Sex, Feminism and Lesbian Desire in Womens Magazines
This book examines evolving pop culture representations of sex and relationships from the 1970s onwards, to demonstrate parallels between the strength of the feminist movement and positive portrayals of womens sexuality.
In charting changes in the sex and relationship content of womens magazines over time, this analysis reveals that despite surface-level changes in sexual and relationship content, the underlying paradigm of hetero-monogamy remains unchanged. Despite a seemingly more diverse, empowered and liberated sexuality for women in contemporary magazines, in reality, such feminist rhetoric masks an enduring model of sexuality, which rests on womens sexual and emotional maintenance of male partners and their own self-objectification and self-surveillance. Where substantive changes can be identified, they rise and fall in tandem with feminism. By demonstrating this empirical relationship between cultural products and feminist organising, the book validates an assumption that has rarely been tested: that a feminist social milieu improves cultural narratives about sexuality for women. Sex, Feminism and Lesbian Desire builds on ground-breaking feminist texts such as Susan Faludis Backlash to present an empirically focused, comprehensive study interrogating changes in content over the lifetime of womens magazines. By charting the representation of sex and relationships in two womens magazinesCosmopolitan and Cleosince the 1970s through an analysis of over 6,500 magazine pages and 1,500 articles, this timely work interrogatesand ultimately complicatesthe apparent linear progression of feminism.
This book is suitable for researchers and students in womens and gender studies, queer studies, LGBT studies, media studies, cultural studies and sociology.
Kate Farhall is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for People, Organisation and Work at RMIT University, Australia. Her research focuses on using critical feminist analyses to address womens inequality in a range of contexts. Kates major projects reflect her expertise in feminist theory and violence against women, sexuality, media analysis, better work and regional perspectives. Her work has been published in journals such as Sexualities, The International Journal of Communication and Journalism Studies.
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Hannah McCann
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Margaret Henderson and Anthea Taylor
Sex, Feminism and Lesbian Desire in Womens Magazines
Kate Farhall
www.routledge.com/Feminism-and-Female-Sexuality/book-series/FFF
Sex, Feminism and Lesbian Desire in Womens Magazines
Kate Farhall
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2021 Kate Farhall
The right of Katherine Farhall to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Farhall, Kate, author.
Title: Sex, feminism and lesbian desire in womens magazines / Kate Farhall.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. | Series: Feminism and female sexuality | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020014763 (print) | LCCN 2020014764 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367226435 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429276156 (ebook) | ISBN 9781000169713 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781000169751 (epub) | ISBN 9781000169737 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Feminism and mass media. | Womens mass media. | WomenSexual behavior. | Lesbianism. | Sex in mass media.
Classification: LCC P96.F46 F37 2020 (print) | LCC P96.F46 (ebook) | DDC 050.82dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020014763
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020014764
ISBN: 978-0-367-22643-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-27615-6 (ebk)
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A wise woman once quipped that the acknowledgements page of a book ends up reading like a list of everyone the author knows. At risk of living up to the apparent absurdity of that statement, there are many people who deserve recognition here.
Firstly, to the team at Taylor & Francisespecially Alex McGregor, Eleanor Catchpole Simmons and Kitty Imbertthanks for your generosity, for answering all my inane queries and for giving me the opportunity to make this book a reality.
Secondly, I am greatly indebted to my incredible mentors and colleagues. To Sheila, Sally and Peter: your years of guidance, expertise and wisdom have been truly invaluable. To my CPOW crewand the inspiring women who at various times wore the hat of colleague, feminist comrade or friendI am so lucky to have you. Nat, Meagan and Kaye: thanks for the frequent nudges, responses to panicked calls, proofing, coffees and laughs. I cant thank you enoughand Cathy, for a last-minute rescue! Thank goodness I now have a new answer to the question Hows the book?
Thirdly, I am constantly in awe of my feminist communityand all those who fight sexual exploitation. The empathy and determination you each have to make the world a more just place motivate and give hope. Hard work is easier with good people.
Fourthly, I am deeply grateful to my incomparable friends, especially Lou, Sarah (and Hugo), Jess and Bibi, as well as Hannah, Susan, Jo, RayRay, Tam and Paige, for their love, support and sagacity. Your friendship sustained and propelled me through the ups and downs. To the CRIMT/Montreal crew: your hospitality and hilarity are unparalleled.
Lastly, I cannot express the gratitude I owe my family: Mum, Dad, Tim, May (and Kieran) and the Harmans. Thank you for your warmth, joy and intellectual sustenance, all of which made this possible. Finally, to Annie, who wore the most hats of all! Chef, problem solver, researcher, chauffeur, friend and partner. Thank you for coming along for the ride, making me laugh when I wanted to cry and building me up. Your love and belief in me have been important sources of strength and comfort.
Womens sexuality is the subject of intense public scrutiny. From celebrity sex scandals plastered across the covers of gossip magazines, to public commentary on female politicians motherhood status, to religious doctrines of purity and Girls Gone Wild, women have long been appraised and defined by their perceived sexual practices and availability. Although there are both continuities and tensions between these narratives and the many others regarding womens sexuality, they all contribute to our collective understandings of sexuality. By extension, they underwrite how we perceive femininity and masculinity, and thus how we understand the relationship between women and men as social groups.
