Noting that magazines, as part of the broader category 'media,' are a powerful socialization force, a study investigated the socialization messages in teen magazines by examining their short stories for stereotypical portrayals. All fiction stories were analyzed for the years 1987-1991 in "Seventeen" and "Teen" magazines. The total number of stories was 104. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) teen-magazine fiction portrays teen protagonists as dependent rather than independent; and (2) teen magazine fiction segregates occupations stereotypically by gender. Previous studies have shown that high school students still stereotype occupations and career choices. Both hypotheses were supported. Through the stories, a teenage girl learns that male-female relationships are more important than just about anything else; that she is not supposed to act or be agressive or solve problems (others will do that for her); and that there really are male and female professions. (One table of data is included, and 25 references are attached.) (NH)