Teen Vogue: background reading

Read this Guardian feature from 2017 on Teen Vogue and answer the following questions.

1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?

25-year-old Lauren Duca, a Teen Vogue contributing editor who published thew article about Donald trump "gas lighting" America.

2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?

The original teen vogue was launched in 2004 and hosted a smaller range of topics which it does today and only had topics based on fashion and celebrity gossip as a little sister to US Vogue.

3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?

That issue featured three unknown black models on the cover, seemingly breaking all the rules (that you should have a famous person; and that having no Caucasian faces on the cover is a commercial risk). 

4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?

 (the team publishes between 50 and 70 a day)

5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?

Phillip Picardi states that he had a political awakening thanks to Haplin and chose to henceforth have a more political viewpoint in his work, as he soon noticed work about feminism sparked a lot more views and helped keep the numbers high.

6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?

They’re not all teens. “Our sweet spot is 18-24,”
The word “woke”, a slang term, as “a byword for social awareness.

7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?

The team at teen vogue have noticed that identity is a very important factor to their younger readers and that this sort of content caused the fans to be much more interactive and involved with this content, which is what they aim to achieve.

8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?

The relationship with readers is closer and more transparent, and says brands have had to respond to that, which is especially true with modern audiences as they have been exposed to this sort

9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?

Trump’s election created something of a perfect storm for Picardi’s new political agenda.

10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?

 Over a million readers have helped the magazine by subscribing, having a membership as they believe that it is a reliable source of information over other things such as social media, as seen from readers such as "Paige Wagner" and finds it important that young people are certainly educated about topics such as politics, especially considering that they are intrigued and interested by these topics unlike some of the older generations who when they were young took no interest in such things.

Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of the Teen Vogue website and read notable Teen Vogue articles to refer to in exam answers. 

Homepage analysis

Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:

1) What website key conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?

- When you open the page the there is instantly a pop up which prompts you to sign up to their newsletter.
- Due to the website outsourcing there are many tabs at the top of the page which can take you to the page which you are looking for or interested in.
-At the top right of the page there is a button which has a Facebook like button which will take you to the brands Facebook page which shows social media integrated within the page.
-Plenty of imaged along side articles 
-Main branding at the top of page 

2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?

The page has articles which people can relate to and will be tempted to click on and due to the fact that there are many options for social media involvement, such as the facebook like button this would redirect the reader to the social media pages where readers would feel more comfortable in engaging as it is a platform which they are used to.

3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?

The advertising appears at the top of the page and down the right hand side of the page similarly to many other pages.

4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?

the items in the top menu suggest that the page has diversified and that there are many other topics which the magazine is involved with and is experienced to talk about such as politics and has evolved from the fashion magazine it once was.

5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?

The initial page seems to have around 12 stories, however you are able to press show more stories and are then able to view what seems like an infinite number of stories.

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue and answer the following:

1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?

Tech
campus life 
careers
decorating ideas 
food

2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.

There are large images to attract readers with very limited text as this is not what they believe will attract they readers. 

3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?

The headlines are written, often including celebrities as this is often more likely to attract readers and make them feel as if the stories are relatable and designed to make the readers feel as if it is specialised for their reading.

4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?

The focus on education, university and campus life, implies that their audience is likely to be young adults who are likely to be in. university and be likely to relate to the articles and stories and be interested in these stories and if they are not there is specialised sections which they will certainly find interesting.

5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – why do they fit the Teen Vogue brand?

7 Things You Should Actually do When Applying to Colleges

 -The readers are most likely to be of the demographic to be at university.

Meghan Markle Made a Surprise Visit to King’s College London

-The readers are most likely to be of the demographic to be at university.


- Everyone can relate to Christmas regardless of their religion gender or age.

Five key articles

Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below for EACH feature.

Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

Lauren Duca
Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.

Propp's character theory is used with Trump as the Villain, Teen Vogue and the writer as the helper and the reader as the Hero, who can regain control by going against Trump.

3) Why is this article significant?

 It is a powerful country and includes a topic and sort of celebrity which everyone is familiar with and will impact a lot of people.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

 This reflects the values and ideologies of the modern teen vogue as there are they are now involved in politics and have their own opinion which may often oppose whatever the current rule is under.

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
Writer: Alexis Manrodt

This article is about the rise of youth activism via the internet- it covers how multiple bloggers have used online blogs, tweets, tumblr pages, etc. almost as a 'weapon' as well as a platform for political and social activism. 

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
This article adopts Todorov's theory of equilibrium by using the topic of activism to suggest that society is stuck in a current disequilibrium, where social injustice disrupts peace. It paints a picture where activism represents the weapon which restores peace and brings a new equilibrium to the world.
3) Why is this article significant?
This article is significant because it pinpoints issues which are clearly evident in our societies today; for example, some 'activists' mentioned in the article are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, which is a recent and relevant issue today following the rise in LGBTQ+ communities today.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
This article mirrors the liberal ideologies held by modern Teen Vogue, as it showcases activism against black, muslim, and lgbtq+ in a positive light. It is also a political matter which represents the new values of the online magazine.


1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
Writer: Lincoln Anthony Blades

The central theme of this article is the retaliation and protests by American teens to gun violence in American classroom. The article describes the celebrity recognition these teen-led movements have been receiving online due to the major impacts they are creating.
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
Continuity narrative - has been constantly reported in the news and in magazines/newspapers for years.
The role that youth activism and the internet has played in organising anti-gun rallies across the country.
Students were able to rally and vote with lawmakers - resulted in banning semi automatic guns and large capacity magazines in the state
Students walked out of their classrooms in recognition of the innumerable amount of school shootings that have occurred and how effective-law proposals are needed.

3) Why is this article significant?
It outlines how teenagers and the youth can have a significant impact on society if they put their minds to it and work together - can lead to progressive changes that will inevitably change the world as we know it

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?Teenagers and young people campaigning for good and using their voices to express their true opinions on issues concerning them/that they have been affected by
Support > Division - the true abilities of the next generation and our potential to generate change.



Netflix and strong female leads 

1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
Writer: De Elizabeth

This article is about the role that Netflix has played in helping to change the stereotypical way that we view women, as well as the way that they are represented in film and television

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
It discusses the impact of stereotypes - idea of familiarity, especially because feminists across the globe have constantly written about and discussed the role of television/the media in forming newer, refreshed perceptions of women rather than overtly sexualised ones.

3) Why is this article significant?
It is successful in identifying the fact that people tend to classify women into two distinct categories - "prim and proper" women are good, "sassy women" tend to have "daddy issues."
Important to acknowledge the impact that stereotyping people can have, especially during a time where society's definitions of "male" and "female" are constantly changing.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
It attempts to empower young females and show them that they are powerful beyond any stereotypes that they may have previously been oppressed by.



1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?

Writer: Samantha Riedel

This article is about Trump attempting to disregard the concept of gender/sexuality being a spectrum rather than fixed binaries that cannot change
It also explores spreading ways of dismantling the concept of gender binaries and becoming more progressive and accepting of others

2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
It  Provides 6 distinct ways on how to help dispel the myth/fixed ideology that sex and gender is only focused on transgender people/that everything relating to sex and gender needs to be standardised in order for it to make sense.

3) Why is this article significant?
Teen Vogue encouraging social change - promoting the idea that people should be able to categorise themselves/break away from any labels as much as they feel they need to.

Enabling young people/followers of the Teen Vogue movement to help others who aren't as open about their sexuality/gender to become more confident in themselves as they realise the extent to which they are loved and supported irregardless of these things.

4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?Progressive and supportive of people of all sexualities, genders, backgrounds and ethnicities - no restrictions to whom Teen Vogue will support, it's a movement for anyone willing to make change/a positive impact on the world.

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