progress and research

photoshoots coming up, although i am considering sticking some of me and twineth's misadventures in.






all the research is done now - i have written about 12 000 words on women's magazines, which is above and beyond the call of duty to the tune of 10 000 words, but i find it fascinating.

here's some rambling

despite the superabundance of women’s monthly magazines available – about 124 different titles per month, according to ABC figures - many female readers still feel completely ignored by publishers and do not feel that there is a monthly lifestyle magazine for them. 87% of women do not feel catered for by the women’s market, which begs the question, why has no-one done anything about it?

the short answer is that many publishers have over the years – however in almost every case they have ended in failure. This obviously leads to the next question – why have they all done so spectacularly badly? If the market is there, which it quite clearly is, and if foreign equivalents do so well, which they do, why is there nothing on the UK market that fits the bill and sells well?

goo aims to plug this gap. A UK based, monthly lifestyle magazine for intelligent, liberal women. A feminist take on popular culture that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has something of an anarchic - almost ladette - attitude in terms of its approach to having a good time.

goo is witty, perceptive, well designed and, above all, proud to be female. It is unique in its ability to connect with bright, cutting-edge young women, whilst still maintaining a mainstream appeal. It features a broad editorial mix of women’s interests, including pop culture, politics, fashion, sex, crafting and DIY, and news. It is honest, smart, and will become a trusted authority on up-and-coming trends among young women. It is relevant, forward thinking, and does not talk down to its readers.

goo readers are first time earners, students, and young women uninspired and let down by the current state of women’s magazines. They are socially active, politically and culturally aware, highly opinionated and confident in their style.

goo readers are passionate about fashion and beauty, and enjoy following popular culture, although they are not swayed by mainstream ideals. They buy fashion magazines for the photoshoots, and browse streetstyle blogs online for inspiration.

goo readers make media and the arts a vital part of their lives. They own a laptop, a DVD player, a mobile phone and a digital camera with film capabilities – they like to keep up with new technology, and are happy to spend money on gadgets and appliances.

goo readers’ favourite TV channel is Channel 4. Their favourite newspaper is The Guardian. They always have a book on the go, and appreciate a wide range of genres. They go to the cinema at least twice a month, and buy DVDs regularly. Music is a passion, and finding obscure bands on Myspace is a thrill and a challenge. Their interests are not restricted to obscure, art-house films and indie bands with three fans. They appreciate the value of Spinal Tap and S Club 7 as much as that of Sleeper and Stereolab. They are an unbiased bunch.

goo readers are open minded, creative, and interested. They are politically astute and proud to call themselves feminist.

Phew!

It's been a while since I wrote anything in here... I have been busy working my little socks off. Paid employment, placements, freelance, the ol' MA... it's been manic. Not much of a summmer this year, alas.

Anyway, all at Goo is well. Lots down, lots more to go.

Here's an idea of what's in so far....

dresses
shiny things
spandex
swearing
iranian policewomen
mexican knitting
pinatas
vegan feast
the physcology of big hair
homemade hair products
yma sumac!!!!!!1
oktoberfest
siouxsie, blondie, andrew wk, and many many more musical legends
(AWK is a legend. that, and my boyfriend)
the top 8 animated girl bands ever. ever.
books n films n that
art, man
more dresses
punk rock aerobics
burqa band
lazy girl DIY



ooooh and much more to come.
how's that sounding?

The results are in...

Goo questionnaire results analysis

This survey aims to help me research the women’s monthly magazine market. It was distributed in a variety of places, all online. The theory was that women would feel more comfortable answering honestly if they were able to answer anonymously. First of all it was posted on three online Forums;

Girlpunk (www.girlpunk.net) – a website which features alternative, female musicians. It has a lively and busy message board where topics range from DIY and recipes to sex advice and general chatter. The board is predominantly frequented by Americans, however there are several members from the UK and Europe.

The f word (www.thefword.org.uk) - a British feminist site run by an ex-colleague. It Includes articles, reviews, and news relevant to feminists, and those interested in feminist culture. It’s blog section often features lively discussion on topical subjects. The site is predominantly British, although it attracts a worldwide audience.

The High Street (http://thehighstreet.livejournal.com) – an interactive blog for UK shoppers. Members talk about UK fashion and share photos of what they have bought recently. It is predominantly visited by teenage girls in the UK.

The survey was also posted on the author’s blog, and emailed to all her female contacts. In total, 65 replies were received by the decided cut off date- ten days after the survey was sent out.

These replies came from all the above sources, providing a wide ranging selection of answers. Despite the different backgrounds of the respondents, they were predominantly in their early twenties, and studying full time or working full time. The highest number of correspondents ticked the 23-27 age box, closely followed by 19-22 – altogether bringing the mean age to 23. 49% of the respondents studied full time, with 35% working full time.

Question 1.

Which 3 magazines do you read most regularly? (across any genre, not just women’s)

Top ten answers

Heat	12
Vogue	10
Grazia	8
Bust	7
Glamour	7
i-D	6
Elle	5
Nylon	5
Bitch	4
Bizarre	3

There was a huge array of magazines in this section from all the usual suspects (most of the top ten above) to the obscure - including various tattoo magazines, Donald Duck comic books and Uni – the unicycling magazine. To see the full, eclectic range, please see the complete questionnaire results. It was fascinating to see the range of magazines read by young women. It was also interesting to note the number of women who listed ‘educational’ or political magazines, with New Scientist, National Geographic, and New Internationalist receiving three votes each. Many people also only listed one or two options, for example Maggie writes, ‘newspapers? (sorry, no other mags)’. Newspaper supplements were given as the answer on several occasions too, with the Observer’s Woman magazine and the Guardian’s G2 getting a mention each. Some respondents also seemed to feel that they had to fill out all three answers, so replied with comments such as, ‘ In Touch – strictly out of boredom, my mother buys it a lot.’ (Melissa C)

Question 2.

What is your favourite magazine? (across any genre, not just women’s)

Top ten answers

Heat	4
Vogue	4
Glamour	3
New Scientist	3
The Week	3
Vice	3
Bitch	2
Bizarre	2
Bust	2
Elle	2

The ‘favourite magazine’ question also provided a huge range of replies. Although the top ten listed above obviously features several votes for each, there were 44 different responses altogether – which goes some way to showing the broad ranging interests of the respondents. Again, the magazines vary from the unusual - Journal of Aesthetics and Protest – to the unexpected – Sainburys magazine and Games for Windows. It was interesting to note that out of the top ten magazines, six are fairly alternative, non mainstream magazines (New Scientist, The Week, Vice, Bitch, Bizarre, and Bust).

Question 3.

Why is this magazine your favourite?

This rather open ended question unsurprisingly brought a huge range of answers. Some were simple and fairly obvious, for example Laura M says of Heat, ‘it’s the best one for celeb goss, and is the one all my friends read’, whilst Tori W chooses People as her favourite because, ‘I love looking at what the celebs are wearing.’ It should be noted that it tended to be the younger readers of more popular mainstream magazines that answered with these fairly self explanatory responses. Interestingly though, others who chose magazines such as Heat felt the need to mention that it was their favourite because it was something to switch off with. Olivia for example says, ‘it’s like a guilty pleasure and is the perfect length to keep me occupied me on the train’. Other interesting responses included the desire for non traditional ‘women’s magazine’ content. Dodo says of her favourite (Emma – a German feminist magazine), ‘it’s not limited to “women’s topics” like the rest,’ whilst ‘Q’ says she reads New Scientist because its features are, ‘informative and science based.’ She also interestingly adds the point – ‘[it] admits when it’s wrong.’ Of the two feminist titles in top ten (Bitch and Bust) their readers say, of Bitch, ‘it’s feminist and fun – without neglecting serious current events,’ (Cass B) whilst Jess M says of Bust, ‘it’s a fun read, it takes a light-hearted but definitely feminist approach to things. The interviewees are always really interesting… one recent article that really stood out was a feature about a small region of China which operates as a matriarchy.’ Some other notable responses were;

‘[I] feel the most confident buying it in the store.’ Eleanor T on Glamour

‘It assuages my guilt at only getting my news from the BBC… makes me feel less of an idiot.’ Iola on The Week

‘Decidedly left-wing perspective’ Monika on The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest

Other answers that appeared often were the offer of freebies, inspiring features, and good fashion shoots.

Question 4.

What do you look for in a magazine when choosing something new to read?

Again, this rather ambiguous question gave some very interesting responses, but the most common deciding factors were humour, intelligence, and interesting articles. Iola answered, ‘a relaxed informative writing style that doesn’t undermine my confidence’, whilst many women responded that they were interested in anything that didn’t assume women’s interests were limited to, ‘shopping, looking thin, make-up and very little else’, as Jess M succinctly put it. Other important factors included affordability (‘I’m pretty skint… I’m not going to spend £4 on a magazine – that’s a day’s food money for me’ Alice R), women contributors, good design, and, unsurprisingly, a desire for ‘normal’ models. Says Bethan T,

No anorexic models, and preferably not too many… near naked thin ones… But, I like articles about… sex. Which is hard to find without anorexic, near naked models.

The answers which appeared most often to this question were, without a doubt, ‘interesting’ and ‘intelligence’, whilst Marquita’s response of simply, ‘good writing’ is fairly self explanatory.

Question 5.

What is your favourite women’s monthly magazine?

Don't have one	21
Vogue	8
Glamour	7
Elle	6
Bitch	4
Bust	4
Cosmopolitan	4
Marie Claire	3
Nylon	3
Eve	1

Many women seemed to struggle with an answer to this question. As shown in the table above, with just about a third (32%) answering that they did not have a favourite women’s monthly. Some seemed to suggest magazines such as Nylon or i-D as an answer, although it could be argued that they are not strictly women’s monthlies. It should also be noted, that Bitch and Bust are not monthly, but were included on the grounds that women bought each issue, and considered them in the same light as a monthly. It is also interesting to note the lack of enthusiasm in the responses – ‘at a push, Psychologies’ (Justyna), ‘I don’t really read them that much, but I guess Marie-Claire is okay’ (Brittany). Others gave responses but admitted that they didn’t actually buy the magazine that often – ‘something like Cosmo where I can just look at the pictures [when travelling] on airplanes’ (Sofie P), ‘I don’t read them unless I’m in the doctor’s surgery’ (Alice R). However it is the respondents who don’t have a favourite who provide the most interesting answers.

‘None actually. I don’t buy women’s magazines, they suck’ (Dodo)

‘They are all utter rubbish.’ (Helen G)

‘To be totally honest, I don’t have one… I can’t relate to anything in them.’ (Polly B)

Question 6.

Why is this magazine your favourite?

Considering the responses to question five, many respondents didn’t have much to add to this question – there were more N/As here than anywhere else. Again, answers were fairly unenthusiastic. Justyna answers, ‘best of a bad bunch?’ (as does Harriet) whilst Sarah G says of Glamour, ‘it aspires to be intelligent, even if it does not always achieve this’, and Olivia adds that Glamour is just, a ‘guilty pleasure’. Readers of Vogue were more enthusiastic, adding that it had, ‘innovative, imaginative fashion shoots’ (Amy D), ‘cultural stuff and aspirational value’ (Laura S) and ‘the best contributing writers, stylists, photographers etc.’ (Meghan). Iola responded that although she didn’t have a favourite, to become it a magazine would have to, ‘treat men and women as equals, not women as gormless airheads and men as foolish ten year olds in need of a mother.’

Question 7.

Do you buy any other women’s monthly magazines regularly?

Don't buy any others	56
Elle	4
Glamour	3
Vogue	3
Marie Claire	2
Bitch	1
Company	1
Dazed & Confused	1
Empire	1
Ms	1

86% of respondents answered that they didn’t buy any other women’s magazines, although they did admit to buying other magazines of other genres. Many women explained that they did read women’s magazines, but that they didn’t actually buy for themselves. ‘I don’t really buy [them], I’ve always managed to live with people who bought them and just take advantage of that’ (Sarah G), ‘Any I get are hand-me-downs from my boyfriend’s mum’ (Chaz), and, ‘Between my friends we end up buying most of them and swapping’ (Laura M). Several of the respondents work in fashion and media, and as Christine replies, ‘I preview [them all] in my job so I don’t need to buy any really.’ It is also apparent that readers pick up magazines sporadically, depending on its content. Francesca M says, ‘I don’t buy magazines religiously. I only buy them if… they look good or feature something on the cover I want to read’, whilst Polly adds, ‘I tend to change around depending on what the features for that issue are.’

Question 8.

Why do you buy this/these title/s?

Owing to the high percentage of respondents that didn’t buy any other magazines, answers to this question were limited. However, as with question three, those that did respond listed the same reasons – interesting articles, intelligent content, good design etc. as well as the occasional appeal of something interesting on the cover. Emma S admitted that she enjoyed Glamour occasionally because, ‘just sometimes, I like to read some trash’. Similarly, Anne W says she reads women’s monthlies occasionally, ‘when I don’t want to focus my mind on something too heavy, I do that all day at work,’ and Ruth A responds that, ‘it [also] gives me something to read when I’m between books’. Other notable answers include Olivia who explains that,

I have a two hour train journey about once every two weeks and I always buy a magazine just to pass the time really… I occasionally buy magazines to cheer me up if I’ve had a bad day.

Harriet is another design who admits that she occasionally buys other titles, ‘for educational research’, whilst Nicole says she reads magazines because, ‘they’re usually around the house, my mother buys them.’

Question 9.

Is there a magazine you get every month?

None	28
Bust	5
Glamour	5
Vogue	5
Bitch	3
Vice	3
Company	2
Cosmopolitan	2
i-D	2
Marie Claire	2

Again, Bust and Bitch are included because, although they aren’t monthly, they are considered by their readers to fit the category. Just under half of respondents don’t buy any magazine monthly, but again there are 31 different titles listed, which vary from the mainstream to the obscure. Several respondents note that they were bought subscriptions to magazines as a gift, which obviously means they receive them monthly – Heather has a subscription to Wanderlust but admits that if she didn’t she wouldn’t buy it owing to its cost. Justyna sums up many people’s feelings when she answers that she buys different magazines monthly as, ‘I prefer to mix it up’.

Question 10.

Which of the following do you enjoy reading in women’s monthly magazines?

Feature	Enjoy	%	Don't Enjoy	%
Art	53	82	12	18
Real Life Stories	51	78	14	22
Reviews	51	78	14	22
Non-Celebrity Interviews	48	74	19	26
Current Affairs	48	74	17	26
High Street Fashion	46	71	19	29
Sex	45	69	20	31
Politics	43	66	22	34
Problem Pages	42	65	23	35
Recipes	40	62	25	38
Travel Features	40	62	25	38
Non-Celebrity Profiles	37	57	28	43
Celebrity Interviews	37	57	28	43
Celebrity Gossip	35	54	30	46
Lifestyle Features	33	51	32	49
Relationship Features	35	54	30	46
Runway Fashion	35	54	30	46
Celebrity Profiles	33	51	33	49
Fiction	30	46	35	54
Quizzes	28	43	37	57
Exercise Advice	24	37	41	63
Poetry	21	32	44	68
Diet Advice	19	29	46	71
Competitions	14	22	51	78

It is interesting to note that traditional women’s magazine features remain popular, even with an audience who so far have seemed negative about women’s magazines. It seems to prove that although readers may find fault with many aspects of magazines, their formula in terms of content (not writing, but basic features) is actually still fairly solid. Real life stories, that mainstay of the women’s magazines, are enjoyed by 78% of readers, although it is worth nothing that the real life stories they have in mind may be different to those featured in Woman or Pick Me Up. Problem pages, recipes, and sex all do well today, with 65%, 62% and 69% respectively. However it is art that is the most enjoyed feature, with 82% of women wanting to see it in their magazines. It is also interesting to note that current affairs are enjoyed by 74% of readers, just behind reviews (78%) and tying with non celebrity interviews. In terms of what women don’t want, competitions only narrowly beat diet advice as the least popular features, with 78% and 71% respectively.

Question 11.

What do you think makes a good women’s monthly magazine?

· A magazine that assumes a certain level of intelligence in its reader

· A magazine that isn’t ashamed to be a women’s magazine

· Intelligence, and a balance of a fluff and serious articles

· Knowing the reader… to adequately mould the content

· Articles about self esteem and realistic body image, real problems that women face…articles that don’t assume we are all heterosexual

· Quality fashion editorial with unique styling

· Content that matters. Just because it’s a women’s mag – who says that I’m only interested in diets, clothes and celeb gossip? Women are lawyers, managers, car mechanics, pilots – why do they assume women are only interested in superficial stuff?

· When they make you feel informed, inspired, or creative.

· A decent mix of light hearted and serious stuff that you can get your teeth into

· Truthful reviews and interviews – i.e. not swayed by advertisers

· Lots of sex – all girls love sex

· Brains, feminism

· Content not aimed at a 13 year old

· One that looks at the wider world from the female perspective

Question 12.

What do you think is bad about women’s monthly magazines?

· Sex obsessed articles and clichés about being ‘good for your man’

· Too many adverts

· Adoration of unrealistic lifestyles

· The same three articles on rotation

· Contradictory and patronising advice

· Everything – bad articles, bad photography, talentless and boring celebrities… [they] pick at every insecurity every woman has ever had

· Where do I start?

· Overly commercial, poor writing

· The free stuff is never worth having

· Pixelated pictures

· All the same format with the same recycled articles

· Emphasise on bodies and all that media rubbish, whilst pretending to be a women’s friends

· Hormones, divorce, adoption, abortion, MRSA, weddings, relief for feminine itching, how to tighten your pelvic floor muscles, how good other peoples lives are…

· Same thing every month until I want to kill myself

Question 14.

Do you feel catered for by the women’s magazine market in general? Is there a magazines that really gets you?

87% fairly emphatically responded, ‘no’, which is fairly self explanatory. There is quite clearly a need for something to fill the gap. Respondents answered, ‘I feel completely ignored’ (Eleanor T), ‘most magazines I read are deemed too “old” for me, yet… magazines for my age group are too immature’ (Nicole), and, ‘I don’t buy or read [them] (not even at the dentist’s) because they make me really angry.’ (Monika V)

Alice R went on further to add, ‘the closest thing I have ever felt to being the target market… was in the heady days of the late 90s, when both Minx and Nova seemed to be doing something really different. It’s a sorry, sorry state of affairs,’ whilst Sofie claimed, ‘I suppose Vice [is] unisex… it would be good if there was a version of Vice for girls.’

It should be noted that the majority of ‘yes’ respondents were big fans of the Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Elle school of women’s magazines.