Aaliyah Malvanker 1719

How has language contributed to the change of attitudes and sex in

women’s relationships over time in Agony Aunt columns?
Aim: The aim of my English Language investigation is to analyse the ways in which language used by
‘Agony Aunts’ has changed over time. I am interested in considering how the advice given to women
since the 1940s indicates how women’s roles in society have changed; further, the sort of problems
they have will indicate the challenges and pressures that have preoccupied women in the last 70
years.

Hypothesis: I anticipate that the Agony Aunts of the 40s will be more authoritative and prescriptive
when it comes to offering help and advice to the women who write to them. I also expect to find
that the language they use is more complex and the register of their responses more formal. They
will exhibit a greater level of authority, due to their age and experience, as well as the likely
education that has allowed them to become experts on behaviour and ethics at a time when women
did not have much power and were not greatly represented with positions of influence. I imagine
that 1970s Agony Aunts Columns, when ‘sexual permissiveness’ and greater equality in the
workplace were gathering force, will be less prescriptive in their advice and more encouraging,
especially to younger women who are looking to enjoy careers and not necessarily marry young. I
know from experience that modern Agony Columns are called ‘Advice Columns’, and the tenor of
the advice is more nurturing and kinder than in previous years. Today’s women are career oriented
and 50% of university populations are female. Sexuality is far more diverse than in previous decades
and social media pressurises young people to signal a definite identity, which causes anxiety and
self-esteem problems. I anticipate modern advice writing for women will be more like ‘counselling’. I
expect the range of data I have collected that is representative of advice column writing in the 40s,
70s and present day will evidence change in attitudes and expectations of women.

Methodology: I have collected my data through online sources and books. My main focus was to
look at 6 Agony Aunt columns from different years. I had chosen 2 extracts from the 40s, 70s and
present day, this would allow me to have a wide range of data to investigate and analyse. For all of
my data, I had looked at various websites and books at many columns, and had then selected the
ones that had a similar field and were the most relatable to the topic. The Agony Aunt columns were
difficult to find, especially for the 40s, and this is where I had to rely on books and old magazines.
The data collected for the 40’s text include: Modern Woman (1949) and Photoplay (1943). The
Modern Woman text was collected from a magazine, and Photoplay was collected from Stars and
Letters, which harbours old advice columns. For the 70s data, I had found two extracts from Jackie
Magazine (1975), these were sourced from the Dundee and Angus College website. For the present
day data, I had extracts from; Elle (2017) and The Guardian (2017), and these were sourced from the
company’s websites. I had printed off and analysed these texts, by highlighting specific features such
as imperative advice and low frequency lexis etc. Whilst analysing my data, the use of theorist’s
ideologies was also an important factor. Deborah Tannen suggests that women use in depth
conversation to gain support as well as seeking sympathy rather than resolutions within their
problems.
Aaliyah Malvanker 1719

Analysis
Comparative bar chart showing the low frequency lexis used in Agony Aunt’s
advice over the past 77 years:
18

16

14

12

10

8 Low frequency complex lexis

used in Agony Aunts advice
6

0
1943 1949 1975 1975 2017 2017
(1) (2) (1) (2)

The complex low frequency lexis used within the Photoplay - Davis (1943) column features mostly
nouns. By using the complex low frequency noun ‘quarrel’, the plaintive would have to think about
the problems that she would be getting into, if she were to be with her new ‘lover’. She would have
to consider that he might get back with his old partner. Davis also used low frequency nouns
‘instability’ and ‘psychologists’, which form a semantic field of greater problems. The plaintive will
realise that the issue she could be getting into would be serious and would affect her mentally, and
it may affect her self-esteem, which could lead to other issues. In the second problem, Davis uses
the adjective ‘prominent’ to shine a light on how important and well known the editor of the
company magazine was, which would make the plaintive feel as if she is receiving extra support. The
Modern Woman (1949) advice column featured a greater amount of low frequency complex lexis
compared with the Photoplay one. The noun ‘temperament’ is present in the first problem. This
noun denotes a sophisticated tenor, showing that Allister is authoritative well educated within her
written advice, instead of just implying that he would get angry. Overall, the 1943 column featured 5
uses of complex low frequency lexis, whereas the 1949 column has 12 uses, this shows an increase.
This shows that the Agony Aunt columns had developed through language use, as proved by the
frequent occurrence of complex low frequency lexis.

In the first Jackie (1975) advice column, complex low frequency lexis is used 2 times. There is use of
low frequency adjectives in the Agony Aunts response, such as; ‘calculated’ and ‘desirable’. The
evaluative adjective ‘calculated’ denotes that the plaintive shouldn’t be over thinking the situation;
Aaliyah Malvanker 1719

this is what she is doing, the Agony Aunt is telling her simply not to do this. The evaluative adjective
‘desirable’ used allows the Agony Aunt to console the plaintive. She is also able to explain that not
being in a relationship isn’t the end of the world, however this is what the plaintive wants. The
second Jackie (1975) magazine only had one complex low frequency noun, ‘objections’, this was the
smallest amount of low frequency lexis used in the analysed columns. The writer had used this noun
to help the plaintive realise what her parents didn’t want and thus would receive an idea of what not
to do. Overall, this shows that complex low frequency used during the 40s was lower when
compared with the 40s, this may also be due to the Jackie columns being targeted towards
teenagers and therefore having ‘dumbed-down’ lexis.

The Elle (2017) advice column had 8 uses of complex low frequency lexis. The evaluative adjective
‘handicapped’ was used in the advice, and this gave the plaintive information about organisations
that could help her, thus proving the aunt was giving supportive, helpful advice. In the second
section, the aunt uses the verb ‘seized’, and this makes the plaintive think that her lover will try to
win her attention back. It gives the plaintive confidence. The concrete noun ‘beau’ instead of
‘boyfriend’, would link to the sophisticated audience that the Elle readers would follow. The
Guardian (2017) advice column featured the greatest amount of complex low frequency lexis, this
occurred 16 times and was the greatest amount found in the columns analysed. The writer used the
evaluative adjective ‘aggrieved’, which was a formal way of denoting anger towards the bridesmaid.
She had also used the verb ‘embittered’ to show that the bridesmaid may have been jealous that she
was getting married. This column targets a sophisticated and well-educated audience, due to the
complex low frequency lexis used. The use of low frequency lexis occurred more in the present
articles due to women being more educated in this era, when compared with columns in the 1940s.
Aaliyah Malvanker 1719

Imperative advice over years

1943 1949 1975 (1) 1975 (2) 2017 (1) 2017 (2)

3 6 3 3 6 5
Have you ever Tell him You’ve got to You’ll have to She could Try to find out
asked yourself gently that be out and talk to your make an where and
why they have secrets about, be parents appointment why things
separated? usually come seen around went so
out You’ll have to You can begin wrong
You supply You’ll become prove to charging
these people Be a far more them that immediately Don’t allow
with a sympathetic attractive and both you and this woman
photography with your well-balanced Gary are to You may so much
husband person be trusted charge more headspace
You must
seriously Tell her this Concentrate Try coming Cock your Sit her down,
apply yourself story on other home early head, twist tell her she’s
to their interests with Gary your let you down
suggestion You’ve just one night shoulders, too often as a
written it and freeze friend
like the Venus
Making the de Milo Ask her why
effort to
speak first You can’t Do it the old-
make fashioned
Make the first someone love way
overture to you
women
You’ve
written you
Auntie Eeee
because it’s
you who feels
the sting of
jealousy

The use of imperative advice given by Davis (Photoplay-1943) in this advice column was limited,
especially for the first section about the relationship issue. Davis was mainly questioning the
plaintive about her lover and his old partner, and about her own son and relationship. She uses the
question; ‘Have you ever asked yourself why they have separated?’ This advice would force the
plaintive to think about it and she would begin to think if getting into this ‘relationship’ would be
good for her. In the second section, Davis says; ‘You supply these people with a photograph’ and
‘You must seriously apply yourself to their suggestions’. She tells the plaintive what to do, thus
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leading to her being prescriptive within her response. The use of imperative advice in Modern
Woman (1949) is greater. For example, Allister uses imperatives such as; ‘Tell her this story’, ‘Tell
him greatly that secrets usually come out’ and ‘Make the first overture to women’. She is telling the
plaintive what to do, expecting them to do as they’re told.

The first Jackie (1975) advice column features encouraging imperative advice. She says; ‘you’ve got
to be out and about, be seen around’, ‘you’ll become a far more attractive and well-balanced
person’ and ‘concentrate on other interests’. By giving imperative advice to the plaintive, she comes
across in a caring way by nurturing the plaintive. Overall, she tells the plaintive that she shouldn’t
think about having a boyfriend, instead she should just carry on and enjoy other aspects within her
life. The second Jackie (1975) advice column also features similar advice, such as ‘you’ll have to talk
to your parents’ , ‘you’ll have to prove to them that both you and Gary are to be trusted’ and ‘try
coming home early with Gary one night’. This advice encourages the plaintive to take action to
resolve their problems.

The use of imperatives in both of the 2017 articles were greater than the previous ones. The Elle
(2017) advice column featured 6 uses of imperative advice. The Agony Aunt says; ‘You can begin
charging immediately’, ‘Cock your head...’ and ‘You can’t make someone love you’. Again, like the
70s articles, she tells the women what to do and in some way counsels them. The plaintive would
consider the advice as it would be trustworthy. On the other hand, the imperative advice given in
The Guardian (2017) column gives straight to the point advice. The writer tells the plaintive; ‘Ask her
why’ and ‘Try to find out where and why things went so wrong’. She encourages the plaintive to
physically go and find out what’s wrong to try and resolve the friendship issue.
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Use of pronouns
1943 1949 1975 (1) 1975 (2) 2017 (1) 2017 (2)
Davis Allister Jackie Jackie Elle The Guardian
Me x 3 You x 6 You x 11 You x 8 I x 15 You x 27
You x 19 Your x 3 Your x 7 Your x 1 Your x 10 It’s x 7
His x 5 Yours x 1 Their x 2 It’s x 1 It x 3 It x 5
They x 3 Ix3 Them x 4 Yourself x 2 Our x 1 Ix2
Their x 1 His x 5 Him x 1 Itself x 1 Their x 1 She x 3
Yourself x 4 Him x 2 You x 11 Her x 11
Them x 3 He x 3 = 25 = 13 My x 5 Your x 7
Your x 10 They x 3 Me x 1 Yourself x 1
Him x 2 She x 7 – He x 4
He x 1 Her x 5 Him x 1 = 63
Her x 1 Their x 2 She x 1
Ix4 Himself x 1
= 40 His x 3
= 56 I’m x 1

= 58
The Photoplay (1943) column featured 56 uses of pronouns, such as; ‘you’, ‘me’ and ‘yourself’. The
2nd person subject pronoun ‘you’ was used the most throughout this column, as Davis was
continuously referring to the plaintive to make them think, it was directed towards them and they
would therefore think that they would need to take action within the advice. The Modern Woman
(1949) article featured 40 pronouns. The 2nd person subject pronoun ‘you’ was also one of the most
used in the advice. This was due to the aunt giving the woman advice and offering to send her
special help with her pregnant daughter. The 3rd person female subject pronoun ‘she’ was used the
most in this column and this denoted how the plaintive could support her daughter.

In both of the Jackie (1975) advice columns, the second person object pronoun ‘you’ was also used
most frequently. I believe that the pronoun ‘you’ was used the most as the Agony Aunt was giving
the plaintive encouraging advice and telling them, what they directly needed to do. The Agony Aunts
were softly directing them in what they had to do. In the first Jackie (1975) column there was 25
pronouns used, however in the second one, there was only 13. This column had the least amount of
pronouns, when compared with the other five. The second Jackie column had also featured the 2nd
person reflexive pronoun ‘yourself’, implying that the plaintive could only resolve the problem by
her own actions. The aunt was implying that she could only make herself happy by not thinking
about the problem.

Elle (2017) featured 58 pronouns overall, it also had the widest variety when compared with the
other columns. The 1st person subject pronoun ‘I’ was used 15 times throughout, and was the most
popular. I believe that this pronoun was used the most due to the Agony Aunt giving her own
opinion most of the time. The 2nd person object pronoun ‘your’ was used 10 times, this pronoun was
common, especially in the second section, because she was telling the plaintive what to do, and
what action to take. However, The Guardian (2017) advice column featured the 2nd person object
pronoun ‘you’ 27 times. This was used lots as the aunt was trying to figure out what was going on,
Aaliyah Malvanker 1719

and she was making the problem about the plaintive. The aunt was telling the plaintive what she
specifically was doing, and questioning her indirectly with this pronoun. She also uses the 3rd person
object pronoun ‘her’ seven times within the section, when referring to the plaintive ‘friend’. Both of
the pronouns were often used in the same sentence.

Evaluation
Strengths: Strengths that I had whilst carrying out my investigation was collecting sufficient amounts
of data, and then being able to annotate them. I was then able to put my data into grids, which had
then allowed me to compare the features over the years. I was able to highlight the features that I
was looking for, such as the pronouns for example, and then put them into the correct columns
easily. My methods of collecting data were quite simple, and I believe that this was a positive
strength, as I was then able to analyse my data accurately. I was able to use skills that I had learnt
previously in the course to help with my investigation, as I was applying skills that I had learnt from
Language Under The Microscope. Another strength that I had was data collection; I was able to look
at various online sources, books and magazines to collect advice columns from over the years.

Weakness: Whilst analysing my data, especially the pronouns, I had found this quite difficult as I had
to keep checking and going over that I had counted the most within each column. This was done
multiple times as I had counted incorrectly on some occasions; therefore, I believe this was the most
prominent weakness. This may also lead to my findings being incorrect, as I may have counted the
same pronoun multiple times. Another weakness was that I wasn’t able to find sufficient advice
columns from before the 20th century, which had affected the investigation in which I was originally
going to do. This has then lead me to changing the years of the data in which I was going to collect.

Conclusion
To conclude, I had found that the Agony Aunts in the 40s had written in a prescriptive and
authoritative manner when responding. They usually did offer physical help towards the plaintive. I
had also found that the aunts in the 70s were encouraging, and this was shown through the use of
pronouns and imperative advice. They told the plaintive what to do, and were often shown as caring,
in accordance to Lakoffs theory of women being more supportive, caring and polite whilst
conversing with one another. My hypothesis had also stated that present day columns would be like
‘counselling’ and through my findings, this was true to some extent, however The Guardian post had
showed the aunt to be quite stern and had made the plaintive think about her actions. To some
extent, the present columns were like counselling, as they did help the women emotionally and had
told them what to do. I was able to find that language used in the present day columns were more
complex, this was due to women being well-educated now.
Aaliyah Malvanker 1719