A content analysis of three women's magazines from 1960 to 1970

Abstract

<p>On March 18, 1970, a group of women from various women's Liberation groups held a sit-in at the New York offices of Ladies Home Journal. This sit-in focused on a controversy over the quality of women's magazines using Ladies Home Journal as a prototype. They said, "Ladies Home Journal creates frustrations which lead to depression and anger because women cannot live up to what the magazine tells them they should. The attitudes of the Journal are aborrent and degrading to women." (19) [...] Out of all this, one is still left with the question, what exactly are women's magazines? Are they really the mindless pap claimed by some or are they the publications with high ideals claimed by others? It will be the purpose of this study to analyze the content of three of the major women's magazines to determine in an objective way what their content is and what types of values are being presented to their mass audiences. The three magazines to be studied are McCall's, Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping-- the three largest women's magazines by circulation.</p>