Confessional discourse and modern desires: power and please in True Story magazine

Abstract

–This essay traces the roots of the popular culture “commodity confessional” by examining the first five years of the magazine True Story. Begun in 1919, True Story initiated a formula of first person, confessional narratives directed at working class women audiences, a formula still prominent in contemporary media forms. Situated at the nexus between entertainment and instruction, True Story's commodity confessionals fulfilled three functions for their women readers: First, the stories functioned as therapeutic messages promising benefits and rewards to women. Second, they provided didactic instruction on proper behavior and modern ways. Third, the commodity confessionals served as interrogative texts which raised questions about cultural proscriptions for women. While such confessional narratives served a hegemonic force, they also provided pleasures and liberatory possibilities for its female audience.

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