Affiliation:
1. Universiti Brunei Darussalam
2. University Brunei Darussalam
Abstract
In this study, the sex and relationship advice articles in locally-produced English
language women’s magazines from three different contexts, which are, Malaysia, the
US, and two Middle Eastern countries, Egypt and the UAE, were examined to explore
the kinds of problems that appear in each context. According to Machin and Van
Leeuwen (2003), the problem-solution discourse schema used by several international
editions of Cosmopolitan is essentially a global one. We aim to investigate if this schema
can be applied to home-grown women’s magazines as well. Sex and relationship advice
articles from six home-grown English language women’s magazines (two magazines
from each context) were analysed. The findings reveal variations in the definitions and
contextualisation of each problem category in the three contexts. However, the overall
aim of these articles is rather similar. That is, the problems that appear in these
magazines are chosen to help women find answers to achieve certain life goals such as
independence and confidence in all three contexts.
Publisher
Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Cankaya University
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