Youth magazine cover design in a democratic South Africa: an analysis of SL and Y-Magazine between 1994 and 2008.
Date
2009-10-12T12:44:32Z
Authors
Jooma, Ismail
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Abstract
Abstract
This study will analyse the images created on the front covers of youth magazines to
determine the manner in which visual culture in South Africa has been shaped by societal
changes between 1994 and 2008.
The country’s foremost youth publications will be examined: namely “Student Life” (SL) and
Y-Magazine. SL was established amidst the changing socio-political milieu of 1994. YMagazine,
its sister publication, which began in 1998, was borne out of the need to connect
with an urban black youth culture.
The advent of democracy has allowed for identities to be reconfigured from the rigid
apartheid systems of racial classification. As new possibilities to break the social boundaries
of the past have arisen, this study aims to chart the representations and messages that the
relevant magazine covers disseminate regarding various identity issues such as race, class,
gender and sexuality.