Memorial University DAI: Sexing desire : the construction and treatment of female sexuality in popular women's magazines

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Title	Sexing desire : the construction and treatment of female sexuality in popular women's magazines
Author	Finney, Danielle, 1973-
Description	Thesis (M.W.S.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. Women's Studies
Date	2001
Pagination	iv, 98 leaves
Subject	Women--Sexual behavior--Social aspects; Women's periodicals
Degree	M.W.S.
Degree Grantor	Memorial University of Newfoundland.Women's Studies Programme
Discipline	Women's Studies
Language	eng
Notes	Bibliography: leaves 94-98
Abstract	This thesis explores the social construction of female sexuality in popular women's magazines and draws attention to the commercial interests that are served by the simultaneous processes of creating sexual difference and "sexing desire." The teen magazines Seventeen, Ym, and Teen, and the young women's magazines Cosmo, Glamour, and New Woman, are used to track the cultivation of a specifically feminine form of desire, a form of desire which is differentiated from masculine desire, offered only to female bodies, and which bears no inherent relation to female bodies. It is shown that for the purposes of generating revenue, the cosmetic, fashion, diet, and magazine industries participate in the creation of feminine desire. In these magazines, feminine desire is established as the desire for male sexual desire and for committed, monogamous relationships while male desire is characterized as the desire for sexual gratification. This thesis also elucidates the ways that popular women's magazines often react to the differences that they themselves have helped to create. Numerous contradictions become visible through an examination of the advice given to readers on how to deal with or overcome the consequences of sexed desire. Ultimately, my analysis reveals that contradiction is a key feature of the women's magazines' treatment of female sexuality and suggests that contradiction may be an integral part of the magazines' success.
Type	Text
Resource Type	Electronic thesis or dissertation
Format	Image/jpeg; Application/pdf
Source	Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries
Local Identifier	a1562178
Rights	The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission.
Collection	Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Scanning Status	Completed
PDF File	(29.90 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Finney_Danielle.pdf
CONTENTdm file name	51665.cpd