Roland Barthes believes that myths in the context of media is the notion of a social construct where dominating ideas are deemed as self-evidential. This works when predominantly large companies produce media products that constantly push across the same ideological message to their audience.
This front cover of a 2015 edition of a Cosmopolitan Magazine is full of awareness of the female body - especially in a sexual or 'appealing' way. It's interesting to see the paradigm of the pink background (which is often viewed as a typically feminine colour) in contrast to the models red top and lipstick (which can hold connotations of love and passion) could potentially draw together the two common conceptions (and therefore myths) that women should be both sweet and sexual. This, as an indirect result, draws attention to the complex beauty standards that women (and men) feel like they have to adhere to because they have sadly become such a dominant feature in many media products which we are finally trying to fight back against.
This then allows us to discuss ideas of hegemony which help to further support Barthes ideas. Hegemony suggests that ruling classes try to maintain their power through control of ideas and culture rather than by using force. Because ideologies are often repeated across media they become a consensus of what is normal and therefore (as Barthes says) they become common sense in the minds of many. The nature of common sense then allows for these ideas not to be questioned or argued against as they have seemingly been legitimised by the media. Hegemony is a fickle concept - Antonio Gramsci states that it can only be ‘maintained by the consent of the subordinate classes. The subordinate can pose a challenge to hegemony and the consensus may be broken. Society is seen therefore as a constant struggle between ideologies competing for hegemony”.
The semantic field of sex, shown through words such as ‘sex’, ‘hot’ and ‘ass’ work in tandem with the main image: a decidedly mid-shot which frames the subject's torso and draws attention to her hips (which are accentuated by her tight-fitting clothes) and also her chest as the low cut neck draws clear attention to her exposed cleavage and the slight impression of her bra. It could be argued that even the vertical stripes of her top help to further display the curves of the model. The paradigm of the model's forward-facing body position, as well as her direct eye contact, connote ideas of power and confidence. All of this works to reinforce the myth that women should feel happy to be openly sexual within society…even though women who do have the confidence to do such are often classed as ‘sluts’. This again draws attention to the wider issue of contrasting standards within mainstream societies.
The inclusion of a slim model as well as the phrase ‘Get beach body read: fast abs & ass workout’ draws out this myth that woman should not only desire to be of a certain body weight/shape in order to ‘fit in’ to this imagined beauty template but also that they should work hard and strive towards these end results. The choice of the word ‘fast’ can potentially have negative implications as some companies that label products in relation to weight loss as being a ‘fast route to success' can often have negative effects both physically and even mentally on the consumer. It also suggests that women should work as fast as possible to achieve (and maintain) weight loss.
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