ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/body_image/ -
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Published on: 2/12/2008
Last Visited: 3/8/2008
Cynthia Frisby, associate professor of advertising at University of Missouri-Columbia, and Erika Engstrom, associate professor of communications at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, looked at magazine covers and advertisements featured in mainstream bridal magazines published between 2000 and 2004 -- in all, 57 randomly selected issues of Bride's Magazine, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride were analyzed.
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"The dominant image of today's bride is that she is white, blond, blue-eyed and thin," said Frisby."We would expect advertisements and images to reflect a multicultural value, but mainstream bridal magazines show predominantly white brides and a few black bridesmaids."
"Our data seem to support the idea that the phrase 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride' was actually meant for how women of color are represented in bridal magazines," Frisby added.