Abstract:

This essay engages with Margaret Beetham’s work on readers and readerships to consider the extent to which we can identify real and implied audiences of a periodical. Focusing on Wings, a temperance periodical that was the organ of the Women’s Total Abstinence Union, I use census records for women officers and members of the WTAU to draw comparisons between an implied and historic readership. I address key aspects of women’s lives, including marital status, motherhood, domestic help, and employment, warning against the dangers of assuming an implied audience and suggesting novel ways we can approach the particularly complex issue of readerships.

摘要：

本文与玛格丽特·比瑟姆（Margaret Beetham）在读者和读者群方面的工作有关，以考虑我们在多大程度上可以识别期刊的真实和隐含读者。我主要关注Wings，这是妇女完全禁欲联盟的节制期刊，我使用女性官员和WTAU成员的人口普查记录对隐性读者和历史读者进行比较。我讲的是女性生活的关键方面，包括婚姻状况，母亲身份，家政服务和就业，警告不要假装隐性受众的危险，并提出新颖的方法来解决特别复杂的读者群体问题。