This is a young woman's premier fashion and beauty magazine. It is
tailored for women in their late teens and early twenties and includes
information on fitness, food, cars, college, careers, talent,
entertainment, fiction and crucial personal and global issues.
The perky authority on all things girl since 1944, Seventeen magazine
still provides advice and encouragement to masses of young misses.
Although the primary focus is fashion and famous folk, this teen zine is
not mere eye candy. Mixed among the cutting-edge styles (and
multitudinous ads) you'll find short but plentiful articles. Topics
range in import: fluff stuff like "What Will You Wear Back to
School?" and "The Ultimate Ponytail Guide" is balanced by
heavier fodder, such as "No One Believes I Was Raped" and
pieces on having a gay sibling and the dangers of binge drinking. Skewed
largely toward a Caucasian teen audience, the magazine's coverage of
beauty and relationship conundrums does offer nods to young women of
color. The tone is resolutely positive, and amid all the talk of
must-have hairdos and hottie alerts, the message is girl power in its
most nonthreatening guise.
