oh comely- representation

1) Representations of Oh Comely challenge stereotypes because the model on the front cover can be seen as both masculine and feminine, therefore Oh Comely creates liminal space. Additionally, the way Oh Comely represents femininity can be see as an alternative representation because they subvert stereotypes that other magazines include. For example Oh Comely use a model which looks androgynous and is wearing sophisticated clothing, whereas a mainstream magazine such as ELLE and Vogue have pictures of women which are revealing and are wearing clothes which make them look semi-naked.

2) The  representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature are:

• Race: a positive representation, Oh Comley use a variety of women from a different background, many of these women have achieved something in their lives at a young age.
• Ethnicity: a positive representation, presents a diverse range of women
• Nationality: a positive representation,

3) Representation of women and femininity that can be found in Oh Comely are:

• Alternative representation: the women in Oh Comely subvert traditional stereotypes of being a women, they are presented as having a voice and having dominance, whereas traditionally women are seen as lower to men and subservient.
• Empowering: the women's rights protests and the quotes are inspiring for young ladies.

4) Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men because the magazine is aimed at a niche audience of women. Therefore Oh Comely aims to provide content for them, things they find appealing, rather than having content aimed at men (who are largely aimed at by the media).

5) It can be argued that Oh Comely fits into the fourth wave feminism, this is because throughout the magazine, in particular the 'Speaking Out' section, they have used social media tags. These tags allow audiences to follow their campaigners.

6) The 'More than gender' feature challenges Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition because it proves howgender is not biologically fixed (Butler) and gender is susceptible to change (Gauntlett). The change in time creates liminal space.

7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. Oh Comely challenges traditional gender roles by:

• The image of the cover model- she looks neither feminine nor masculine, which implies that gender is liminal. She looks androgynous and has powerful direct look.
• The fact that she is all covered up is significant because it implies how Oh Comely think how beauty lies "within", rather than beauty being about appearance. They go against societies norms.
• The images used in the 'Speaking Out' section are also important as they are taken with a natural pose, which connotes the idea of beauty as natural.

8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way.
The differences that I can find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour are:

• The types of cover images they use- Oh Comely uses a cover model which wears sophisticated clothing, whereas Cosmo and Glamour use females which wear revealing clothing.
• Who they use on the cover image- Oh Comely use a normal person, which is more intimate for an audience, whereas Cosmo and Glamour tend to use celebrities.
• The content they provide is completely different- Oh Comely provide content which inspires their readers, whereas Como and Glamour suggest what females can improve on, e.g. appearance.

9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences.
Oh Comely supports this viewpoint to a large extent because:

• The representation of the cover model- she looks both feminine and masculine, she is androgynous.
• The articles such as 'FGM' highlight how gender is something that can be changed- also how millennials can find more information on gender fluidity (young Somali)
• The 'More than gender' article shows how 'men are finding a place for themselves in the modern world'

10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. I agree with this point of view because they are more open than mainstream magazines.Unlike mainstream magazines, Oh Comely uses a lack of cover lines because they want the audience to come up with their own views/opinions. Also, it doesn't explicitly talk about one gender, which implies that they use a gender neutral approach to catch a wider audience and let them think about these issues.