The notion of genre

Genre is considered ‘typified utterances’ identified by a set of actions taken in given circumstances and by a typified intention. The study of genre is seen as ‘the development of single type of texts through repeated use in situations perceived as similar’ (Bazerman, 1988; 1994:82). It involves an interconnected analysis of both context, understood as the social or ‘rhetorical situation in which a genre is used’ (Motta-Roth, 1995:33), and of textual features.

Berkenkotter and Huckin (1993:4), who analyze academic discourse from a sociocognitive perspective, see genre as an adequate response to a given recurrent situation, more specifically, ‘dynamic rhetorical forms that develop from responses to recurrent situations and serve to stabilize experience and give it coherence and meaning.

Genres change over time in response to their users’ sociocognitive needs’.

Based on the above-mentioned concepts, EWM qualify as genre. First they are recurrent, appearing weekly or monthly as part of regular publications. Furthermore, EWM can be considered dynamic rhetorical forms since they have changed over the years to adapt to new social norms. Analyzing EWM from Brazilian publications from 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984, for example, I was able to identify changes in relation to the layout, lexis, and discourse strategies. Due to new technology as well as new discursive practices (such as the characteristics of contemporary society, according to Fairclough, 1993),

1 Studies in CDA focusing on some of these generic types include work carried out by Caldas-Coulthard (1996) on features presenting personal narratives, and Figueiredo (1994), on features/articles on sexual transgression. Ostermann (1994) focuses on the normative ‘do’s and dont’s’ of quizzes in the Brazilian publication Capricho and the American Seventeen. Talbot (1992) concentrates on an advertisement about lipstick in the teenage magazine Jackie, (no longer being published). Still under the perspective of CDA, letters to the editor, which constitute one of the possibilities of readers’ sharing their voices with other women and the editorial staff, from two monthly Zimbabwean magazines (not women’s magazines), are analyzed by Morrison and Love (1996).

EWM have changed considerably, although they have kept their persuasive, advertising and advice character regarding what should be women’s role in society. Even though the topics referred to in these old editions concern changing times, time for renovation, celebrity profiles, and readers’ experiences, also seen in contemporary EWM, the approach to them differs. In the October 1995 EWM from Cosmopolitan (not included in my corpus), the new editor, Mandi Norwood, who used to be the editor of Company, gives her E-mail address, and in the Brazilian Cláudia EWM this is also seen, which illustrates a modern, globalized tendency.

Another reason for considering EWM as a genre is their occurrence in the initial pages of women’s magazines in typical utterances, with editors addressing readers as Dear reader(s) or in titles such as Our Cosmo World, Your Company or Aqui entre nós, in the Brazilian magazine Cláudia. EWM are written to call readers’ attention to certain features and to establish a friendly atmosphere with them, as editors themselves explain (see Appendix D), the ultimate purpose being that of attracting readers to read the magazine as a whole and more specifically certain features commented on in the EWM.

Kress (1989) sees genres, discourses and texts as interrelated. For him, genres are conventionalized forms of texts, as he explains:

Genres have specific forms and meanings, deriving from and encoding the functions, purposes and meanings of the social occasions. Genres therefore provide a precise index and catalogue of the relevant social occasions of a community at a given time (Kress, 1989:19).

Regarding EWM, the relevant social occasion as proposed by Kress for the reading of EWM concerns entertainment and a moment of relaxation for women, a moment to talk to a friend, or a counselor. These texts function as an attractive gimmick to persuade women to read at least the features which are highlighted in the EWM, emphasizing positive aspects only and establishing contact with women in the private sphere, as has already been mentioned.

Kress sees texts as the meaningful units of language being determined by two factors: the meanings of different discourses and the forms and meanings of specific genres. Discourses are understood as ways of talking of an institution or a social grouping which are systematically organized, and which convey specific meanings and values

through language. Discourses determine how and what topic may be talked about. EWM have specific forms and meanings, as they are written in an informal style, often resembling spoken language, as if a conversation were going on.

Paltridge (1995), who studies genre within a pragmatic perspective, uses the notion of prototype to characterize the stereotypical properties of a genre. He also utilizes the notion of felicity conditions (Austin, 1962) which must be met for a genre to be a genre.

The felicity conditions for the EWM to take place are the following: First the issue of a women's magazine must have been produced for the EWM to have been written. The editorial must directly or indirectly refer to one or more topics or features of the issue, disposing readers favorably to them. The person writing the editorial and addressing readers must be the editor and s/he must have a knowledge of journalistic skills within the area of women's magazines, and of potential readers' interests, so as to communicate with readers in a friendly, chatty style. The produced text must appear in the initial pages of a women's magazine.

Another researcher who has greatly contributed to the study of genres is Swales. His working definition of genre is:

A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognized by the expert members of the parent discourse community, and thereby constitute the rationale for the genre. This rationale shapes the schematic structure of the discourse and influences and constrains choices of content and style... In addition to purpose, exemplars of a genre exhibit various patterns of similarity in terms of structure, style, content and intended audience. (Swales, 1990:58)

Taking into account these criteria, EWM are considered a genre as they consist of a communicative event with communicative purposes, and as they are written to establish contact with readers and to inform them of particularly interesting parts of the magazine.

In fact, these two purposes seem to make up the rationale for editorials in magazines in general, i. e., they constrain the position, form and content of the editorials. Editorials in other magazines, such as Skopia Medica (a Brazilian publication), Amateur Gardening, and House Beautiful, for instance, also aim at establishing a friendly contact with readers and at informing them about parts of the issue. For example:

Combater a depressão associada à ansiedade não é um desafio apenas para cientistas e médicos em todo o mundo. Este combate, que conta com um novo aliado -- a substância paroxetina -- é abordado pela Skopia Médica deste mês (Revista Skopia Médica Ano 11 n 3 1994)

Spring is traditionally the time for many types of plant propagation, but this week Stefan Buczacki starts a three part series on summer propagation, concentrating on the different areas of the garden.

He starts with house and greenhouse plants, on pages 22/23.

(Graham Clarke - Editor - Amateur Gardening - 12 June 1993)

We answer hundreds of enquiries about home products every month, and pride ourselves on being able to find the best bargains for you. Our guide to factory shops (pages 106-107) is bound to appeal to all intrepid homemakers. (Pat Roberts - Editor House Beautiful March 1993)

Communicating to different audiences, as these excerpts show, editorials in magazines function as a form of advertising or signaling of parts of the issue. The schematic structure of the discourse of EWM, as well as the lexical choices, content and style are all shaped by the purposes which the genre serves.

The term discourse community is fundamental in a study of genre, according to Swales (1990). A discourse community is a group of individuals who share common public goals, who have participatory mechanisms for intercommunication, and who have acquired some specific lexis related to the field. It seems that writers of EWM and readers form a special kind of discourse community. Together with the professional editorial staff, readers respond to editors’ appeals by writing letters, figuring as characters in true life stories, participating in campaigns, answering surveys and, most important of all, buying the magazines. As Ballaster et al (1991:9) explain, ‘the magazine assumes a shared experience between women’ and the ‘effect is to make of producers and reader one group’.