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Messages to Homemakers as Consumers Regarding Food Preparation as Conveyed by Women's Magazines 1947-1986

The purpose of this study was to define the messages related to food preparation that are conveyed by women's magazines to homemakers as consumers during the post-World War II period, and to analyze any changes of those messages over time. A content analysis of food related articles and advertisements in representative issues of Ladies' Home Journal and Good Housekeeping magazines from 1947 to 1986 was conducted. Both manifest and latent content were coded and agreement between the two measures was analyzed.
Of eighteen messages defined, five were found to account for 78.9 percent of the messages conveyed,. The five messages, listed in descending order, were (1) taste and visual appeal, (2) convenience and versatility, (3) nutrition, (4) quality, and (5) expertise in homemaking and hostessing skills. Using a test of chi-square, no significant difference in the distribution of the messages conveyed from year to year was found. Nevertheless, changes in presentation of the messages were found. Changes were geared to changing technological orientations, economic conditions, and gender roles.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-3388
Date01 May 1988
CreatorsSteggel, Carmen Dobson
PublisherDigitalCommons@USU
Source SetsUtah State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceAll Graduate Theses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu).

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