There is not the same binary oppositional drive here. Let’s work from the image out. There are androgynous elements to the choice of model and her clothing and body language are not either hyper-feminine or overtly sexualised. The model is also not a celebrity, nor is she a recognisable character. In this way the cover is an example of an open text as the images and writing leave much up to the decoder.
2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?
Individuals are given a perspective of freedom within this magazine and by giving this speaking out feature within the magazine allows audiences to see individual perspectives seen within the magazine as there are different ethnic backgrounds like Fahama Mohamed who is Black and Muslim and Jayne Crabbe who does not conform to the traditional body image associated within advertising and this all subverts audience expectations and by the magazine claiming to ''admire, follow and inspire'' allows individuals to pursue their own individualism.
3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?
The representation of women given in this magazine is quite empowering as it talks about issues that are highly sensitive like Female genital mutilation and empowers women through providing aspect of the women's campaign at the beginning and deals with everyday issues that women cope with because it provides fashion which is quite individualistic and provides different body images of women.
4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).
This magazine does have some representation of men but not as much because maybe it is depicting the fact that men are seen quite a lot in the media so without their representation in this magazine allows audiences to get a insight of feminist attitudes.
5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?
I think that oh comely could fit into the idea of fourth wave feminism because it us variety of things that are from the social media and uses recognised figures like Megan who does not confide to the typical body conventions but could also be regarded as being in a post feminist state because could be reinforcing the power that women hold today if far more than what used to be.
This magazine breaks binary oppositions into lots of little pieces with not a hint of black and white anywhere to be seen. If traditional binary oppositions hold a male/female and masculine/feminine the transgender stories have disruptive effect on that structure . These binary oppositions are positioned to question audiences minds as Levi Strauss claims so it can intrigue audiences but this means that certain things like transgender can be lacking fluidity within the media.
7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features.
This challenges the role of gender being a permanence as this magazine provides a gender neutral approach as the image of the person looks quite androgynous which heightens expectations for audiences and gives aesthetic pleasures.The typography is a combination of a hand-written title with sans-serif subtitles. This has the effect of making the magazine feel slightly home-spun, more personal and craft-like. This enables the magazine to challenge the traditional gender roles as now women are seen to be commiting to societies values as they used to.
8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour?
Oh comely provides audiences with issues that are not talked that much about in the media and magazines like glamour and cosmopolitan only provide audiences with distinct styles and looks that women can have within society but does not really emphasise any issues like this oh comely magazine.
9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint?
This is true to a significant extent as this magazine provides fluidity towards gender and how it is perceived within society which enables individuals to seek their own individual self within society and not conform to what is expected of these gender roles.
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. Do you agree with this view? Why?
There is more room for negotiation and interpretation because this text is more open to audiences and provides audiences with a gender neutral approach and audiences change the way they respond because ideologies that are represented subvert expectations for audiences.
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