in order to make money, they do
what is best for them.
The first page of each article,
which is situated on the right
hand page, is dominated by a
large photograph of a woman
(the celebrity), a layout that
was also found by Kress and
Van Leeuwen (1996) in their
study of Australian women’s
magazines.
However,
rather
than the celebrity engaging
the gaze of the viewer as
Kress and Van Leeuwen found,
she is often looking away or
wearing sunglasses (see Figure
2). Laura Mulvey (1989, p.19), who
posited the male gaze theory
in films, states that, “In their
traditional exhibitionist role
women
are
simultaneously
looked at and displayed, with
their appearance coded for
strong visual and erotic impact
so that they can be said to
connote to-be-looked-at-ness.”
Although Mulvey talks about
the way in which women are
displayed for the viewing of
men, we can use the ideas of
voyeurism to show how these
celebrities are displayed for
the viewing of other women. The
celebrities are not looking
at the reader, because the
reader is the voyeur and they
are the objects of the reader’s
viewing. Even though it is only
a photograph, it is possible
that the lack of a direct gaze
from the celebrity allows the
viewer to feel more comfortable
observing as a voyeur. It places
the reader in a position where
they are invited to look.
The women, in this case the
celebrities, are shown in a
walking stance in an outdoor/
street setting, which for some
readers may evoke thoughts of
Figure 2: the averted celebrity gaze
freedom and social mobility,
with the possibility that the
woman is heading to work. It
therefore contrasts with the
traditional ideology that a
woman’s place is in the home
(housewives and stay-at-home
mums). This may contribute to the
appeal of the celebrity, making
it more desirable to be like them.
This fits with Cosmopolitan’s
aim
of
identifying
with
independent women, epitomised
in the magazine’s motto: ‘fun,
fearless, female’.
In our society, celebrities are
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