In an effort to understand how an intended audience is constructed in the magazines we employ a critical literary method of analysis in which we examine the January 2004,February 2004 and March 2004 issues of Ebony,Essence and O,The Oprah Magazine in their entirety.Hall suggests that because critical literary methods of analysis focus on the complexity of language that they are particularly useful in delving the latent meanings of a text.A critical literary analysis provides relevant contextual evidence to situate the analysis,identifies key themes and concepts,and offer strategies for understanding a particular emphasis in a text.Such strategies focus on the placement,positioning,and style of the elements of a text,the tone and emphasis of the material,word choice,mode of address,as well as the use of visual elements.Yet Hall suggests that the most significant item may not be the one which continually recurs,but the one which stands out as an exception from the general pattern-but which is also given,in its exceptional context,the greatest weight(Hall,1975,p.15).A consideration of the absences found in a text would focus on the avoidances that are the aspects of the text that one would normally expect to see but which is missing.Absence is often crucial to a text's ideological structure and can be a critical aspect of a literary analysis.It virtually becomes the raison d'etre of the text,that which is constructed to avoid(rather like a by-pass-a road built specifically to a void a place but which only exists because of that place)(Cormack,1995,p.31).
Race and Representation
The progression,or regression,of minority magazines lies in their ability to holistically encapsulate individualized culture and serve as a platform for black life.Representation of the black physical and political image,both male and female,and black culture,void of stereotypes,has received a great deal of scholarly attention(Leslie,1995;Bramlett-Solomon&Subramanian,1999;Bertram,2001),inherently due to the proliferation of images of blacks with primarily Eurocentric features-straight hair,pointed nose,and light eyes.During the“Black is Beautiful”movement in the 1960s and 1970s blacks were energized by the socio-political heroics of the Black Panther Party,Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.Scholars affirm that from this movement a direct connection to the African Diaspora was made and African-Americans,then 11 percent of the total U.S.population and a group who contributed more than$30 billion to the American economy each year,became discontent with advertisements and images that did not represent the normative black individual(Leslie,1995,p.427).Literature assessing the social atmosphere of this era reports a decline in skin bleaching and lightening agent advertisements and an increase in a more Afrocentric image.Representation and racial and political ideology in reference to magazine advertising continues as a source of conflict among the media,scholars and readers.Publishers,in their quest to increase advertising dollars and address the growing health concerns in the African-American community,were criticized for misrepresenting black culture and under emphasizing specific health risks such as diabetes and heart disease(Hoffman-Goetz,1999;Wise et al.,2004;Palmer et al.,2003;Ononuwa,2001;Pratt&Pratt,1995).It was found that in comparison to publications with a non-African-American readership,the advertisements in Essence and Ebony displayed more alcohol,oral contraceptive and cigarette ads and less health-promotional advertisements.Based on the literature,however,Essence magazine on several occasions granted access to their subscriber database for health initiatives and research in the area of body image and representation,HIV/AIDS,reproduction and menopause and cancer.Ebony was not as receptive to this reform and was later further criticized for its failure to acknowledge the influence of black scholarship in the public sphere and at majority-white universities(Bertram,2001;Krishnan,1997;Pratt&Pratt,1995;Omonuwa,2001;Palmer et al.,2003;Wise et al.,2004;Hoffman-Goetz,1999;JBHE Autumn,1997,Winter,1999,Winter,2000).
Black Culture and Political Economy
Blacks were not only politically and socially inferior.Their economic picture was also unpromising.A burgeoning African-American-based publication,according to the founders,provided professional growth for underdeveloped writers,editors and publishers.It established a homestead for the politico-economic advancement of the black race in a society dominated by a white male upper class structure(Ebony,1995;Nation's Business,September 1994;Black Enterprise,August 1995,July 1995).
Cultural Contestations:Body Image and sexuality
The body image theory and sexuality discourses debate is prominent in the production of media content,and African-American magazines are no exception.It was formerly theorized that black females favored a curvier body type than their white counterparts,and the publications that target them editorialize their mission and promise to present this mirror image.The competitive magazine industry and racial dominance has,however,assumingly forced an assimilation of sorts on some minority-directed publications.Therefore,in today's culture,white and thin is the default standard of beauty.According to several feminist researchers,minority women suffer mentally and physically from the onset of depression or eating disorders as a result of this socially constructed standardization(Lager&McGee,2003;Younger,2003;Fabrey,1994;Bertram,2001).