Women's body magazine covers create social values with practically every issue they publish. To start, the cover gives the reader an insight into what's written inside the magazine. Based on how appealing the cover is, readers chose particular magazines. As a result, magazine authors use every trick in the book to reel readers in.
When it comes to women's body magazines, authors tend to follow a pattern. For certain words, they increase the size of the font so that they stand out from the words which have fonts at a fraction of the size. They even use different colored fonts, typically bright colored ones so that they stand out. For example, in Muscle and Fitness magazine, the 'best body for 2015' is displayed in red font. With most of the magazines in black font, the red font draws the attention of the reader. Though, the issue with the cover is that the model is a professional athlete, a profession where attaining such a figure is much easier than for the ordinary female. By saying 'best body for 2015', the cover idolizes a figure that only a small percentage of women can achieve.
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A trend amongst the covers is an attractive, skinny female. Authors place the model in the center of the cover, having them take up ⅓ of the page. By simply magnifying certain elements of magazine covers, authors are capable of capturing the reader's attention. Furthermore, the author emphasizes words such as 'look better' and 'slim down'. These words make way for the interpretation that you can always become thinner. That you could lose a few more pounds and look 'better'. Though, the downside is that women will always try to cut down so that they could look like these professional models. Lastly, the 2008 Women's Health Issue was issued on January 1st, which was the day after New Year's Eve. As part of their new year's resolution, many women have hopes of becoming fitter. By issuing the magazine on such a day, the author hopes to satisfy those goals and in return, sell more copies.
Another element in these magazine covers is the concept of happiness. Practically every cover has a model who's smiling, implying that becoming lean will lead to happiness. By displaying the model in such a way, they link the ideas of happiness and physique. All three models have postures that open up their bodies which exude self-confidence. On top of that, in the Women's Health South Africa magazine, Charlize Theron is displayed with a facial expression that shows confidence. By featuring confidence in their expressions and posture, the authors manage to associate a fit physique with self-confidence. In doing so, women are presented with the idea that becoming thinner will allow them to be more comfortable in their skin.
Another trend with these covers, especially the Muscle and Fitness magazine is that the models have curvy figures. Though, many leave out the fact that these women receive implants and even liposuctions to look good as they do. They emphasize the idea that women should have these massive curves to be attractive. Some women cannot attain such curves due to anatomy and genes. With all these models displaying such curves, women will feel ashamed of themselves and seek out various procedures to achieve such a figure. On top of that, there have been various cases where the models have been photoshopped so that they could have larger curves or look skinnier. This even furthers the idea that attaining such a figure is ridiculously difficult and even impossible without these modifications. Though, such false advertising can be detrimental to how women view themselves within society. Through these magazine issues, they're sold this false idea that they could achieve such a figure. But, through all of their strategies, they're able to sell more magazines. Especially by emphasizing the idea that anyone could achieve such a figure, even with ease. They even include fitness plans and various tips so that readers would purchase their magazines in hopes of obtaining their 'dream' bodies. Through all of these tactics, authors are capable of manipulating the emotions of their readers so that they could generate more revenue by selling more copies.
In all three magazine covers, authors offer enticing propositions that play into the emotions and aspirations of women. For example, the 2008 Women's Health magazine emphasizes the words 'lose fat fast, and the Muscle and Fitness magazine highlights the phrase 'the easiest way to lose weight.' Usually, the readers and customers of such magazine subscriptions have hopes of attaining a certain figure. This magazine covers promises results within a short time without emphasizing that a great amount of hard work and dedication would need to be applied. Muscle and Fitness magazine states that one would achieve 'amazing arms in just 7 moves'. In today's day and age, individuals have a strong desire for immediate results without putting in great amounts of dedication and the language in such magazines plays into those hopes and aspirations.
In the Women's Health South Africa magazine, the usage of the phrase 'hot body fast' has a clear implication. After reading such a phrase, women would compare themselves to the models and in most cases, look down on themselves since they don't have the qualities or features of the model on the front cover. On top of that, the author associates happiness with being skinny by emphasizing the phrase 'get fit and stay happy'. It suggests that becoming fit will lead to long-term happiness, a desirable trait for almost every individual. Furthermore, authors manipulate women into purchasing magazines by stating that the magazine includes various fat loss tips. The Muscle and Fitness magazine would draw the attention of readers due to the emphasization of '237 can't miss fitness tips.' In conclusion, women's health magazine covers include various tricks including strategic placement and magnifying elements to persuade readers to purchase their magazine.
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