Table Of ContentMAJ-BRITT HÖGLUND
Re-Inventing the Cosmo Girl
How a Magazine Neutralizes
Competing Discourses
ACTA WASAENSIA 348
LITERARY AND CULTURAL STUDIES 9
Reviewers Dr. Diana ben-Aaron
University Campus Suffolk
Waterfront Building
Neptune Quay
IPSWICH
IP4 1QJ
UNITED KINGDOM
Dr. Anne Soronen
School of Communication, Media and Theatre
FI-33014 University of Tampere
Finland
III
Julkaisija Julkaisupäivämäärä
Vaasan yliopisto Toukokuu 2016
Tekijä(t) Julkaisun tyyppi
Maj-Britt Höglund Väitöskirja
Julkaisusarjan nimi, osan numero
Acta Wasaensia, 349
Yhteystiedot ISBN
Vaasan yliopisto 978-952-476-671-5 (painettu)
Filosofinen tiedekunta 978-952-476-672-2 (verkkoaineisto)
Englannin kieli ISSN
PL 700 0355-2667 (Acta Wasaensia 349, painettu)
65101 Vaasa 2323-9123 (Acta Wasaensia 349, verkkoaineisto)
1795-7494 (Acta Wasaensia. Kirjallisuuden- ja kulttuurin-
tutkimus 9, painettu)
2342-5539 (Acta Wasaensia. Kirjallisuuden- ja kulttuurin-
tutkimus 9, verkkoaineisto)
Sivumäärä Kieli
178 englanti
Julkaisun nimike
Cosmo-nainen, uudelleen syntynyt!
Miten aikakauslehti torjuu kilpailevat diskurssit
Tiivistelmä
Naistenlehtien palstoilla kuvaukset ihanteellisesta nykynaisesta ja naisten tosimaail-
man kokemukset kohtaavat toisensa. Cosmopolitanin palstoilla pääkirjoitukset ja
artikkelit käyvät vuoropuhelua toinen toistensa kanssa. Lehden päädiskurssin avulla
pääkirjoitukset mainostavat elämäntyyliä, jossa fun, fearless females, villit ja vapaat
naiset, uskaltavat nauttia elämästä. Toisaalta artikkelit kertovat naisten elämässä vas-
taantulleista ongelmista, jopa katastrofeista.
Kummassakin tekstityypissä lukijaa puhutellaan mainoskielen keinoin, joilla tähdä-
tään keinotekoisen ystävyyssuhteen luomiseen. ”Lukijaystävä” eli Cosmopolitan-
lehden Cosmo girl, Cosmo-nainen, on markkinatutkimusten luoma käsite, näköiskuva
henkilöstä, johon sekä kustantaja että mainostaja haluaa vaikuttaa.
Tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli selvittää, millä tavalla lehti neutralisoi diskursseja, jotka
kyseenalaistavat sen luomaansa ihannekuvaa villistä, vapaasta, ja pelottomasta nyky-
naisesta. Materiaali koostuu 12:sta Cosmopolitan UK:n pääkirjoituksesta vuodelta
2004, ja 48:sta saman aikakausilehden artikkelista vuosilta 2004 ja 2006. Tutkimuk-
sen teoreettinen viitekehys on kriittinen diskurssianalyysi ja metodi repertuaariana-
lyysi. Diskurssi ymmärretään identiteettien luojana, ja repertuaarit koostuvat luotuja
identiteettejä kuvailevista teemoista.
Tutkimus osoittaa, että Cosmopolitan UK sisältää kilpailevia diskursseja, jotka kuvai-
levat elämäntilanteita, joissa ihannenainen voi menettää elämänsä hallinnan (control).
Kilpailevien diskurssien rinnalle lehti tarjoaa kuitenkin ratkaisuja, täten neutralisoi-
den kilpailevat diskurssit.
Asiasanat
naistenlehdet, pääkirjoitukset, artikkelit, kriittinen diskurssianalyysi, repertuaariana-
lyysi, Cosmo girl, Cosmo-nainen
V
Publisher Date of publication
Vaasan yliopisto May 2016
Author(s) Type of publication
Maj-Britt Höglund Doctoral thesis
Name and number of series
Acta Wasaensia, 349
Contact information ISBN
University of Vaasa 978-952-476-671-5 (print)
Faculty of Philosophy 978-952-476-672-2 (online)
English Studies ISSN
P.O. Box 700 0355-2667 (Acta Wasaensia 349, print)
FI-65101 Vaasa 2323-9123 (Acta Wasaensia 349, online)
Finland 1795-7494 (Acta Wasaensia. Literary and Cultural Studies
9, print)
2342-5539 (Acta Wasaensia. Literary and Cultural Studies
9, online)
Number of pages Language
178 English
Title of publication
Re-Inventing the Cosmo Girl
How a Magazine Neutralizes Competing Discourses
Abstract
A woman’s magazine is a forum where descriptions of the ideal modern woman meet
with the experiences of real-life women readers. In the forum that is Cosmopolitan, the
genres of editorials and feature stories enter a dialogue with each other. The editorials
promote the dominant discourse of fun, fearless females, inviting the reader to join the
party. The feature stories, then, start from the opposite end of the spectrum: lives out of
control. These discourses are made up of narratives of possible problems, even disasters.
In both text genres the reader is addressed as a reader and a friend in the manner of ad-
vertising. In the case of Cosmopolitan, the reader/friend is epitomized as the Cosmo girl.
She is a construction derived from market research; the consumer targeted by both the
publisher and the advertisers.
The purpose of the study is to investigate how the magazine deals with discourses which
challenge the discourse of the ideal performance of the Cosmo girl femininity. The ma-
terial consists of the 12 editorials of Cosmopolitan UK 2004 and 48 feature stories in
Cosmopolitan UK 2004 and 2006. This study is set within Critical Discourse Analysis
and regards discourse as a creation of identities. The method is repertoire analysis,
where the repertoires are seen as descriptions of the performance characterizing these
identities. The repertoires are formed by recurring themes referring to the behaviour of
the Cosmo girl.
The results suggest that the magazine chooses to allow certain competing discourses
describing trouble in the life of the Cosmo girl. By doing so, it is able to produce new
discourses of its own which neutralize the competing discourses.
Keywords
women’s magazines, editorials, feature stories, critical discourse analysis; repertoire
analysis, the ideal Cosmo girl
VII
Utgivare Utgivningstid
Vaasan yliopisto 2016
Författare Typ av publikation
Maj-Britt Höglund Dissertation
Publikationsserie, -nummer
Acta Wasaensia, 349
Kontaktuppgifter ISBN
Vasa universitet 978-952-476-671-5 (tryckt)
Filosofiska fakulteten 978-952-476-672-2 (online)
Engelska språket ISSN
PB 700 0355-2667 (Acta Wasaensia 349, print)
FI-65101 Vasa 2323-9123 (Acta Wasaensia 349, online)
1795-7494 (Acta Wasaensia. Litteratur- och kultur-
forskning 9, tryckt)
2342-5539 (Acta Wasaensia. Litteratur- och kultur-
forskning 9, online)
Sidoantal Språk
178 engelska
Publikationens titel
Cosmo-kvinnan blir som ny!
Hur en tidskrift tillbakavisar konkurrerande diskurser
Sammandrag
En damtidning kan utgöra det forum där idealbilden av den moderna kvinnan konfronte-
ras med kvinnors erfarenheter ur det verkliga livet. I det forum som det internationella
månadsmagasinet Cosmopolitan erbjuder upprätthåller två genrer, ledarna och reporta-
gen, en ömsesidig dialog med varandra. Ledarna målar med hjälp av den dominanta dis-
kursen upp bilden av de fun, fearless females som kan ta för sig och njuta av livet. Repor-
tagen utgör den andra ytterligheten: berättelser om kvinnor som förlorat kontrollen över
sina liv.
I bägge genrerna tilltalas läsaren som i reklamen, med direkt tilltal och som en vän. I
Cosmopolitan sammanfattas hon i uttrycket Cosmo girl. Hon är en konstruktion som
bygger på marknadsundersökningar, hon är sinnebilden för den målgrupp som förläggare
och annonsörer vill nå.
Avsikten med denna undersökning är att klargöra på vilket sätt tidningen hanterar diskur-
ser som kullkastar bilden av den moderna Cosmo-kvinnan. Materialet består av 12 ledare
i den brittiska utgåvan av Cosmopolitan 2004 och 48 reportage från brittiska Cosmopoli-
tan 2004 och 2006. Denna undersökning använder kritisk diskursanalys och metoden är
repertoaranalys. I undersökningen ses diskursen som skapare av identiteter, vilka besk-
rivs i repertoarer, vars minsta byggstenar är återkommande temata.
Analysen visar att Cosmopolitan UK tillåter vissa konkurrerande diskurser som den kan
neutralisera genom att producera egna diskurser som stöder tidningens ursprungliga be-
skrivning av Cosmo-kvinnan.
Nyckelord
damtidningar, ledare, reportage, kritisk diskursanalys, repertoaranalys, Cosmo girl,
Cosmo-kvinnan
IX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is now twelve years since I looked up English studies on the University of Vaa-
sa website and sent a query to the person listed as the head of department, Profes-
sor Sirkku Aaltonen. This was the beginning of a quest which resulted in this the-
sis.
Little did I know what I was letting myself in for. I had spent 25 years of profes-
sional life as a journalist and an editor, producing text for newspapers, writing
news stories, interviews, feature stories, book and film reviews, and editorials on
a variety of subjects. I had the most rewarding job one can hope for which al-
lowed me to use language to construct the images I wanted to convey to the read-
ers.
The transfer to researching media texts forced me to face quite different demands.
My background in journalism was not necessarily an advantage since it made me
regard a number of journalistic practices as given, blinding me to what needs to
be explained to researchers and readers outside the newspaper business. I also
found myself going through a twofold process, unlearning how to write like a
journalist while learning how to write as a researcher. The curiosity of a journalist
is, however, related to that of the researcher. Both ask questions, both want to find
answers and both need to work systematically.
During these past years I have incurred many debts. First I would like to name
and express my gratitude towards my supervisors, Professor Sirkku Aaltonen and
Dr. Marinella Rodi-Risberg. Sirkku Aaltonen has patiently given me the support,
time and space I needed to pursue this project. She has allowed me to explore my
options, guided me to recognize cul-de-sacs and re-evaluate my ideas. Marinella
Rodi-Risberg has commented on details in individual chapters and, above all,
supported me with unfaltering faith in my abilities. This, I have felt, has been an
undeserved privilege, and it has filled me (and still fills me) with amazement and
gratitude.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Emeritus Gerald Porter
for his thorough work, detailed comments, and support. I am indebted to Profes-
sor Esa Lehtinen who kindly shared with me some of his vast knowledge of dis-
course analysis and offered valuable comments on Chapters 1 and 3 of my thesis.
I also owe gratitude to Dr. Anne Soronen and Acting Professor Tiina Mäntymäki
for reading and commenting on chapters. Equally to Dr. Peter R.R. White (also a
journalist-turned-researcher) who has shared with me and other PhD students his
ongoing work on the Appraisal Theory framework. That framework, although not
X
part of the methodology of this thesis, has provided me with valuable insights into
the workings of media texts.
I would like to especially acknowledge and thank my preliminary examiners, Dr.
Anne Soronen (University of Tampere) and Dr. Diana ben-Aaron (University
Campus Suffolk). I am deeply indebted to both of them for support and valuable
suggestions. Throughout my thesis project, Dr. Diana ben-Aaron has supported
me with invaluable advice, comments and insights.
Members of staff in English Studies, as well as other former colleagues at the
University of Vaasa, have supported me in various ways in my thesis project and
my everyday work. I thank my present colleagues at the Hanken School of Eco-
nomics for their support and patience.
Finally, I am indebted to KTM Hellevi Lampimäki, my fellow PhD student, col-
league and friend, for the many sessions we have had in the university cafeteria
working out concepts on paper napkins. Together we have had the privilege of
attending some of Professor Henrik Gahmberg’s courses for Post Graduate stu-
dents.
My sincere gratitude also goes to the University of Vaasa and the Faculty of Phi-
losophy (formerly Humanities), which in its wisdom employed me as a research
assistant for two three-year periods, 2005-2011. Also because I have had the priv-
ilege of enjoying a three months’ thesis writing grant by Dean Hannu Katajamäki.
I would also like to thank my current employer, the HANKEN School of Eco-
nomics, for granting me leave of absence for those months. At the start of my
research project, I received funding from two foundations: in 2004 from Harry
Schaumans Stiftelse who awarded me its Journalist’s Prize (Journalistpriset), ena-
bling me to participate in a workshop on the Appraisal theory framework at the
University of Birmingham, UK, and in 2005 a grant from Svenska Kulturfonden,
enabling me to participate in the IFSC at the University of Sydney, Australia.
Finally, let me declare that I am indebted beyond words to my husband Tor Ahl-
strand. Without his support and encouragement, and most of all his patience, this
thesis would not exist. When I have been prepared to give up, he has urged me to
continue. He has had to endure many summers with gardening time lost and a
number of hotel room holiday siestas with text revisions.
Oravais, April 2016
Maj-Britt Höglund
