Living Healthy Versus Looking Attractive: The Multimodal Portrayal of Skin Cancer in Women's Magazines in the United States

Abstract

Through a multimodal discourse analysis, this study examines the portrayal of skin cancer in six highly circulated women's magazines in the United States. The findings of this study revealed a competing relationship between the verbal and visual discourses surrounding skin cancer. Overall, the verbal messages were health-oriented, promoting the importance of physical health. However, the images focused on intentional sun exposure behaviors, accentuating the physical attractiveness of a tanned appearance. The divergence of the verbal and visual messages may indicate a tendency to impose the pro-tan norms on the female body. In addition, consumerism was also prominent in the multimodal portrayal of skin cancer, blurring the line between information and advertising. Theoretical and practical implications these findings are discussed.