Woman (23–29 August 1964)

Overview

A mass-circulation weekly at its height: its publisher, its regular strands and advertising, the femininity it constructs, and the 1964 context that explains it.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Who published Woman in August 1964?

   Model answer

   IPC published Woman in 1964. The International Publishing Corporation had been formed the year before out of several older publishing houses.

2. 2

   When was Woman first launched?

   Model answer

   Woman was launched in 1937 by Odhams Press. The title had become the biggest-selling women's weekly in Britain by the 1950s.

3. 3

   What was remarkable about Woman's circulation at its peak?

   Model answer

   Woman sold more than three million copies a week at its height. Rival weeklies together reached a very large share of all British women.

4. 4

   Under what name was Woman's long-running advice column written?

   Model answer

   Woman's problem page appeared under the name Evelyn Home. Peggy Makins wrote that column for more than thirty years.

5. 5

   Name four regular content strands in Woman in 1964.

   Model answer

   Cookery, knitting and dressmaking patterns, fashion and beauty, and romantic short fiction all appeared weekly. Readers also expected a problem page and a horoscope.

6. 6

   What kind of advertising filled Woman in 1964?

   Model answer

   Food brands, washing powders, kitchen appliances and cosmetics dominated the advertising pages. Advertisers were buying access to the household's main purchaser.

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