The representation of women in magazines

The Women's Forum Australia has recently conducted research into the portrayal of women and teenage girls in women's magazines, finding that females are disproportionately sexualised in magazines, compared to men. The findings can be read online, and the forum has produced a number of resources for those interested in studying this topic further, as part of the "Faking it" campaign - which would be extremely useful for media classrooms.

The forum has the following objectives:

1. To promote the advancement, well-being and freedom of all women;
2. To conduct and sponsor research about social, cultural, health and economic issues relevant to women;
3. To provide education to women and men about social, cultural, health and economic issues relevant to women;
4. To promote the equal participation and contribution of women and men in the work place and public life;
5. To promote a positive balance for women and men between family commitment and participation in the work force;
6. To mentor women in their contribution to public life;
7. To promote initiatives that work for improvements in the lives of all women, in particular women from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds including women with physical and intellectual disabilities, women with mental illness, refugee and migrant women and indigenous women; and
8. To empower women in their contribution to media and public debate and the formation of social policy.

Some of the work coming out of the WFA, particularly about women and media, has a protectionist agenda that perhaps fails to take account of the complex relationships young women have with the media. However, they also convincingly demonstrate that media often provide a significant proportion of the template young women have for imagining how they can "be" in the world.