-Owned by a small company called “IceBerg Press” which is only a small amount of staff running a full magazine.
-The editor of “Oh! Comely” worked at Hearst as deputy editor of the “coast” magazine.
-Sykes recalls. “We didn’t like the fact that print dying was becoming a self fulfilling prophecy”
-The world of magazines has never been more vibrant and innovative, but you wouldn’t know it from the average newsstand today. From Iceberg Press website
-Feminist Magazine

-The front covers words “Power”, “Strong” and “Hard-Won” gives a powerful representation of woman, feminist critical thinking.
-The girl is wearing covering clothing and short hear, showing that she is not being sexualised and in fact is being displayed as her, not a body, as a human.
-Lack of huge amount of makeup, making it more like she is being displayed for her and her humanity, rather than her “beauty”

Oh Comely magazine is a niche women’s lifestyle publication with a strong feminist perspective. It launched in 2010 and publishes six issues a year. It describes itself:

“Oh Comely is a curious, honest and playful independent magazine. It’s a place to meet strangers, hear their stories and look at life a little differently – where our readers are our writers and our models, too.

“Each issue we pick a theme and see where it takes us. We try something old, something new and something that scares us a bit. Then we present our findings in a beautiful, artbook style, putting new writing, photography and illustration talent at the heart of it.”

There are many potential audience pleasures for Oh Comely readers. Applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory, three in particular would be:

Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their quirky, creative lifestyle and feminist viewpoint endorsed and reflected by the magazine.

Personal relationships: Oh Comely is presented in a particularly personal way. It is the creation of three university friends, the magazine offers background on the contributors and readers are encouraged to ‘get to know’ the editorial team.

Surveillance: Oh Comely deliberately looks to inform its readers about niche stories, events and

According to hall stereotypes are part of representation but Oh Comely overturns the usual stereotypes of females

Social and Cultural Contexts

Oh Comely is part of a development in lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty first century which rebrand consumerism as an ethical movement. Its representation of femininity reflects an aspect of the feminist movement which celebrates authenticity and empowerment.