Schenk

"I am guided by the vision of what I believe this show can be," explains Oprah Winfrey. "Originally our goal was to uplift, enlighten, encourage and entertain through the medium of television. Now, our mission statement for The Oprah Winfrey Show is to use television to transform people's lives, to make viewers see themselves differently and to bring happiness and a sense of fulfillment into every home."

The Oprah Winfrey show has grown over the years to be one of the longest lasting talk shows on network television. The influence she wields over viewers around the nation is unprecedented; all the books she endorses in her book club instantly become best sellers, her magazine is read by approximately two million readers a month and her show continues to be a hit. As she says in the above mission statement all this activity aims to "bring happiness and fulfillment" to her viewers and supporters. I now turn to "O: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine," where the attached advertisement was found, to see how this mission statement is played out through the articles and advertisements included in the pages of this magazine.

On the cover over this issue1 the only picture is one of Oprah with a big smile on her face as though she is in the middle of telling her audience something exciting about this issue's contents. The biggest article featured on the cover is entitled "Enjoy Yourself! O's frazzle-free guide to the party season (Food, flowers, wine, what to wear everywhere)." Along with this are articles entitled "Does your HAIR make your hips look big? The right cut is a snip away" and "OOPS. You've blown your diet, you've forgotten where the gym is...WE'LL GET YOU BACK ON TRACK." (Emphasis not added) Without even opening the up the magazine we know that the contents include mostly material on self improvement whether it be improvement on physical appearance, presentation to others (first article mentioned) or emotional well being as the article entitled "Friendship Therapy" suggests.

Amongst all these articles are the typical spreads of advertisements found in women's magazines for beauty products and clothing. However, by taking a closer look at which products are chosen and how they are marketed the target audience becomes a little clearer. For instance almost all the clothing that was advertised was of the style typically referred to as business casual, using models that looked to be about middle aged dressed in styles that looked as though they were out of a "Lands End" catalogue. Some were a little dressier, but none were fancy enough to qualify as eveningwear. Most of the home products that were advertised were for furniture or accessories of that sort and all the health advertisements were for prescription drugs.2

Among all these ads the only ones that did not seem explicitly aimed at middle-aged women who were also probably mothers were the perfume ads and some of the makeup ads. (There were quite a few for anti-aging beauty products.) For this reason I was surprised when I came across this underwear advertisement. The woman in the ad looks to be in her twenties, no older than thirty, and the underwear being marketed is simple. I would not even be able to classify it as lingerie as that word usually carries undertones of sex with it. This women is by no means thinking â?~sexy.' She is casually reclined on some pillows looking wistfully at a flower in her hand. The whole ad has a whimsical tone to it that the script below her reading "I dreamed...he loves me" reinforces. The fact that it is a black and white photo also adds to this mood. What grabbed my attention with this ad was not only the age of the model compared to the target group, but the fact that in a magazine that claims to want to bring "fulfillment into the home" this advertisement is being endorsed. There are other advertisements in this magazine that are more openly encourage harmful stereotypes of what a woman should be3, but the message in this one is much more subversive and hence potentially just as if not more damaging than the others.

Are women supposed to lounge around at home with near perfect makeup on dreaming about prince charming or even dreaming that their current partner loves them? This advertisement reinforces the idea that women need the male or even a male to love them. This need then becomes a part of our everyday lounging about and fantasies. On a more basic level this advertisement encourages the stereotype that women are dreamers and that they live in fantasy world as opposed to being "down to earth." The flower and the wispy hair remind one once again of the whimsical tone that also suggests innocence. Are we innocent dreamers?

In a postmodern world were anything goes and anything can be justified this advertisement slips through the cracks. This ad though juxtaposed with articles on how to lose weight, obtain the right haircut and entertain properly reminds women that no matter what their day job is they must maintain a look of beauty and emotional well being.4 Once again we are posed with the modern woman's dilemma. How does one get the perfect haircut, keep up emotionally healthy relationships, diet properly and keep a day job (whether this be full time mother or other job)? Obviously amongst all this we lounge around in our underwear fantasizing about the man who we want to love us. Is this message one that will bring "a sense of fulfillment into every home"?

1 "Enjoy Yourself." O: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine. November 2003. 4.11.

2 Out of the clothing advertisements there was only one that did not fit into the business casual category. For the home products "accessories of the sort" includes dishwashers, vacuums and kitchen wear. Also the only health care advertisements that were not for prescription drugs were for charity organizations.

3 The advertisements I refer to here are typically perfume advertisements with half dressed anorexic looking women endorsing seductive perfume names. To be seductive and enticing we must be thin with wispy hair and wearing lots of makeup?

4 In addition to the "Friendship Therapy" article there is one titled "Husbands Who Kill: The warning signs everyone misses" as well as one by Dr. Phil.