The ‘Beauty Models’ Portrayed by Women's Magazines and their Stereotypical effects on Women in the Russian Federation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine women's ‘beauty models’ in the most popular women's magazines in the Russian Federation and their possible effects on real women. Another aim of this study is to reveal the process of creating ‘artificial’ beauty which is present in the images of the examined magazines. The qualitative content analysis of women's images in 15 issues of women's magazines published in the year 2014 has revealed 7 popular categories of women's beauty models. The research has analyzed and categorized 2625 images of women. The largest amount of images portrayed in these magazines can be attributed to the category of artificially created beauty which promotes product advertising. This covers more than 60% of the total number of images. The images of real women are not widely used and occupy only 10% of the total images. The results have concluded that mostly, the women's magazines portray unattainable standards of women's beauty rather that the present image of real women or sporty models promoting a healthy lifestyle. This research work hopes that the methods used for analyzing images and developing categories of ‘beauty models’ offer useful information for studying women's stereotypes created by mass media in different countries.