Productive readings: The portrayal of health "experts" in women's magazines

This article illustrates how health practitioners are portrayed through adv ice columns, articles, personal accounts, and advertisements in women's mag azines. Magazines provide a valuable source of information about health ser vices and also influence lay knowledge about health and illness. A wide var iety of health practitioners provide information and advice in women's maga zines, ranging from orthodox medical practitioners to alternative practitio ners. However, there is a blurring of boundaries between these, with orthod ox practitioners sometimes including alternative therapies in their practic e and alternative therapists sometimes encompassing a number of orthodox th erapies within their practice. The way health practitioners are represented in the media has implications for how their expertise in health issues is evaluated and used by consumers of health care services.