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Compa a i e S udy o Magazine Roman ic Fic ion, T ue Li e S o ies and
Celeb i y S o ies: U opia, Closu e and Reade ’s Pa icipa ion
Ms Ma ía Lamued a G a án.
Dep . o Media, Cul u e and Leisu e Managemen .
Glasgow Caledonian Uni e si y
Sho Bibliog aphical No e.
Ma ía Lamued a ob ained he deg ee in Media and Communica ion a he Uni e si y o
Se ille. In e es ed in Eu opean Cul u es, she has li ed o ex ended pe iods in Denma k,
Sco land, F ance and Spain. She has expe ience as a jou nalis and a lec u e in he
Depa men o Media, Cul u e and Leisu e Managemen o Glasgow Caledonian Uni e si y
(Glasgow). A he momen , she is abou o submi he PhD hesis, a compa a i e s udy o
B i ish and Spanish Women Weekly Magazines (Glasgow Caledonian Uni e si y) She is
also collabo a ing wi h he Spanish mon hly women magazine Glamou . He esea ch
in e es s include Media Popula Cul u e, Eu opean iden i ies , Cul u es and Globaliza ion as
well as Social Change and Shi o Pa adigms : Mode nism and Pos -Mode nism.
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Abs ac
B i ish women’s weeklies can be classi ied in o h ee g oups: hose which concen a e on
Roman ic Fic ional S o ies such as The People’s F iend, hose which o e a signi ican
numbe o T ue Li e S o ies, such as Take a B eak, and hose which con ain mainly
Celeb i y S o ies such as Hello!
This a icle s a s by classi ying he bes -selling B i ish women’s magazines in e ms o
con en , eade ship and gen es used. This will es ablish a endency owa ds a gene a ional
di ide in magazine eade ship: olde eade s make up almos he en i e eade ship o
oman ic- ealis s o ies, while middle-aged eade s end o p e e T ue Li e Tales, also
known as TOT (T iumph O e T agedy) s o ies (Fe guson, 1983). Celeb i y Magazines ha e
he younges eade ship o all.
The a icle aims o explo e wo aspec s, which ha e been linked, o mode n and pos -mode n
ea u es: he kind and deg ee o pa icipa ion o eade s in ela ion o each ype o o ma and
he ela ion be ween ex and ‘u opia’.
Fo his pu pose, h ee s o ies will be analysed: a Roman ic S o y, a T ue Li e S o y and a
Celeb i y S o y, which a e ep esen a i e o (mos o ) he main gen es con ained in each ype
o magazine. The a icle will ely on some ideas o au ho s such as Eco (1979), Hebdige
(1989) as well as some indings om my own ieldwo k.
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Compa a i e S udy o Magazine Roman ic Fic ion, T ue Li e S o ies and Celeb i y
S o ies: U opia, Closu e and Reade ’s Pa icipa ion.
In B i ain he e a e h ee ypes o women’s weeklies: ‘Old Weeklies ‘, ‘New Weeklies’ and
‘Celeb i y Weeklies’. The main di e ence be ween hem is he age o hei a ge audience.
Whils ‘Old Weeklies’ mainly a ge women o e 55; ‘New Weeklies’ a e a ge ed a middle-
aged women wi h ‘Celeb i y Weeklies’ ha ing he younges audience o he h ee.
Thi y yea s ago only ‘Old Weeklies’ such as My Weekly exis ed; hei winning o mula
elied a g ea deal on Roman ic Fic ion. In 1987 he Ge man Publishe s G une and Jah
launched he magazines Bella and Bes in o he B i ish ma ke . They used a new o mula,
es ed in he USA and Ge many: he T ue Li e S o y, in which o dina y people ell hei own
s o ies. The bes -known o mula o hese s o ies is he TOA, T iumph O e Ad e si y.
(Rame , 1996: 6) The immedia e success o hese new weeklies soon a ec ed he con en s
o some Old Weeklies such as Woman’s Own and Woman’s Realm which abandoned a g ea
deal o Magazine Roman ic Fic ion in a ou o T ue Li e S o ies. In Ma ch 1990, he bes
selling Take a B eak was launched wi h a o mula combining T ue Li e S o ies and
compe i ions. O he i les such as Tha ’s Li e and Cha ollowed Take a B eak in he
exploi a ion o he same o mula.
The launch o Hello! Magazine by he Spanish publishe ¡Hola! in 1988 mean ano he
ans o ma ion o he ma ke . Hello! ea u ing he li es o he ich and amous h ough ose
in ed spec acles, has been he sou ce o inspi a ion o OK and Now. (Howa d, 2001: 69)
These a e a ge ed a a younge audience han ‘New Weeklies’. Mo eo e , young and een
magazines such as Hea , which was he success s o y o 2000, B and Mo e a e inc easingly
adop ing Celeb i y Na a i es.
We s a om he assump ion ha magazines help women o make sense o hei expe ience.
The ac ha he e a e ypes o Weekly Magazine o se e al gene a ions o B i ish women-
leads us o look a he h ee ypes o weeklies as sociological laye s o meaning ha may ell
us some hing abou he eade ’s alues and he way hese h ee gene a ions o women
pe cei e ‘ eali y’.
We a e going o compa a i ely analyse Roman ic Magazine S o ies, T ue Li e Tales and
Celeb i y Na a i es , and o hese we will ake in o accoun he ex s hemsel es and
eade s’ in e p e a ions. This analysis will look o some ea u es, which some au ho s ha e
ela ed o mode n and pos -mode n alues. Fi s o all, we will look o he elemen o u opia
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held in he message o he s o ies, o which some ideas o Hebdige (1989) will be ollowd.
A he same ime he deg ee o closeness (o openness) in he ex will be looked a , an issue,
which has been add essed by Umbe o Eco (1989).
Hebdige (1989: 196) conside s ha he ejec ion o u opia is one o he cha ac e is ics o he
pos -mode n condi ion. The mode n man had da ed o hink ha eason would ee men om
all hei p ejudices; ha eason would emo e men om he da kness o i a ionali y. A e
wo Wo ld Wa s and o he disas e s o he 20
h
cen u y, i can be a gued ha he pos -
mode n man looks a human na u e wi h mo e suspicion and modes y, and he e o e, ejec s
he no ion o u opia and se s himsel mo e humble challenges.
In ela ion o he pa icipa ion o eade s in ex s Umbe o Eco (1979: 8-56) dis inguishes
be ween Closed Tex s and Open Tex s. He conside s ha a Closed Tex ells he eade wha
o hink and eel – and, he e o e, i eade s a e no obedien , abe an in e p e a ions a e
bound o happen. The e o e, he ‘legi ima e’ limi s o in e p e a ion a e close .
On he o he hand, Open Tex s o e a choice o di e en possible non-abe an
in e p e a ions. In selec ing one o he plausible in e p e a ions o e ed by a ex , eade s
would be pa icipa ing in he s o ies. Acco ding o Eco, Closed ex s wi h minimum
pa icipa ion a e conside ed o be classic ex s. This is o en e e ed o as ea ly mode n. On
he o he hand, Open Tex s, which o e mo e pa icipa ion a e sugges ed o be mode n.
Eco e en sugges s he possibili y ha a ex o e s an e en g ea e deg ee o pa icipa ion o
he eade . In ela ion o music, o a wo k called Scambi by Passeu , Eco also conside s he
possibili y o he lis ene ha ing o do some o ganising and s uc u ing o he musical
discou se. The lis ene he e o e collabo a es in making he composi ion.
The signi icance o he closu e p oposed in each s o y as he sol ing o he con lic will be
looked a . A e y de ini i e closu e may be alking abou a ‘ eali y’ pe cei ed as s a ic in
which he solu ion gi en o a g ea con lic , o omances how o ind lo e, is mean o be
e ec i e and du able. S o ies wi h less de ini i e closu es may be alking o a ‘ eali y’
pe cei ed as mo e dynamic and complex, in which lo s o con lic s may a ise and in which
he p oposed solu ions a e no always ha e ec i e.
Fo he pu pose o explo ing he kind o pa icipa ion ha he h ee gene a ions o emale
eade s ha e in hei p e e ed ex s, as well as he no ion o u opia and closu e p oposed by
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hese na a i e o ma s he a icle will combine indings om ex ual analysis and
e hnog aphic ieldwo k. Taking an example o a Magazine Roman ic Fic ional S o y, a T ue
Li e S o y and a Celeb i y Na a i e as indica i es o he o ma s s udied; a he same ime
he accoun eade s’ in e p e a ions o hese ypes o o ma need o be aken in o accoun .
The a icle elies on he i een in-dep h in e iews and i e discussion g oups ha we e
unde aken wi h eade s o hese h ee ypes o s o y be ween Janua y and June o 2002.
Romance- ‘Yes e day Once Mo e’
Roman ic Fic ion o Magazines such as The People’s F iend and My Weekly consis in sho
s o ies o sagas wi h con inua ion om week o week. ‘Yes e day Once Mo e’ is a sho s o y
sp ead o e wo pages, which ea u es an illus a ion o a blonde woman wi h a dog who, on
an idyllic seaside se ing, o e looks a pic u esque illage. A b ie desc ip ion o he plo
ollows:
Molly is a sel -sac i icing woman de o ed o he c ippled mo he who wishes o a
ela ionship wi h a man. An old childhood swee hea e u ns o he illage and hey
bump in o each o he whils walking hei dogs a he beach. They s a mee ing e e y
day o his pu pose and all in lo e. Howe e , when he p oposes, Molly declines his
o e . She is an unsel ish daugh e who would no lea e he mo he in a home. Bu
Molly’s mo he doesn’ allow he o spoil he one ‘chance o happiness’. She has
al eady plo ed a solu ion wi h he son in law o be: she will mo e o he second loo
on his house, once he happy couple a e ma ied. The s o y ends wi h he p omise o a
happy e e a e .
The s o y ec ea es li e in a small own and uses opics such as he ‘ illage g ape ine’, as
well as a numbe o loca ions: he beach, ‘ he old bake y’, ‘B oad S ee ’, he ‘local
chemis ’. This seems o enac he oman ic idea o a small illage whe e li e is simple and
people a e good (al hough nosy). In a simila ashion, in o me s like Sheila S. could see ha
he se ings o s o ies we e s ylised:
“No mally i is abou Sco land, bu no necessa ily, hey end o be Highlands and Islands,
hey end o be people’s oman ic no ion o wha he Highlands and Islands would be”
(Sheila S., Lec u e , 45-55)
Howe e , eade s also conside ed ha s o ies we e ealis ic and always ound ways in which
hey could iden i y wi h he cha ac e s and si ua ions enac ed by he na a i e. In he
ollowing ex ac he in o me Sheila S. explains how she ecognises ce ain cha ac e s in he
cu en a ou i e magazine s o y a he momen o he in e iew:

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“I wo ked in a u al a ea up no h, so i kind o equa es o ha . (…) Like jus now [in he
s o y ha I am eading] … he be y picking. I know o people coming sou h om Dundee o
pick he be ies and I’ e known a lo o amilies whose pa en s and g andpa en s picked he
be ies and he e is a amily adi ion abou i .” Sheila S. , Lec u e , 45-55
This way o inding s o ies s ylised and ealis ic a he same ime ag ees wi h Cawel i’s
desc ip ion o o mulaic li e a u e. Acco ding o Cawel i (1976: 5-6), his ype o o ma
enac s an idealised wo ld ha s ill has a powe ul connec ion o eali y. This combined wi h
he cons uc ion o ‘plausible cha ac e s’ allows eade s o escape in o he ic ional wo ld
h ough hei iden i ica ion wi h he main cha ac e s, whose idealis ic na u e makes
esis ance o iden i ica ion di icul . The ac ha eade s ind i easy o iden i y wi h
cha ac e s is illus a ed by he ollowing ex ac :
‘I like hem [he oines], bu I suppose I like hem because hey a e p e y o dina y like
ou sel es, hey a e no ou he op class b acke , hey a e no e ibly ich. They a e o dina y
people like wha we a e ou sel es, so you can iden i y wi h he si ua ion be e ’. Sheila, +65,
Housewi e.
In ac he main cha ac e s o Magazine Roman ic S o ies we e desc ibed bo h as cha ac e s
you could iden i y wi h, and likeable. The da a collec ed om he analysis o s o ies and
in e iews wi h eade s sugges ed ha pa o he s o ies’ ‘s ylisa ion’ mean ha hey c ea e
a ic ional wo ld which excluded ce ain aspec s o eali y ha eade s did no wan o ead
abou , such as nas y e en s o sex. Reade s ound i e y impo an ha s o ies we e mo ally
‘clean’ and ‘sa e’, and many eade s chose Magazine Roman ic Fic ion o be bedside s o ies.
The sa eness and cleanness o s o ies we e p e- equisi es o eade s o us he magazine.
The ollowing ex ac s illus a e his poin :
“P: No, hey a e simple s o ies, and hey a e clean s o ies. I like ha . (…) No sexy hings,
you know, jus o dina y li e.” Pa , 82, Housewi e.
“I like i , no hing eally e ible happens, nobody’s being aped. Nobody eels emba assed,
al hough young people don’ eel emba assed abou any hing hese days. Fo old people
like me, i ’s like you a e wa ching ele ision and you hink , Oh, no again , because e ible,
e ible hings happen”. Ca hy + 65, Housewi e.
A he same ime eade s needed o ha e a ce ain y abou how i is going o end: he he oin
was going o ind lo e. Coming back o ‘Yes e day Once Mo e’ we can a gue ha i ul ils
he p omise o he basic s o yline ‘gi l mee s boy’: hey mee , all in lo e, he p oposes, hey
o e come some di icul ies and hey ge ma ied. Finally, his is he s o y o Molly’s li e,
which now has gained closu e, o e e . The impo ance o happy endings by eade s in his
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ype o ic ion was con i med du ing he ieldwo k. I could be conside ed a p e- equisi e o
hei in ol emen .
The s o y inishes wi h he engagemen , he ‘happy e e a e is an assump ion’. An
assump ion es ing on he ce ain y o a ma iage o lo e as he passpo o happiness, he
ce ain y abou he ‘ ac ’ ha sel -sac i ice is he p ice women ha e o pay o happiness and
ul ilmen . This seems o sugges ha eade s pa icipa e o wha has been called
‘pa ia chal ideology’.
The ype o ‘ ic ional con ac ’ be ween eade s and na a o seems o be one in which
eade s a e lead by he na a o . The e o e, acco ding o Eco’s heo y, i would be a closed
ex . Howe e , i is wo h no ing ha eade s ollow he ex obedien ly because hey us
ha ce ain condi ions will be me . Following he s o y- elling eade s can escape in o he
sa e iden i ies o cha ac e s o he mo al quali y o Molly (who would sac i ice he
‘happiness’ o he mo he ’s well-being) and he ai ly s ylised wo ld o he small seaside
illage. Unde hese condi ions eade s do no ha e any mo i e o doub he na a i e
s a egy and ad en u e o he in e p e a ions.
The ic ional con ac be ween eade s and his so o s o y seems o be p e-a anged.
Magazine edi o s seem o ha e he ole o ensu ing ha he s o ies ha e some quali ies and
exclude o he s. In e u n, eade s ollowed na a o s obedien ly. The ‘ aci ag eemen ’
ag eemen ha s o ies need o be ‘sa e’ and ‘clean’ is illus a ed by he ollowing ex ac . I
belongs o he in e iew wi h Jo-Ann, an ama eu w i e who had a ended a wo kshop
whose membe s a ge ed The People’s F iend.
‘In The People’s F iend o he s anda ds apply. Fo example when I was w i ing, we would
ge eedback om a p o essional o semi-p o essional w i e and I was scolded because he
he oine had had a hango e . I didn’ w i e i like ha , I jus made he say ‘Oh, I had oo
many lemonades las nigh ’. She [ he p o essional w i e ] said ha he s o y was e y good
bu ha we could no ha e he oines wi h hango e s because i was no mo alis ic” (Jo-Ann,
32, Compu e Technician and Ama eu W i e )
Ano he symp om o he ex being closed was ha eade s o Roman ic Fic ion ne e
discussed s o ies o hei in e p e a ion wi h iends. And his, despi e he ac ha eade s
o en pa icipa ed in a ci cui o iends o acquain ances which passed magazines a ound.
No e en wi h hose eade s o hei social ne wo k did hey exchange opinions abou he
s o ies.
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As a conclusion, i can be a gued ha eade s o Old Weeklies like o ead abou s o ies ha
can be us ed o be sa e, clean and happy in o de o abandon hemsel es being ully
iden i ied wi h he he oine and ollow he plo obedien ly. Cases like ‘Yes e day Once Mo e’
p esen s o ies wi h no gaps, and a clea closu e which o e s a oman ic, u opian and inal
solu ion o women’s needs. All hese cha ac e is ics can be called ea ly-mode n.
T ue Li e S o y: ‘When he iancé me he mis ess’
Now we will pay a en ion o T ue Li e S o ies, and will ake he s o y en i led
‘ When he iancée me he mis ess’ as an illus a ion o he a gumen s displayed. This
a icle is also sp ead o e wo pages wi h a cen al pic u e o ‘ he iancé’ and ‘ he mis ess’
oge he , as well as pic u es ‘o he iancée’ wi h Douglas, he man who comple es he
iangle. The i s hing ha d aws ou a en ion is ha he scene y ep esen ed in he pic u e,
is no ha s ylised. He oines a e ‘no mal’ women, no especially good looking. And
loca ions a e ci y places such as pubs and discos.
Nicola, ‘ he iancée’, ells he p incipal s o y in he i s g amma ical pe son. The e is also a
ec angle wi h a sho e sion o he s o y old by ‘ he mis ess’. Douglas
Is said o ha e been con ac ed bu o ha e ‘ ejec ed o commen ’. A b ie desc ip ion o he
plo ollows:
Nicola is on he way o a club wi h he bes pal when she se s eyes on he axi d i e .
She asks him o mee a e he’s inished his shi ; he declines bu asks o he numbe .
He calls la e ha week; hey all in lo e; mo e in oge he ; and buy a house. A some
poin Douglas p oposes and she ag ees. Bu soon he s a s a i ing la e om wo k and
Nicola disco e s ha Douglas is seeing someone else. She b eaks up wi h him. A e a
while, she is abou o ake him back when he elephone ings. I ’s Helen, Douglas ‘s
mis ess who shou s a Nicola o lea e he man alone. The insul s ly be ween he wo
women and an in u ia ed Nicola h ows Douglas ou o he house. The ollowing day,
Helen ings again, his ime o apologise. They bo h ealise ha Douglas had been
chea ing on he wo o hem. F om his poin hey de elop a iendship.
This s o y also sp ings om he basic line gi l mee s boy, bu i spo s wo wis s: i s ly,
P ince Cha ming he is no ; secondly, con a y o all expec a ions, he mis ess is a nice gi l.
In a way, his s o y abandons he ‘ideology’ o oman ic lo e in a ou o he idea ha
women’s iendship is impo an and possible. This a e y empowe ing message o women
ha “New Weeklies” y o ge ac oss (Oa es, 1999).
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A he same ime, T ue Li e S o ies acknowledge he unce ain y o li e: Who could ha e
old ha M Righ was a chea ? Who was going o hink ha he mis ess o he iancée
would become a good iend? And i is a posi i e message ha encou ages making he bes
ou o a bad si ua ion. Reade s ook a simila app oach when in e p e ing T ue Li e S o ies in
gene al. The message ha eade s said o ex ac om his ype o s o y usually was “li e
goes on”. Reade s o en alked abou s o ies ha we e less op imis ic han his one, and
concluded ha in he end, “you ha e o lea n o li e wi h he ad an ages o disad an ages
ha you ind you sel ha ing. And a he same ime you mus emembe ha he e a e people
wo se o han you”.
Back o he mo e op imis ic s o y ha occupies us, ‘When he iancé me he mis ess, we can
say ha i has closu e al hough i does no ha e he same in ensi y o ha o ‘Yes e day once
mo e’. Nicola has escaped ‘a chea ’ and has a new ‘ma e’ bu he happy e e a e is no ha
clea . Nicola s ill lacks he pa ne and he a he igu e o he child en ha she wished o .
This is no he s o y o he li e, as he omance was Molly’s s o y, i is one o he s o ies o
he li e.
T ue Li e S o ies do no sha e he escapism and he u opia o he omance. T ue Li e
Na a i es acknowledge ha li e is complica ed and encou age women o igh agains
ad e si y. Romances seem o sugges ha he e is only one way o gaining happiness. Fi s
you become a sel -sac i icing woman, and hen you will be paid back by inding lo e.
On he con a y, in T ue Li e S o ies sel -sac i ice is no always e ec i e and he e is no
only one pa h o happiness. T ue Li e S o ies acknowledge ha lo e, like li e, does no
always wo k ou as planned. These ex s seem o ejec he u opia o oman ic lo e and
con en hemsel es wi h mo e humble aims in li e such as iendship.
In e ms o Reade s’ Pa icipa ion, he ac ha hese s o ies a e ac ual and he main
cha ac e s a e mean o be no mal people o lesh and blood makes T ue Li e S o ies less
idealised han Magazine Roman ic S o ies. The e o e, eade s a e in a way, allowed o make
hei own idea abou he p incipal and elle o he s o y. In ac , many eade s ques ioned he
mo i a ion o he na a o o gi ing he s o ies. The ollowing ex ac illus a es his idea:
“I wonde abou he mo i es o he people gi ing he in e iews, I don’ hink i is he money,
because I hink hey a e no paid e y much. Some imes i migh be ha hey ha e a g udge
on he o he pe son ha hey wan o shame hem. O i could be ha hey a e maybe ying