The Gentlewoman: Audience and Industries blog tasks

1) Media Magazine feature: Pleasures of The Gentlewoman

Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on The Gentlewoman (MM84 - page 34). Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest is different about the Gentlewoman compared to traditional women's magazines? 

The magazines style has a minimalistic art house style acts as a bold statement that focuses on success which is different from typical traditional women's life style and fashion magazines which have complex designs. 

2) What representations are offered in the Gentlewoman?  

A wide range of representations of womanhood are used in The Gentlewoman which either reinforce or subverts stereotypes and gender performativity as the magazine is about modern society but also is a life stye magazine about how women should conduct their lives. 

3) List the key statistics in the article on the average reader of the magazine. 

- Readers average salary of £87k

- 61% of readers are aged 28-46

- 47% of readers are in the A or B categories of the NRS social grading system 

This shows how readers are mainly of upper class and have the privilege to not only care about how they look but also social movements such as those that involve nature (Isabella Tree feature). 

4) What is The Gentlewoman Club? 

The Gentlewoman Club is an ‘international society’ of ‘sophisticated women and men who demand quality and originality from their agenda of cultural happenings’.

5) What theorists does it suggest we can apply to the Gentlewoman's club?

We can use Gauntlett's idea of how we use media products to create our identity, this relates to fandom behaviour. Furthermore, this event further proves this as audiences are able to talk to one another further strengthening their collective interest of the magazine.

6) What does the writer of article suggest they are getting out of their relationship with the magazine?

By having a relationship with the magazine the writers can help create and promote a modern reality for readers which features women from around the world and helps to empower women in a new society. 

7) Who are the team behind the magazine?

The creators behind The Gentlewoman are Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom who are both feminists which is the reason to why they had created The Gentlewomen.

8) How does the Gentlewoman use their website and social media to promote the magazine? 

On their website and social media pages, they provide enough content for readers to understand the brand itself so they can be persuaded to buy the actual physical copies for more content.

9) What are the 'creative collaborations' in the magazine? How do they 'spill over into real life'?

The magazine chooses what brands to promote which spills into real life as collaborations are brought into the gentlewoman's club. This allows readers to purchase products that align with their own morals as The Gentlewoman magazine endorses it. 

10) How does the article sum up the audience pleasures of the Gentlewoman? 

The magazine gives appeal to modern readers as we can identify with cover stars, learn about other women and get entertainment by looking at featured brands. Additionally, all these things that are mentioned all share similar morals and prospects about women in society and how they should be empowered. 

2) The Gentlewoman Media kit

Look through The Gentlewoman's Media Kit and answer the following questions:

1) How does the Media Kit introduce the magazine?

"The Gentlewoman is renowned for its innovative editorial and design, garnering critical acclaim and accolades to become one of the best performing titles in its category and the leading women’s magazine on newsstands today."

2) On the 'Digital' page, what different sections of the website are there and how do these offer opportunities for audience engagement and interaction? 

 Different sections include the Homepage, Shop, Club, Collaborations, Library and Magazine. These different pages provide audiences different forms of content relating to The Gentlewoman which allows them to further deepen their interest despite their online being two issues per year. 

3) What are the audience demographics for The Gentlewoman?

- 61% of readers are aged 28-46 

- Median age of 32

- 51% of readers are British

- 47% of readers are in the A or B categories of the NRS social grading system 

4) What is The Gentlewoman Club and what does it offer readers?

Its an in person event where members meet at get-togethers to talk about topics that The Gentlewomen talks about (feminism, successes of women around the world and etc). It has offered: 

• The Glimpses of the Future international architectural day tours of Los Angeles and London developed and staged in partnership with COS

• A launch party for The Gentlewoman No 15 at Pasticceria Marchesi, Milan, co-hosted with Prada

• A glamourous night of cards hosted in partnership with Browns Fashion at The Savile Club, London

• A Bring-Your-Own-Vinyl afternoon in celebration of Record Store Day featuring a reading by Brix Smith Start from her memoirs

5) What Creative Collaborations

An "innovative way" editors use to communicate their voices through partnerships. Past collaborations include: 

• Chanel: a fabulous six-page portrait series with Lucia Pica, Chanel’s global creative make-up and colour designer, photographed by Karim Sadli.

• Giorgio Armani: an eight-page portrait series showcasing Giorgio Armani’s New Normal collection featuring the women defining the new, modern Italy. Photographed by Liz Collins.

• Nike: a seasonal running club and animated digital project.

3) D&AD Award Winner feature

Read this short D&AD advertising agency award feature on The Gentlewoman. Answer the following questions:

1) How is the magazine described?

"The Gentlewoman celebrates modern women of style and purpose, offering an intelligent perspective on fashion through ambitious journalism and photography."

2) What does it say about the content and design of The Gentlewoman?

It is distinct and features a range of renown and modern women. The cover page follows their own art house style with its simplicity acting as a bold statement. 

3) How are the readers described?

Readers are described as "Confident, intelligent and stylish" - readers follow a range of ages and professions but share a need for "cultural entertainment". This shows how audiences uses media content to create a collective identity.

4) Business of Fashion website feature 

Read this Business of Fashion feature on The Gentlewoman - the magazine that is also a club. If you don't want to sign up to the website (free) then you can access the text of the article on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login). Answer the following questions: 

1) What events are listed as part of The Gentlewoman Club?

Members at The Gentlewoman's Club are firstly offered umbrellas, binoculars, earpieces and breakfasts in tote bags. There has also been a day trip to Durslade Farm with Paul Smith and a guided tour of Louis Vuitton Es Devlin-designed exhibition in London. 

2) Why does it suggest the magazine has managed to 'cut through the clutter'?

The term "cut through the clutter" is used to describe what The Gentlewoman has done as they have given audiences an educated and well thought out take on todays culture and fashion without conforming to the norm of todays society as it promotes individuality in fashion and dressing how you want to. 

3) How are Gentlewoman Club tickets given out? 

Rather then buying expensive tickets, like with other magazines e.g. GQ, members of The Gentlewoman's magazine website are chosen and selected for a slot. Penny Martin, who also hosts the events, hand selects invited members and creates the guest list. 

4) What does the article say about The Gentlewoman's relationship with its audience? 

the article describes readers as being engages and active as they see life style and society in  a similar way just as the writers do. Audiences are also seen as wanting to be educated about cultural shifts and changes. 

5) Why are Club events valuable from a digital perspective? 

Events are seen as valuable from a digital perspective as hype can be built around the in person events on the internet and social media. This creates more excitement for the readers as they have  other things to be excited about apart from the bi-annual releases of the magazine issues. 

5) Website and social media research

1) Visit The Gentlewoman's website. How does it promote the magazine? 

First, when loading onto the website, we are greeted with the latest front cover of The Gentlewoman magazine. When hovering over the image, a message pops up, "get yours", which prompts the viewer to click and buy the magazine. Furthermore, the other pages of the website promote the magazine as they provide more information to draw in an audience. 

2) Visit the magazine page of the website. How much of the magazine is available to view online? Is this a smart marketing technique to sell print copies or is it giving content away for free? 

On this page of the website, viewers are offered only a part of the magazine. While it is a large chunk of the content from what we would expect from a sample, viewers are still restricted to view what else the magazine issue offers. In my opinion, this is a smart marketing technique to sell print copies as audiences are drawn in to content provided and would desire for more consumption of that specific issue being shown. 

3) Look at The Gentlewoman's Twitter feed. What content from the magazine or Club events can you find on there? 

When going onto their page, they had moved from X to Threads. On their threads account, we find content about their latest issues, events that have been hosted and what happened at those events (interviews and conversations within the community and members) and fashion. 

4) Go to The Gentlewoman's Instagram page. How does it encourage the audience to engage with the magazine? 

The Gentlewoman's Instagram page encourages audience engagement as they can comment under posts and provide praise or critiques about the post or their magazine issues.  Furthermore, the actual posts feature merch that prompts audiences to purchase and fashion items which reinforces and anchors the idea that they are not only a magazine about life style but also fashion and looks. 

5) What representations of fashion and gender can you find on their Instagram page? 

Within the Instagram page, fashion is represented as fun, creative and an artistic output as the page features fashion with bright colours that defy the norm we have in todays society. The page also offers short form videos which market and promote any events or issues that are being published. One video contains the phrase "the joy of joining in" when referring to an event which persuades audiences to become more active in the community by having fun at the events with individuals who share the same thoughts on fashion. 

Representations of gender show that gender is fluid as women are shown to be preforming different roles (in their jobs and lives) and representing themselves in a way that is fluid and expressive in their fashion whether it be dark pants or glimmery dresses. It shows how gender doesn't have to be restrictive and people are free to illustrate themselves in anyway without having to conform to societal norms.