InDesign Layouts

Below are the links to my Indesign layouts for my articles within the Cosmo section of my portfolio.

Perfect Wax Article
This is arranged in the style of the  Cosmo website as it is an online piece. The images for products were acquired through retailers.

Tip Top Anning Article
Images acquired through retailers

"I am not who you think I am" Article
Images courtesy of Ryan Gingell with his permission to  use.

Summer Beats
Images acquired as free press images for the albums.
Back to School Article
Images acquired from Jennifer Spinks at the OU press office.

Fashion Article
Images acquired from retailers

I am not who you think I am - Final Edit

“I am not who you think I am.”

Profile Feature by Emma Blight

If you have been as glued to ‘Hollyoaks’ as we have been recently there will have been one story line you will have not missed. Newcomer Jasmine Costello, aged 16 has recently rocked the ‘Oaks by revealing she wants to be a boy.

The storyline followed Jasmines struggle to be accepted as her male alter-ego, Jason, by her close family, boyfriend and even herself. Now living as a male, Jason gives his family no choice but to accept the change and help make his transition from male to female as smooth as possible.

But this is not a story so far-fetched from real-live. There are an estimated 5,000 recognised transgenders in the UK alone, but this may not be the true number. Due to the high discrimination rates, it is common for people to keep their gender identity a secret.

Ryan Gingell, 21, is not one of those keeping quiet. He had a happy childhood, but couldn’t help but feeling different. It wasn’t until he turned 19 that he realised it was time to do something about it, which would change the way he lived his life forever.

In fact, Ryan was not born as Ryan at all. He was born as a female, but after discovering his desire to make the transition from female to male, he now lives his live as a transboy in Brighton.

Transwho?

Transgender’s are perhaps the most misunderstood cultures in the world. To someone who hasn’t experienced or had contact with someone who is living as a different gender the question would be “How on earth can you decide you want to be a different sex?”

 “Being transgender means that your sex does not align with your gender. So you can be assigned female at birth but how you feel about yourself whether it be masculine, feminine or neither, does not match. Some say it's like being born in the wrong body. Like having a male brain but female body or vice versa,” explains Ryan. “Transgender also encompasses identities such as genderqueer, bi-gender, genderless etc, which means that some people just don't identify as either male or female so remain, some could say, as androgynous.”

Transgender feature Amendments

After completing my first draft, and discussing the outcome with my tutor and peers I have decided to strengthen the article by including a few more facts and figures.
Facts, figures and extra quotes for the article.

Quote from David Henry, founder of Queer Youth Network:
"We aim to help bring out that voice, and if not create one so everybody can be heard and the world can begin accepting that these types of people do exist and they are not monsters, or freaks of nature. They are beautiful and should be accepted just as anyone else,” says David.
Quote from parent (Angela Brown):

“It’s fantastic to see The Queer Youth Network making a stand where other’s have brushed this issue under the carpet."

After researching transgenders online, there are a few facts I want to try and include into my article.

Facts:

·         estimated 5,000 recognised transgenders living in UK - could be more

·         high discrimination rates

·         little understanding about what being a transgender actually means

Transgender article first draft

Ryan Gingell, 21, had a happy childhood, but couldn’t help but feeling different. It wasn’t until he turned 19 that he realised it was time to do something about it, which would change the way he lived his life forever.

In fact, Ryan was not born as Ryan at all. He was born as a female, and now lives his live as a transboy in Brighton.

Transwho?

Transgender’s are perhaps the most misunderstood cultures in the world. To someone who hasn’t experienced or had contact with someone who is living as a different gender the question would be “How on earth can you decide you want to be a different sex?”

 “Being transgender means that your sex does not align with your gender. So you can be assigned female at birth but how you feel about yourself whether it be masculine, feminine or neither, does not match. Some say it's like being born in the wrong body. Like having a male brain but female body or vice versa,” explains Ryan. “Transgender also encompasses identities such as genderqueer, bi-gender, genderless etc, which means that some people just don't identify as either male or female so remain, some could say, as androgynous.”

“Being a trans boy means that I was born with a female body but I do not feel female and have never felt female. It means that although I was brought up and socialised as female, I do not wish to live as female therefore I am medically transitioning to become and be recognised as male, using Testosterone and at some point I will have Top surgery so that I will have a male chest.”

Prejudice

Interview Transcript with Ryan Gingell

Can you explain to people who may not be fully aware, of what transgender and being a transboy means? 
Being transgender means that your sex does not align with your gender. So you can be assigned female at birth (sex) but how you feel about yourself whether it be masculine/feminine/neither (gender) does not match. Some say it's like being born in the wrong body. Like having a male brain but female body or vice versa.
Transgender also encompasses identities such as genderqueer/bi-gender/genderless etc. Which means that some people just don't identify as either male or female so remain, some could say, as androgynous.
Some people medically transition to align their body with their mind.

Being a trans boy means that I was born with a female body but I do not feel female and have never felt female. It means that although I was brought up and socialised as female, I do not wish to live as female therefore I am medically transitioning to become and be recognised as male, using Testosterone (hormones) and at some point I will have Top surgery so that I will have a male chest.

When did you first realise that this was your path in life?
It probably wasn't until I was about 19 that I realised for definite that this is what I wanted to do but I had always had feelings of not being quite right through childhood and teen years. Puberty was a key trigger as things were happening that I hated and didn't understand because I figured I was male.

How did you know it was not ‘just a phase’?
I think you know it's not a phase when you have crippling dysphoria every day and you want to rip your own skin off to escape your body. I spent a lot of time looking at trans men on Youtube and joined a few forums to talk to other people and found that I was jealous of them and their transition. I also spent a lot of time questioning myself and had other people question me which I think is healthy. It was kinda after doing a lot of research on it and thinking about my childhood that it all made sense and I realised it was not a phase.

How did you personally deal with this? Were you confused? Scared?
I was completely terrifed with dealing with it. It's scary not knowing where to go with it. I felt like I would never be accepted as male. I'd have to come out to all of my friends. Would I lose people? Would people not believe me? I sought counselling with a group in Brighton and just kept talking to other trans people and it really reassured me.

Transgender Profile Inteview & Ethical considerations

Ethical Considerations

Within this article i need to make sure I am ethically aware of certain points.

I have already discussed with Ryan the possibility of anonymity and any information he would not wish to be enclosed. Ryan is happy to be named and any information he provdes to be used within the final article.

I will also have to be careful when referencing transgender or similar people as to not use any terms that could cause offence and in order to make sure no further offence is caused I must check all information and facts.

These are the questions to be asked to Ryan Gingell regarding the "Transgender article"

1.       Can you explain to people who may not be fully aware, of what transgender and being a transboy means?

2.       When did you first realise that this was your path in life?

3.       How did you know it was not ‘just a phase’?

4.       How did you personally deal with this? Were you confused? Scared?

5.       Did you ever try to hide it because you were scared etc?

6.       Did you have to fight against any prejudice? What was the worst example of this?

7.       How have your family dealt with this? Has it been difficult to gain their support? If so, why do you think this is?

8.       How have your friends dealt with this? Was their support easier to gain than your families?

9.       Where has your best support come from?

10.   Was your decision to study at Brighton a conscious one because of the accepting nature of the city compared to other places?

11.   Was it difficult to be able to begin treatment? Or is it available to anybody?

12.   Can you explain to us how progressed your treatment is?

13.   What is the next step for your treatment? How long do you expect the treatment to go on?

14.   Do you have any regrets?

15.   Do you have any advice for people who might think they are in the same position as you?

Pitch/Rationale for Transgender Article

Pitch to Cosmopolitan features director Molly Caitlin Triffin regarding transgender profile feature – “I am not who you think I am”. To be emailed to: molly.triffin@cosmopolitan.co.uk

Dear Ms Triffin,

                I wondered if you would be interested in the following feature about transgenders in current society. I have an exclusive interview with a transgender, born a female and currently living as a male. He is willing to speak to me about his experiences and life choices in an attempt to reduce ignorance towards transgenders.

I thought this feature would fit nicely within your ‘Cosmo Inspiration’ or ‘Real Life’ areas of your features section. It has a nice chatty style which matches the house style of your current layout. Although this is not a story that your readers may be able to relate to, it is a subject that is not usually covered in mainstream media, and one that your audience may find interesting with its links towards a recent storyline in popular soap ‘Hollyoaks’. The soap recently saw young newcomer Jasmine Costello reveal that she planned to live as a boy, much to the shock of her family and community.

I think this feature would be attractive to your readers because of this link with ‘Hollyoaks’ and it is not a common feature theme, therefore it will be a fresh, new idea.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,

Emma Blight

Recap of my articles

To recap I will be writing a total of 7 articles for this 'Cosmo' section of the portfolio. They will be:

1.       Profile feature on Linda Blight: Studying later in life.

2.       Profile feature on Ryan Gingell: Transgenders

3.       Beauty feature on self-tanning

4.       Summer Music Reviews feature

5.       Fashion – Bikini feature

6.       Online Beauty – Waxing feature.

As previously mentioned, I will be including articles I have previously written to display my writing skills in other styles.

I have decided against doing a Men & Sex feature as I felt my current idea would not be strong enough. However if I can develop a stronger idea then I will include it. For now I will be working on these article ideas.

Profile Features/Interviews

In Cosmo, there are two types of profiles/interviews.

The first is a glamorous celebrity interview which usually features a strong current female figure. The interview usually is full of glamorous, glossy photographs and an interview which usually covers a three-four page spread.

The questions are usually question and answer format with relation to the celebrity’s career, relationships, body image and other similar topics. They usually tell a story of success or a struggle which gives inspiration to the readers. Below is an example of an interview with Katy Perry. I have included one page of copy and one page of the type of imagery used.