Hey everybody once again,

Here we are in the last era, the 50’s. This post will again look at representation of women in the media dealing with censorship and how it has affected women. In this post, the covers of Cosmopolitan magazine from the 50’s will be looked at. Here are some of the magazine covers: March 1954, February 1956, February 1957, and March 1959. [All images from http://whosdatedwho.com/].

What will really be looked at in detail besides the image is the text that is on the cover. The representation of women in the 50’s according to Cosmopolitan magazine had to do with being happy, good health, marriage, looks, having manners and morals. The censorship issue, once again, has to do with the media censoring what women should read about and how it would influence them. Life magazine made sure that the influence of their published works would influence, positively, the nuclear family and that their worries consisted of the family only. For example, the March 1954 Life magazine cover warns women that romance can ruin a marriage and what to do to not ruin it. The February 1956 cover forewarns women that an article going over the issue of dental cosmetics and how to make your teeth beautiful is inside. The February 1957 cover tells the public that the there is an article inside about good health and happiness for the family. Finally, the March 1959 magazine has the words manners and morals plastered on the cover. Obviously, Cosmopolitan is targeted towards women readers and the issues mentioned all had famous women on the cover which draws more women readers. The topics of the magazine were apparent topics targeted to women that represented the past modern day woman which had to do with family, marriage, and looks. Therefore, the representation of women in the media in the 50’s had to do with being healthy, looking good, and raising the average American family. In some ways, the representation of women in the media has changed, then, it was purely family and looks, as for now, it is being able to balance a career, beauty, and children. That’s it for now.
~Krystale