Feature Writing in Women's Magazines: a Limited Ideological Challenge

Since the emergence of the International women's movement in the early 1970s. women's magazines have increasingly popularized feminist Ideas. The fragmented format of the genre ensures that a debate on feminist issues can surface in features side by side such old reliables as beauty tips, recipes or advice on how to attract and keep a man. In 1991, over one third of feature writing in Woman's Way and three quarters in U, reflected items from the Irish feminist agenda. Issues like the wage gap, the absence of state funded childcare, the need for equal status legislation , rape and domestic violence were a ll debated on the feature pages of these magazines. though cons iderable differences did emerge between the two publications.