Constructions of self and the pursuit of ‘authenticity’ in women’s magazines: A study of British and Greek discourses

Abstract

This article examines discourses of authenticity embedded in European popular culture based on an empirical study of British and Greek women’s magazines. After a quantitative content analysis of 575 articles published in Greek and British editions of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire during 2012–2016, we conducted a qualitative repertoire analysis of 80 articles and identified a shared discursive repertoire, that of women’s ‘authentic self’. Our analysis suggests that discourses of authenticity in women’s magazines contain contradictory elements. First, they are characterised by a ‘can do’ philosophy, an emphasis on ‘body-positivity’, ‘self-acceptance’ and self-help advice, which suggests women’s agency as well as a normalisation of postfeminist gender anxieties. Second, the discourses encourage women to accept their bodies, ‘internal selves’ and current circumstances through self-monitoring and self-surveillance, while silencing societal barriers that form obstacles to achieving ‘an authentic self’. These authenticity discourses rely on a triple entanglement of notions derived from third-wave feminism, post-feminism and neoliberal discourse.