The purpose of this article was to compare and contrast the covers of popular men and women’s magazines. The authors hypothesized that women’s magazines were much more likely to have key messages or articles about enhancing bodily appearance than that of men’s magazines. Further, they felt that the discovered messages on women’s covers would be more conflicting or hypocritical than those of men’s magazine covers.

The researchers gathered their research material through analyses of twenty-one magazines. Six monthly issues dedicated to varying seasons were used for each magazine title. The total amount of magazines examined was 69 covers of women’s magazines and 54 covers of men’s magazines. The authors then used a checklist that had the following headings: presence of a diet message, exercise message, cosmetic surgery message, and general weight loss message and if there was existence of a conflicting message beside one another. The percentage for each specific magazine was determined by dividing the number of magazine issues that contained each checklist item by the total number of magazine issues examined.

The author decided to use an experimental method approach to their research. This method was effective as they were able to prove their hypothesis to be true through the duration of their research. I found this approach very easy to follow. I knew from the beginning what they were hoping to accomplish. Their methods of gathering evidence were simple and quantitative, in that they used numbers to reach statistical points, which are always effectual to readers. What I found to be most effective was the authors’ ability to take their quantitative research and embellish on it, advancing it into qualitative research. They used the best of both worlds, numerical evidence and the numerical evidence applied to the readers of the magazine, the possible outcomes and the affect these cover messages are causing. Which allows a deeper understanding of the effect media is having on present day society. However, an apparent weakness was the limitation of magazines selected. There are hundreds of magazines in print and to generalize all magazines as either men or women’s is inaccurate, as well as there are magazines that in no way would be appropriate for this study. Such as National Geographic or Macleans. Further proving that, this was an experimental method of resea

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