of study, a period covering the emergence, peak, and decline of the feminist revival in the United States. In addition, the study was intended to determine whether women's magazines showed an increase in their coverage of negative themes over time, as other media have. Seventeen and Mademoiselle constitute group 1, or young women's magazines, and Redbook and McCall's constitute group 2, or older women's magazines. It was assumed that content of the two groups would differ significantly.

Nonfiction characters' degree of femininity was measured with a five-point scale that assigned a score on the basis of personality traits (adjectives) mentioned in content. A score of 1 means all traits are masculine; 5 means all traits are feminine. Stereotypically feminine, masculine, and sexually neutral occupational and social options (e.g., doctor, secretary, wife) were coded as well, with the aid of an exhaustive list of occupations. Occupations were determined to be feminine, masculine, or neutral based on the proportion of women they employ. Occupations employing 51 to 100 percent women are feminine, neutral occupations employ 26 to 51 percent women, and masculine occupations employ 26 percent or fewer women. Finally, each article analyzed was assigned a morbidity score from 1 to 7, with 1 meaning the article is extremely negative (addressing war, tragedy, etc.) and 7 meaning it is extremely positive (dealing with positive discoveries, joyful events, etc.).

No significant relationship between characters' femininity scores and percentages of feminine and masculine occupational options in content was found, although covariance was expected. Most mean femininity scores for characters in both groups of magazines fall between 3 (androgynous) and 4 (mostly feminine). Femininity scores of characters in Redbook and McCall's show a consistent one-point drop over time; Seventeen and Mademoiselle characters' scores show only a slight downward trend. Overall, 75 percent of occupational options in content are feminine, 17 percent are neutral, and 8 percent are masculine. Seventeen and Mademoiselle contain fewer feminine and more neutral occupational options than Redbook and McCall's, suggesting that young women's magazines feature somewhat less sexually stereotyped fare. Over time, however, all magazines show a decrease in feminine and an increase in neutral and masculine occupational options. This change is more marked in older women's magazines, perhaps suggesting an attempt by their editors to reflect the greater current acceptance of nontraditional careers for women. Greater change takes place in Redbook and McCall's than in Seventeen and Mademoiselle.

Two-thirds of articles coded were scored as slightly or very positive (5 and 6 on the morbidity scale), and, overall, articles become slightly more positive over time. Thus, women's magazines depart from the trend of including progressively greater amounts of negative news over time. There is little difference between young women's and older women's magazines on this measure.

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