‘If your life feels empty, perhaps it’s time to find a partner?’ Constructions of heterosexual coupledom and femininity through astrological advice in a Norwegian women’s magazine

Abstract

The notion that happiness is found in heterosexual coupledom is a persistent theme in popular women’s genre such as women’s magazines. The emergence of post-feminist discourses demonstrates that such conventional scripts are presented in new manners, now emphasising freedom, choice and female empowerment. The present article explores the expressions of post-feminism in an understudied cultural and media context: the Norwegian women’s magazine Det Nye’s horoscope section. The article compares horoscopes published over three decades (1988, 1998 and 2008), covering periods before and during the rise of post-feminism. Through the themes of how to meet, choose and catch men, the article asks: In what ways does the astrologer talk of the quest for heterosexual coupledom? What kinds of femininity are promoted through the quest for love? What changes are there in constructions of femininity, and what prevails? The article finds that the couple relationship alters from being constructed as an inevitable happy object that makes few demands on women, to a happy choice and an achievement that subsequently involves an all-encompassing project into which women need to put all their efforts. The study reveals a shift from a discourse of luck in 1988 to post-feminist and neo-liberalist discourses of empowerment and self-management particularly evident in 2008.