Encoding & Decoding Cosmopolitan Magazine

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Encoding/Decoding; Cosmopolitan

        For decades, infants have represented an important target to marketers because they have their own purchasing power. They influence their parent's buying decisions and they're the adult consumers of the future. Children are exposed to sublimal messages and implicit images right from the very beginning of their childhood which shapes their identity and their gender. For example, when a girl baby is born, she is automatically placed into a pink world; pink clothing, pink bed sheets, pink crib etc. Pink is perceived to be a girly, feminine color. It represents a soft, sensitive, kind and gentle image which is why it is usually associated to girls. Yet on the other hand, boys represent blue. Which is perceived to be a manly, powerful and dominant color. The cartoons that take over televisions in every family represent strong ideologies of the ideal image of femininity and masculinity, which is related to gender discrimination. The female characters such as Barbie and the Bratz Dolls implicitly influence a little girls idea of what she needs to look like. Their perfect thin bodies, their exaggerated assets, and their flawless skin all affects a kids development. Batman and G.I. Joe are examples of what little boys grow up with. These characters and many others, portray "the image" of what the boy must grow up to be. They are strong, attractive,muscular and heroic characters which indirectly shapes what the kids perception of what their gender should represent. Both, girls and boys, grow up with these adjectives engraved deep within their minds, and when they become adults, these ideologies follow them and they do everything in their power in order to achieve them. The media then grows up with these individuals and entirely shapes their identity. Television shows, movies and even magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, continue on strengthening the ideal image of what a man and a woman should look like. The magazine "Cosmopolitan" is a great example of the tremendous amount of influence that a media source can have on the women and men who have been following it since the beginning.

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        Cosmopolitan is an international  of all ages. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine but was later transformed into a . Eventually, Cosmopolitan became a women's magazine in the late 1960s which transformed it into a multi-million dollar magazine. Also known as Cosmo, its current content includes articles on relationships, sex, health, careers, self-improvement, celebrities, as well as fashion and beauty. Published by , Cosmopolitan has 63 international editions, is printed in 36 languages and is distributed in more than 100 countries. In 1999, Cosmopolitan created a spinoff magazine called CosmoGIRL! which ...

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