Abstract
During the apartheid reign South African women were under-represented in both social and economic spaces. Black women in particular, were by law and social convention excluded and marginalised socially and economically. These exclusions were particularly apparent in the media. Changes in media representations post 1994, have revealed several shifts in how black South African women, particularly the black middle class are now represented. As a media format, hand-held magazines play a significant role in socialising its readers about a variety of topics, and as a form of print media, magazines circulate information to a large and diverse audience. Using magazines, as a genre of mass media we argue that representations of black middle class South African women have shifted from invisibility to now being portrayed as active members of South African society who empower their counterparts. In order to achieve this, the covers of Destiny magazine, as an instance of a middle class lifestyle publication, were examined. Using thematic analysis, 44 issues of Destiny women’s magazine covers, over a four year period were analysed. The results indicate that black middle class South African women are portrayed as socially and materially accomplished and as occupying roles of leadership and stature.