Seventeen
Publisher: Hearst Magazines
Format: Monthly
Reader’s Annotation: Seventeen magazine is the classic magazine for teen girls.
Reading Level/Interest Level: 13+/13+
Content Summary: Seventeen is a classic fashion and beauty magazine for teen girls. In the issue I evaluated, the May 2014 issue, it included tips on getting ready for summer, including what to wear to the beach, how to get your body in shape, and even tips on what to wear in college. Beauty tips included hair, make-up, nail, and even scent tips. In this issue, there is a section about taking care of your skin in the sun, and making sure you check for spots. There are exercise tips, and a section on hot guys spilling their secrets – the things they normally only tell their friends. There’s a section with advice on friendships and relationships, and another about being a great intern. There is usually a celebrity featured on the cover, and this time, it’s Miley Cyrus, dishing on her confidence. Of course, there are bathing suit tips, and then everyone’s favorite section of Seventeen: traumarama, a catalogue of humiliating moments. The magazine ends with that month’s “to do” list.
Critical Evaluation: Seventeen is the classic magazine for teen girls, and while it is focused on beauty and fashion, there are also usually helpful tips on health, diet, and school and career. Although it is difficult to differentiate between content and advertisements, as in Teen Vogue, both the advertisements and content seem suited to teenagers. That is, the young women, although very pretty, look young and are not, for the most part, overly sexualized. The focus of the magazine seems to be “fun and flirty” rather than sexy. Even the “look hotter” article in this issue featured a girl with a slender (but not anorexic) figure holding a volleyball on a beach, which is a positive. The idea of working out for health reasons instead of to get thin is a good one, and although the magazine does not go that far, the pictures at least (in this section) tell the healthy story. As mentioned above, traumarama was a favorite of mine in youth, and still is fun to read today – reading other people’s embarrassing stories and realizing they got through them is definitely important, and it’s always nice to have a chuckle.
Why This Magazine: This is a great magazine for teen girls.
Publisher: Hearst Magazines
Format: Monthly
Reader’s Annotation: Seventeen magazine is the classic magazine for teen girls.
Reading Level/Interest Level: 13+/13+
Content Summary: Seventeen is a classic fashion and beauty magazine for teen girls. In the issue I evaluated, the May 2014 issue, it included tips on getting ready for summer, including what to wear to the beach, how to get your body in shape, and even tips on what to wear in college. Beauty tips included hair, make-up, nail, and even scent tips. In this issue, there is a section about taking care of your skin in the sun, and making sure you check for spots. There are exercise tips, and a section on hot guys spilling their secrets – the things they normally only tell their friends. There’s a section with advice on friendships and relationships, and another about being a great intern. There is usually a celebrity featured on the cover, and this time, it’s Miley Cyrus, dishing on her confidence. Of course, there are bathing suit tips, and then everyone’s favorite section of Seventeen: traumarama, a catalogue of humiliating moments. The magazine ends with that month’s “to do” list.
Critical Evaluation: Seventeen is the classic magazine for teen girls, and while it is focused on beauty and fashion, there are also usually helpful tips on health, diet, and school and career. Although it is difficult to differentiate between content and advertisements, as in Teen Vogue, both the advertisements and content seem suited to teenagers. That is, the young women, although very pretty, look young and are not, for the most part, overly sexualized. The focus of the magazine seems to be “fun and flirty” rather than sexy. Even the “look hotter” article in this issue featured a girl with a slender (but not anorexic) figure holding a volleyball on a beach, which is a positive. The idea of working out for health reasons instead of to get thin is a good one, and although the magazine does not go that far, the pictures at least (in this section) tell the healthy story. As mentioned above, traumarama was a favorite of mine in youth, and still is fun to read today – reading other people’s embarrassing stories and realizing they got through them is definitely important, and it’s always nice to have a chuckle.
Why This Magazine: This is a great magazine for teen girls.