Discourse and Identity: A Linguistic Approach to the Feminine Self

Daniele Crema*

Abstract: This paper aims at exploring ways in which the relationship between

language and discourse affects the conception of the feminine self. Through the analysis

of mediatic texts addressed to women we will try to point out to what extent their visual

and textual arguments may function as a persuasive device to induce the reader into

identifying herself with certain beauty stereotypes disseminated. Also, based on the

principles of discourse analysis, especially on Marx's concept of ideology, this study

will question whether such an attempt is in accordance with the idea of a fragmented

feminine identity. Keywords: Discourse analysis, feminine identity, female stereotypes.

Introduction

The issue of identity is a lot in discussion nowadays for most stereotypes

of the past are in decline and, consequently, giving way to the modern conceptions of

the self in which individuals act in accordance with the cultural systems that surround

them. In this way, being an effective instrument of persuasion, media serves as a

powerful manipulative tool to induce the taking of actions, especially when it comes to

the feminine universe.

Stereotypes of women perpetuated by the media play a very important

role in the formation of one's identity for they create within society a normative system

that dangerously seems to hold true to real life. In light of such consideration, the texts

to be analysed here are effective linguistic means to illustrate how prevalent ideals

regarding femininity have become widespread and therefore influenced women to adapt

themselves to the beauty standards established.

The corpus was selected from the November, 2007 edition of

Cosmopolitan, a very popular American magazine whose target reader is the feminine

public. Two texts1,- an advertisement destined for women who aim at reducing calories

and an article which supposedly tells a true story about an ex-cheerleader - each of

which in a different stylistic format, were chosen for their peculiar approach to language

is rather involving and, consequently, encourages the reader to stick firmly to the ideas

expressed.

* Undergraduate student of USP in the area of Portuguese and English languages.

1 The advertisement and the story analysed are in the end of the paper.

Still, given due consideration the bias and contradictions in the

configuration of women's identities, the analysis of the corpus may be significantly

important as a way to shed light on the question whether such nurture of stereotypes,

noticeable in both texts, is in connection with a sense of oneness or with a fragmented

feminine identity.

1 Advertisement

1.1 Ideological imposition

For a start, it is of great importance to mention that the advertisement is

located in the Looking great section of the magazine, which is devoted to providing the

readers with beauty tips. Thus, the making of the advertisement itself implies the

presupposition of a psychological context2 for it assumes that women may have the

ambition to mirror the supposedly successful image of the excessively thin models,

portrayed in the magazine. In this way, the Marxist notion of ideology cited by Brandão

(2004: 20) might be applied to such idea as the term designates the production of

images of social reality. Therefore, the ruling ideas of society are somehow imposed on

the lower classes and this system of dominance prevails as the dominated ones do not

oppose it, rather the reverse, they end up accepting it and even taking for granted that

not adapting to the standards might lead to their inferiority.

1.2 The peritext

The peritext3 is a very important compositional feature of the

advertisement because, not surprisingly, it is in conjunction with women's crave for a

desirable body form. The full-body photo of a smiling client stands out in opposition to

a discreet small photograph on the right, portraying the same woman. On top of that, in

the larger photo the client's look is way more appealing considering that she is wearing

a dress that is much more sophisticated than the jeans of the smaller photo. Not to

mention that in the big photo her hair is straightened and she has make up put on, which

may come to reinforce the efficiency of Jenny Craig's consultants in the shaping of their

clients' self-esteem.

2 “This term designates intentions, beliefs and desires which incentivate interaction and the taking of

actions” (Parret, 1988: 20). 3 Verbal or non-verbal elements that accompany a text (Genette, 1987).

“Reduce calories.NOT YOUR ENJOYMENT OF LIFE ”, a strong

imperative phrase, is part of the peritext as well, for not only does it introduce the reader

to the universe of the advertisement but it also plays with a creative visual effect: the

reduction of the letters. The reader may take notice that the letters are reduced in size,

the purpose of which is to link the visual aspect of the advertisement to the meaning

produced by the text. In contrast, “NOT YOUR ENJOYMENT OF LIFE” is written

with capital letters as a way to convince the reader that the strive for a perfect body does

not imply suffering if “Jenny”'s work is requested.

1.3 Analysis of the text

From a pragmatic perspective, the text can be said to differ from a

conventional magazine advertisement partly because it is mostly written in the first

person, “I”, and also due to its configuration as a confession rather than a direct

publicity discourse. Even in spite of belonging to a defined generic scene4 whose main

concern is persuasiveness, the text has a positive tone of confessionism by the client

which comes to diverge from the commonplace and somewhat aggressive imperatives

of other advertisements. Such tone is a means to give credibility to the company and

may work as a motivation for the readers of the advertisement who aim at losing weight.

Not strikingly, the verb tense used in the text is the present so that the

addressee is given the impression the enunciation presents itself “here and now”. What

is more, taking into account the existential context5 one can assume that the use of the

first person in the advertisement characterizes, simultaneously, a subjective and

objective discourse. “I” can either refer to the woman portrayed in the advertisement or

to the reader once it may stress the idea of losing weight without making much effort.

The short sentences in parenthesis establish the opposition between the

subjective and objective discourses of the advertisement. For instance, in “(...) I

celebrated with a martini!” it is noticeable that the content of the sentence cannot be

applied to the reader, but to the woman depicted in the advertisement. Besides, this idea

can be justified by the fact that, in the photo, the woman is holding a martini in her

hands and celebrating the loss of 25 pounds.

4 Genres of discourse that prescribe the scene in the discourse (Maingueneau, 2001: 87). In the case of the advertisement analysed there is a plurality of genres given its tone of confession which is incorporated from another discursive field. 5 It gives due consideration the transmissor and the receptor of a message in addition to its spacial and temporal dimensions (Parret, 1988: 17).

Furthermore, in reading the text, the target readers (women) may feel

familiar with the language present given its proximity to their everyday expressions.

Phrases such as “my very own”, “she's a real pleasure” and “well, you know” plus the

use of exclamative sentences are characteristic of the feminine discourse and, therefore,

they play their part in the advertisement, working as devices to spark the reader's

attention and make one identify with the language used. Also, the mention of the name

Jenny6 itself is an important element in this way owing to the fact that at first it appears

to be a person. Only in the end of the text, where it says “for a free appointment with a

Jenny personal consultant”, does the reader get to know that “Jenny” is actually a

company.

Amplification is another efficient strategy of the writer in relation to the

linguistic field for it is extremely significative as a way to emphasize the ideas

expressed. The sentences “Yes, I can go out, eat at restaurants, enjoy life (...)” and

“from penne to pasta to mesquite chicken to chocolate cake” are illustrative of such

characteristic, leading the addressee to believe that once “Jenny” is requested there

might be no restrictions in the process of losing weight. Besides, the repetition of “Yes”

throughout the text may come to have the same purpose of the amplifications mentioned

once it also conveys the idea that the 'battle' for a desirable body does not imply

suffering. Then, its meaning is “fundamentally dialogic, it arises in the configuration of

the discourse” (Bakhtin, 1981 apud Hall, 1997:235).

Lastly, placed at the bottom of the page, the question “Have you called

Jenny yet?” finishes the text with a different linguistic approach as the sentence cannot

be interpreted literally. Rather than asking the reader whether she has called Jenny, in

this part of the advertisement, the writer aims at making an imperative statement, which,

in this case, is implicit. What really matters is that the reader calls the company then it is

almost an order for her to do so7.

2 Real-Life Reads

2.1 The peritext

6 “Jenny”in the American use can be said to represent the contract form of the name Jennifer. Considering that such nicknames are commonplace among women the use of Jenny in the advertisement might also be a way to make the reader familiarize with the publicity discourse. 7 This is the so-called indirect speech act in which the content of a sentence is implicit but can be understood by the receptor of the message (Koch, 2002: 22).

In this section of the magazine, on making use of a narrative textual

structure, an ex-cheerleader recounts her bad experiences as a member of the NFL

(National Football League) team. The dark side of cheering can be perceived throughout

the text from its very beginning owing to several discursive elements that came to

intensify the ideas expressed. Firstly, the organization of the peritext makes it clear that

the views held about cheering are negative. Thus, devices such as photos, titles and

subtitles somehow introduce the reader to the topic of the text.

The first eye-catching element of the peritext is the photograph in the

first page. Depicting an empty football field with pom-poms on the grass, such photo

stands out for it illustrates clearly the purpose of the interlocutor, the one of telling the

reader what being a cheerleader entails: seclusion. Evidently, if the views on

cheerleaders were positive, the photograph would be quite different, perhaps it would

depict beautiful girls happily supporting their team players. Then, a photo with no one

might reinforce the interlocutor's opinion in which being a cheerleader is a means to

segregate the members of the team from the rest of the students.

Still, the subtitles of the photos coincide with the ideas above for they

stress the fact that on being a cheerleader one may face harmful implications of ongoing

exposure to the almost unattainable ideals related to the cult of a sculptural body. Thus,

the peritext starts to bring to discussion the fact that cheering involves “killer

competition, humiliation, weigh-ins, and costly beauty treatments”, which, according to

the writer of the text, is not worthy once it may imply a lot of suffering.

The title is also extremely expressive, especially because of the word

“tales”, here used as a way to reinforce that there is a temporal distance between now

and the time the facts happened. The second main title, “Those sparkle-covered rah-rahs

on the sidelines (...) the dark truth”, also plays its part in the configuration of the

discourse because it is more direct than the photos in the labeling of cheering as a

frustrating experience. The use of “dark truth” in different colours also accounts for that

and designates a contradiction because the colour of these terms is not darker than the

other words of the title, as one would expect.

However clear, the peritext in “Real-Life Reads” does not explore the

visual devices as much as the weight loss advertisement analysed. Such difference lies

in the peculiarities of the two genres as each of which require a different scenography8.

8 Characteristics of a discourse that may classify it as a genre (Maingueneau, 2001: 87).

The advertisement aims at communicating its content in a fast manner whereas the

article has got more space for discussion. Consequently, it is understandable that it

makes use of more textual and argumentative devices than the advertisement.

Nevertheless, generally speaking, one cannot consider that the peritext of

an article is not a means to persuade because, not only is it a way to make the reader be

willing to read the text, but it also expresses an opinion and, therefore, it may work as a

manipulative tool. Then, having the analysed article as an example, it might not be

wrong to say that every discourse is ideological given the fact that “(...) pelo caráter

arbitrário do signo, se por um lado a linguagem leva à criação, à produtividade de

sentido, por outro representa um risco na medida em que permite manipular a

construção de referência” (Brandão, 2004: 31).

2.2 Analysis of the text

The enunciation of the text analysed here presents itself with the constant

use of “I”, causing the language to be predominantly subjective. Some of the words

used, such as “bitchy”, for instance, plus the use of adjectivation and exclamative

sentences are commonplace in women's discourse so that these features may interest the

target reader and, therefore, be important elements to classify the discourse as

subjective. What is more, when the interlocutor addresses the reader in

“You may have seen me on Monday Night Football last fall (...)”, the

subjectivity of the discourse is stressed for the reader is included in the enunciation as if

there was an exchange of ideas.

Another important compositional aspect of the text is the exhaustive use

of the passive voice. Phrases such as “I was told to”, “We were not allowed to” and

“We were required to” are mentioned several times and therefore emphasize the

impositions on the girls whose disobedience to their coach would lead to their leaving

the cheering team. Either being ordered to dye her hair or go on a diet without being

willing to do so, the writer did it for she had to convey the image she was expected to.

Then, the passage “(...) a fear of being yelled at in front of the entire team” justifies such

idea and confirms the strive for the almost unattainable ideals related to femininity.

Still, the so-called cited discourse9 is very significant in the article for it

prepares the text to what is going to be said. The use of reporting verbs like “say”,

9 J.L.MEURER, D. MOTTA-ROTH (org.), Gêneros textuais, Bauru, 2002, p.248.

“remind” and “tell” generates an element of polyphony through which a plurality of

voices jointly constructs the discourse. Then, one may notice that, in the text, the direct

discourse works as a way to make the episodes more dramatic and subjective while the

indirect discourse tends to be more informative and objective (Grillo, 2005: 77). The

sentences “The choreographer patted my butt and said “Good girl!” and “(...) the

choreographer assured me that it was just gas”, respectively, are illustrative of these

uses for in the first example “good”, an adjective, can characterize the discourse as

subjective while in the second example the writer is just explaining the reason she was

weighing 127 pounds.

Despite being mostly subjective, the text has some moments in which the

writer does not want to be made responsible for the words she says. Conversely, on

regretting her past experiences as a cheerleader, she intends to induce the reader into

having a good impression about her. Thus, in “too ethnic” and “operation

unemployment” the strategy mentioned is noticeable, especially because in both cases

the writer expresses a tone of indignation at the impositions she had to put up with not

to be expelled from the team.

Simultaneously, the feelings of frustration and indignation can be

perceived as far as argumentative operators10 are applied. Throughout the text several

examples can be found whereas the most expressive one is “even though”, on page 134,

where it says that the girl's family drove eight hours from their hometown to see her

cheer but she was not allowed to do so as she was considered overweight for the

performance.

Irony is constitutive of the writer's discourse in the previous part of the

conclusion. The making of questions - “And at least it was lucrative, right?” and “And

for what? The glory of moonwalking (no, really) for the drunk guys (...)?”- worked as a

technique partly because they ensured the fact that cheerleaders did not make much

profit from cheering and also the illusion girls have that cheering is a means to be

popular and physically attractive.

The conclusion plays a fundamental role in the configuration of the

article as a whole, for it synthesizes the views of the writer on being a cheerleader. She

mentions that she suffered from the harmful implications of cheering: health disorders

and being abandoned by her friends so that she left the team and is now enjoying what

10 “Elementos da gramática de uma língua que têm por função indicar (mostrar) a força argumentativa dos enunciados” (Koch, 1992:30).

she could not do as a cheerleader. Then, having the passage “(...) I realized I'd sacrificed

my entire identity just to get into that uniform” as an example, one can assume that the

attitudes of society are constitutive of individuals' identity for the subject is not

autonomous and self-sufficient, but is formed in relation to 'significant others' (Hall,

1992: 275).

Conclusion

From a pragmatic point of view the two texts analysed can be said to

differ due to specific features that emerged from their configuration as a discoursive

genre.

On the one hand, the advertisement makes exhaustive use of textual and

visual devices that may come to intensify its commercial purpose. On the other, the

article of the Real-Life Reads section does not have that explicit approach to

persuasiveness partly because it does not belong to the publicity field and also due to

the use of polyphony throughout the text. Thus, in some moments, the subjectivity of

the article is somehow “masked” by the plurality of voices present in its discourse.

Given the constitutive textual elements mentioned, what can be inferred

from the analysis is that the psychological presuppositions noticeable in the magazine

lead to a contradictory concept of the feminine identity. Being Cosmopolitan a

magazine in which the standards of beauty are vigorously set, it was surprising to see

that, simultaneously, the same magazine rejects such norms.

On exploring the suffering and pain that being a cheerleader is about, the

magazine puts to an end the fantasized idea women may have of cheering, which

regards cheerleaders as an icon of femininity, beauty and popularity. As a result, one

can conclude that the concept of identity which arises from the analysis of the

advertisement and the article is in conjunction with the idea of a fragmented subject

whose sense of self is molded in accordance with the individual's relations with society.

However, taking into account that the vast majority of articles published

in Cosmopolitan somehow dictates fashions and trends related to the feminine universe,

it may not be wrong to assume that such imposition of standards outweighs the

arguments of the Real-Life Reads's article and, therefore, may come to convey an idea

of oneness regarding women's identity.

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Magazine:

Cosmopolitan, vol. 243, no. 5. pp. 101; 132-137, November, 2007.

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