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In order to synthesize what I have gathered from analyzing the front covers, and then allow that information to guide my analysis of the inside pages of the magazines, I will discuss the findings in terms of category: 1) Arrangement and Environment, 2) Attributes and Expressions, and 3) Activities. In taking a look at the progression of this group of women’s magazines overtime, we find that all three categories become simpler, but that there is a slowly growing movement to create more engaging covers.

Kadınca and Aysha present the most diverse covers in terms of arrangement and environment. Kadınca often featured women in multifaceted environments, such as in front of a fire place, at a table with food and drink, tied to a work chair, lifting her husband, etc. In Aysha we see less complex environments, but women are still featured with backgrounds that place them in a real life setting. We see a small effort

on the part of Elele and Marie Claire in the past few years to have women pose in real life settings; however, these instances are far and few between.

The arrangement of women’s bodies also becomes less complex. This limited range of body language ties in with the types of activities the women are featured engaging in, which, apart from Kadınca, is mostly nothing. A great deal of the Elele, Marie Claire, and Glamour covers do not feature women engaging in any sort of activity, and as follows, the body language of the women is mostly arranged in such a way that they look like they are only modeling for beauty’s sake. Similarly, apart from Kadınca, the women’s expressions on magazines have mostly stayed consistent in that they feature women who are smiling or gazing at the audience in a sexy, questioning manner or are in a contemplative mood.

Throughout the discussion of the front covers, I mostly discussed the simplicity in a negative light. This is because when viewing a conglomerate front covers together, and seeing a continual, non-changing pattern of a woman standing in front of a blank background, you start to wonder with the redundancy what makes the magazine interesting or special or different? A light was shed on the possible appeal of this pattern of simplicity during my interview with April. Some consumers are drawn to the simplicity and stability of the magazine because it makes the material more easily accessible and digestible. Not everyone who opens a magazine is looking for something that challenges their senses. And furthermore, it is true that a woman can express herself sexually or happily or pensively or in any sort of way and still have a serious and/or feminist agenda.

One big change that has occurred are the attributes of women, specifically the types of clothing they are featured wearing. Of course, styles of dress have changed over time and the magazines reflect this change. Aysha in particular represents changing styles, as it features women in head scarfs and clothing that may appeal to a Muslim woman who seeks to dress modestly. Representing this type of style is important because although wearing the headscarf can be perceived as a politically charged decision, women who choose to wear the headscarf do so based on their own set reasons and, regardless of the nature of these reasons, women deserve to have a space where the feel comfortable and represented.

As gathered through my interview with Luna, it is not only the very presence of the headscarf that is political, but there are also certain ways of tying the head scarf that may represent symbolic support for the current government. These nuances are important because they reveal how budding styles and products are a result of complex negotiations between social, religious, and economic forces all battling on the ground that is the woman’s body, identity, and appearance.

Through analyzing the front covers chronologically, we have found that there has been an expansion and diversification of the women’s magazine market. This growth of the kinds of women’s magazines available in the public sphere indicates the recognition of a plurality of women’s identities. Some of these magazines carry forward featuring patterns of lifestyle that have been recognized by the public and the market for years, wheres others have only recently been able to obtain the resources to create these material social spaces through which to reflect their lifestyles.

One aspect of these front covers that is important in further defining the material space, but is not delved into in my research, is the significance of the people are who are featured. All of these magazines use well-known people from different industries and feature a story about them inside the magazine as a technique to draw the attention of the audience It is important that famous people are used to attract readers because their authenticity as recognized figures in popular culture may lend itself to the legitimacy of the content in the magazine.

Magazines are important because their images are a tool for creating spaces for women to unite based on similar lifestyle preferences; thus, the consumption and creation of magazines is important because the ones that are successful reflect popular trends and opinions. Magazine images are carefully selected to portray certain ideals and values; therefore when women gravitate towards a particular magazine, when the front cover draws a woman in and then the inside content keeps her attention, this means that the content is relevant to a community of women. In short, through an analyzing the cover imagery of these women’s magazines, we have found that magazines do not just sell products, magazines sell styles and identities that are popularized by different social, economic, religious, and political forces.