VDM Verlag Femininity image in popular media: The cases of Austria and Croatia

Are popular media responsible for creating certain trends that women follow and identities they are creating? Popular media are everywhere around us and are subject of many public discussion concerning their content. I wanted to focus on the popular media to see which femininity image is being promoted as desirable, in sense of the body image, style and sexuality, as well as which messages are mediated in order to help women in identity building and self-evaluation. Popular culture is associated with everyday, the mainstream and the mass culture, so it was often underestimated by the academia. If we search for the "hidden" and dig a little deeper, we will find that "innocent" girly songs and happy magazine covers are not just a bunch of chick leisure material. Old gender roles are hard to change despite big progression that has been made in women`s position in the society over the years. Powerful women are pumping out of the media, they are all confident and sexy, leading their perfect lives and "having it all". Below the surface, gender power relations are still keeping good old status quo and it seems that femininity image in popular media may be developing backwards.