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Rujuta Paradkar, "Cross Cultural Comparative Study on Articulation of Femininity in Advertising of Beauty Products in the Women's Magazine Cosmopolitan" The temporal and spatial dimensions of contemporary globalisation are profoundly altering the location of culture as the shifting ground for articulating forms of identity. Given that these processes are often contradictory involving cultural politics, a critical engagement on how this affects the discourse on gender, race and identity becomes necessary as a fresh area of study. This project examines the articulation of "new" femininities in the advertising of multinational beauty products in different editions of the women's magazine Cosmopolitan. It will explore how "new" femininities transgress cultures and borders while always contesting or negotiating cultural differences. To understand the complexity of gender, cultural and ethnic representation, the advertisements in American, Indian and Australian editions of Cosmopolitan, year 2000 will be will be analysed. This cross cultural study--comparing two Asian multicultural countries (Australia and India), along with a First world country (America)--employs a detailed textual analysis, grounded in Asian studies, Cultural studies, Feminist studies and Media studies. It is also structured around theories on globalisation and cosmopolitanism. Thus this paper not only investigates the relationship between academic feminism and femininity constructed in a commercial site of advertising but also contributes towards an underdeveloped area of study on representation of ethnicity and race within this frame. Biography: Rujuta Paradkar has been a journalist and copy writer in Bombay. After being a media industry insider, she is now using her experience for academic research at The University of Queensland. she is nearing completion of her MPhil degree on the "articulation of femininity in the advertising of beauty products in women's magazines". Contact: rujutaparadkar@hotmail.com
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