Indeed the word ‘product’ to describe Clique seems just as apt as terms such as magazine, publication, title. Likewise, the woman with the magazine in her hands is perhaps better described as the consumer rather than the reader. Despite some standard women’s magazine features, such as a cookery page, there is very little to read; the emphasis is firmly on visual content. Furthermore, the magazine repeatedly and consistently positions the reader as a consumer. Using the Clique app, the reader-consumer can ‘unlock hidden content’ on every page, indicated by a range of eight symbols. This is where the interactive element comes in, allowing the reader-consumer to share details of items with friends, watch videos of fashion shoots or get styling tips.
Tag: SHAW (Society for the History of Women in the Americas)
Between the Pages – Women, Magazines & Historical Memory
Noliwe Rooks … gave a keynote address entitled ‘Black Women and “Real Beauty”: The Rise and Fall of the Dove Beauty Campaign’ analysing the way ‘black women’s bodies are used to market products to consumers who are not black, in a cultural moment, desperately seeking to evade race’. This sparked off extensive reflection, both in the session and outside it – in corridors, over coffee, lunch and dinner, and in other sessions – on magazine culture, advertising, beauty products and campaigns, and the place of women’s bodies and colour in promoting cultural sameness and difference.