“A Fiver on Her Feet”: Fashion, Peer Pressure, and Social Control in Jackie Magazine

Angela McRobbie’s analysis of Jackie magazine in Feminism and Youth Culture: From Jackie to Just Seventeen [1] posits that girls, in their leisure time, are "officially free to do as they please" and that "it is on the open market that girls are least constrained by the display of social control." While McRobbie makes an important distinction between the structured authority of home and school versus the apparent freedom of leisure, this view arguably underestimates the pervasive influence of peer pressure and consumer expectations that significantly shaped teenage girls' experiences in the 1970s.

Joanne Knowles' more recent study of Jackie magazines from the early 1970s complicates McRobbie’s assertion by demonstrating how fashion coverage was both a tool for self-expression and a site of negotiation between personal choice and societal expectations. The magazine encouraged thriftiness and adaptability in fashion while also reinforcing the necessity of fitting into prevailing social norms. For many teenage girls, leisure was not a space of unfettered freedom but one laden with implicit rules about belonging and status. This aligns with Laura Tisdall’s research, which shows how adolescent girls’ writings about their futures often conformed to dominant social narratives, suggesting that teenage life was shaped by expectations that extended beyond school and home.

One of the strongest forms of social control operating in this supposed space of freedom was peer pressure. A girl’s acceptance within her social circle was contingent on adhering to unspoken but rigid standards of appearance, taste, and consumer choices. Not having the "right" pair of platform shoes, the coveted dress from Top Shop or Van Allan, or a fashionable school bag could mark a girl as different or even socially isolated. The same applied to musical preferences. Liking the "wrong" bands could lead to exclusion from group conversations, reinforcing the idea that even personal tastes were subject to collective scrutiny. Tisdall highlights that teenage girls writing about their imagined futures often focused on social belonging, emphasising that meeting these expectations was essential for being recognised as mature and responsible.

During a discussion with women at a book club in Sheffield [2], the reality of social conformity and its personal consequences became clear. Pamela shared the story of Denise, a girl whose experience reflected these pressures. Denise was allowed to have platform shoes, but they were multicoloured rather than the desirable styles seen in Jackie. Denise was reprimanded at school for wearing them, but her parents could not afford both school shoes and shoes for going out. This financial reality made her stand out, and she was mocked by her peers. Similarly, Valerie, also a teenager in the 1970s, was bullied for having what was described as "hair like Crystal Tipps." Because no boys fancied her, she attempted to enhance her social standing by claiming to date Ray, a member of a popular boy band. Her attempt to navigate these social pressures backfired when she found a note in her locker—written on pink paper, in neat, feminine handwriting, with a circle instead of a dot over the "i", cruelly informing her that Ray hated her, thought she was ugly, and considered her a liar.

Valerie also recounted how acquiring the right fashion items could become a battle within the family. She desperately wanted a pair of platform shoes from Timpsons, and while her father was initially reluctant, she eventually wore him down by crying persistently on Friday and Saturday morning, telling him she did not fit in and that he was making things worse. In the end, he relented and gave her £5 "to shut me up" knowing that it meant he could not stay at the pub as long on Saturday night. Meanwhile, her friend Gail asked her parents for the same shoes but was refused. When Gail pointed out that Margaret across the road had a pair, her mother remarked, "That girl's got a fiver on her feet." These stories illustrate the intersection of consumer culture, family dynamics, and peer pressure in shaping teenage girls’ social experiences.

Jackie itself reflected these pressures. While its fashion pages offered advice on making or modifying clothing, they simultaneously reinforced the idea that girls should remain up to date with trends. The aspirational element of Jackie was key; it showcased desirable products and looks that set standards for what was considered acceptable and fashionable. Even within the pages that encouraged individuality, there was an implicit warning: stepping too far outside the lines of fashion and social conventions could make a girl stand out in the wrong way. This echoes Tisdall’s findings that adolescence was often framed as a liminal stage in which failing to conform to societal norms risked being seen as immature or even deviant.

Beyond fashion, the magazine’s content often framed romantic relationships as an essential marker of social success. The Cathy and Claire problem page regularly featured letters from girls worried about being the only one without a boyfriend, reflecting the social expectation that having a romantic partner was not just desirable but necessary for full participation in teenage life. In this sense, McRobbie’s view of leisure as a space of lesser constraint is contestable; while direct adult authority may have been absent, a different form of control, rooted in peer influence and consumer culture, was just as powerful. Tisdall’s research further underscores how teenage girls internalised these pressures, as their writings often depicted adulthood as an escape from the instability of adolescence, where achieving traditional feminine milestones, such as marriage, signalled full maturity.

The contradictions in Jackie’s messages mirror the complexities of growing up female in the 1970s. While the magazine acknowledged and even facilitated a degree of personal agency, particularly in how girls presented themselves, it simultaneously reinforced the idea that this agency operated within boundaries dictated by peer expectations and broader cultural norms. Angela McRobbie notes that when girls were outside the direct authority of parents or teachers, they experienced a form of freedom; however, this freedom was not absolute. Instead, social pressures, such as the need to wear the right shoes or like the right bands, shaped their choices in ways that subtly constrained personal agency. Understanding these dynamics is still relevant today, as contemporary media continues to balance messages of empowerment with implicit rules about appearance and identity.

Anne Louise Booth is a Student Employability Manager at the University of Sheffield, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and the author of Women in Victorian Society (Amberley Publishing, 2024).

References

[1] McRobbie, Angela. Feminism and Youth Culture: From 'Jackie' to 'Just Seventeen', Macmillan Press, 1991

[2] Discussion at Killamarsh Leisure Centre Book Group, 19 January 2025

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