Contemporary South African youth face political, racial, and economic inequalities. Despite this, "style surfing" dominates youth culture both locally and internationally. Young people are influenced by current fashions and identity formations through the media.

Few studies focus on the intersection of race, gender, and age in representations of youth consumer culture. This book analyzes four famous brands: Guess, Soviet, Diesel, and Levi's, in youth magazines. It uses social semiotics and critical discourse analysis to describe how the media construct sexualized identities of young people and how youth deconstruct advertising and reconstruct their own subjectivities.

Surprisingly, young people oppose the use of sex; instead, they prefer a Hip Hop identity. The research is situated among adolescent learners in suburban schools. This analysis should enrich critical media analysis and critical literacy in language and literacy classrooms.

The interaction of advertisements with specific audiences will be fascinating for scholars and researchers in education, cultural studies, marketing, and for the general public.