The representation of women in publications plays a role in the construction of stereotypes and standards that prevail in society. It is worth noting that many magazines focus on exalting physical beauty; thus causing oppression to those women who do not meet these ideals imposed by a patriarchal society. However, throughout the years,  feminists have raised their voices and resisted this oppression, emphasizing the importance of women's leadership and intellect to present an alternative to how they are valued in society.

Magazines that focus on promoting women's physical appearance encourage superficial and unrealistic standards. Among these are the five high-end women's magazines: Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Telva, and Vogue. These magazines portray beauty based on explicit facial and body parameters such as body shape, height, size, hair, and eye color (Saldaña et al., 30). Through these stereotypes, women become objects of admiration, and their worth is rooted in their appearance rather than their talents or identity. This perpetuates gender inequality in society in which women constantly feel pressured to meet and conform to these unattainable standards. Furthermore, beauty is often used as a benchmark to measure women's capabilities, and those who do not meet these standards are limited in their capacity to develop professionally and attain leadership roles.

For example, we can see in this Look magazine cover where the focal point is a fair-skinned woman wearing a long floral dress, while behind her are darker-skinned women wearing indigenous attire. On the bottom-right side of the cover, we see the message "Changing Guatemala through artisanal fashion," which raises questions about who or what has the power to change and reform society. This magazine cover implies that fashion can be a catalyst for change and facilitate transformations in political, social, and cultural spheres. However, the magazine is not nurturing this as a way of self-expression for every woman; instead, it is emphasizing the woman in the center, the one who conforms to beauty standards. This is even more evident by the fact that it is indigenous women in the background, strengthening the detrimental stereotypes that cause the erasure of certain women's experiences whose identities are less valued and thought of as deserving less visibility.

On the other hand, we can also examine the representation of women from a feminist perspective that aims to provide a space for the marginalized voices of women. In this way, the experiences of different women from diverse ethnicities and backgrounds can be amplified, challenging the stereotypes imposed by society. An example on how this has been achieved is through fanzines, such as "Brujas" by Asociación de Trabajo y Estudio de la Mujer (ATEM). 

Through "Brujas," the ATM (Asociación de Trabajadoras del Mundo) sought to address issues such as sexual violence, women's labor rights, the expression of sexuality, and the organization of the feminist movement. According to the article "La revista Brujas, militancia feminista en democracia", this group of feminist women utilized different methods of organization to convey new feminist ideals through essays and bulletins on the feminist movement of the time to give voice to those who were often marginalized (Torricella). Through these narratives, the authors revived the concept of "brujas", symbolizing the first women subjected to violence who stood up for themselves and fought against societal's norms. At the same time, they were shedding light on the oppression women have endured for years, and they reclaimed the derogatory term as one reflective of women's empowerment and their determination to resist societal stereotypes.