Women have been important contributors to and readers of magazines since the development of the periodical press in the nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, millions of women read the weeklies and monthlies that focused on supposedly "feminine concerns" of the home, family and appearance. In the decades that followed, feminist scholars criticized such publications as at best conservative and at worst regressive in their treatment of gender norms and ideals. However, this perspective obscures the heterogeneity of the magazine industry itself and women's experiences of it, both as readers and as journalists. This collection explores such diversity, highlighting the differing and at times contradictory images and understandings of women in a range of magazines and women's contributions to magazines in a number of contexts from late nineteenth century publications to twenty-first century titles in Britain, North America, continental Europe and Australia.

About the Author
Rachel Ritchie is an Associate Research Fellow at Brunel University London. Sue Hawkins teaches 19th-century British social history at Kingston University London. Nicola Phillips is a Gender Historian and Co-Director of the Bedford Centre for the History of Women and the MA in Public History at Royal Holloway, University of London. S. Jay Kleinberg is a Professor Emerita at Brunel University London and Chair of the Society for the History of Women in the Americas.

Reviews

"A part of Routledge's Research in Gender and History series, Women in Magazines is "not simply about women's magazines" but rather about "the position of women in magazines" (p. 1). An anthology of women's depictions in-as well as contributions to- magazines, the volume contains essential readings for media and feminist scholars as well as
historians. In the classroom, the collection could provide fodder for discussions in upperlevel undergraduate or graduate level courses in magazine media, journalism, and women and gender studies. Individual chapters would also be at home as required reading for a variety of history courses in either upper-level undergraduate or graduate programs."

- Catherine Staub, Drake University

Book Information
ISBN 9780367263959
Author Rachel Ritchie
Format Paperback
Page Count 266
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g