I'm not really a fan of lady magazines. Sure, I love me some Real Simple, a bit of Bust and some O now and then, but when I pick up a copy of lady media, I can usually feel my brain begin to melt and drip out my ear.
I imagined that I would have a similar reaction when I encountered a copy of Maxim hanging out in my mechanic's lobby. Imagine my surprise when I got past the ridiculous booby shots and discovered hilarious, well-written, informative articles like The World's Most Overlooked Dictators, The Weirdest Places to Hide Drugs and The Cult of the McRib.
Meanwhile, the most intelligent bits to be had out of this month's Cosmo are 5 Things You Wish You Could Tell Your Mom (which is more of a book plug than an article) and The Swine-Flu Club.
What?!
Now, I'm well aware that, in addition to clever articles, Maxim is also full of misogynistic rubbish. And one could make the (weak) argument that Cosmo is one of the few women's magazines out there that really acknowledges women's libidos and sex lives, but again: What?!
I would loooove to see funny articles in magazines aimed at women, and I'm not talking about Erma Bombeck. I want lists of famous women with questionable hairdos or games that you can play with last season's pumps or 'Ladies Who Could Kick Your Ass With One Hand Tied Behind Their Back.' I want interviews with stunt women and useful how-tos and recipes for fondue. I could really do without another quiz to determine if he's into me (note to self: if you have to take a quiz to find out, the answer is no) or instructions on how to look thin while having sex.
Why does the media believe these are the only things of interest to women? Do they really think that we are so lacking in depth and diversity that an entire magazine can be devoted to sex, make up, clothes and tricking your boyfriend into commitment? Does Herst Publishing think that we'd turn our noses up at a bit of humor or wit or, God forbid, food for thought?
Now, this rant is not to say that I'm above lady magazines (I'll be the girl holding up the line at Cub Foods pouring over that spread in Lucky about jumpers.) But it saddens me that, given a choice, I'm more likely to pick up a magazine that's not even aimed at my gender. It's just that one can induce laughter and the other induces yawns.
How do you feel about women's magazines? Have you ever read Maxim?
47 comments:
I don't read "women's magazines" anymore, except Vogue if the articles look worth it. Why pay money for vapid content when you can read about women straight from their own fingers on-line, for free?
I saw this, by the way, and thought it might inspire your Guerrilla gardening ambitions a bit.
Amelia x
That should totally read 'awesome women' !
And I forgot the link to the gardening thing -http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/29/urban-activism-green-plant-sleeves-for-city-walls/
Do excuse me, I've just finished work.
x
not to mention that looking at magazines for a mere 7 seconds makes women feel depressed and dissatisfied. (theres an actual experiment reporting these findings, but i cant think of the authors right now)
best,
lurky lurker from across the ocean
When I re-entered the U.S. after traveling for a year, I immediately picked up my habit of reading lots of women's magazines, and simultaneously felt my self-esteem plummet, coincidence? i think not. As much as I would like to believe I'm above letting Hearst make me feel bad at myself, I never had these problems when I wasn't surrounded by the mags everywhere I went!
100% in agreement.
Just yesterday I wrote how one of the "man things" that I love is Maxim. I never understood the appeal of Cosmo quizs. And what's up with these never ending lists of "sex tricks"?
*Fantastic* point. Publishers should look to the blogosphere for smart, witty women (such as ourselves!) who 1) know what women like us want, and 2) could write the shit outta that kind of story.
Perhaps we should start our own magazine. I've got the technical skillz, you've got the ideas, and we've both got connections to the talent.
Erin - A to the men! High five and chest bump from Minnesota!
I rarely bother with magazines any more. And when I do they are entrepreneur or music or art focused (etc).
I used to lap cleo and cosmo up when I was a teen. I hadn't discovered blogs yet and I was trying to find reassurance in everything I did.
Now blogs are about all I read. And they give me everything I need.
My husband gets Esquire- it is the best. Funny articles, and good tips for dudes. (For example, what to drink? Whatever your wife is drinking...) I get Glamour too (I'm not sure why) and I might not even read it before I recycle it, but we fight over the Esquire when it arrives.
I could not agree more. It's time to change that, and changes won't come if we don't speak up!
I completely agree. I often choose the men's magazines over the lady mags -- both for the articles and for the hot men in all the ads!
One of my former roommates used to get Maxim just for this reason. And she was a girl. I would read it from time to time and I agree, the articles are actually good. I do think that women's magazine publishers could take a page from the content of men's magazine.
I used to have a subscription to Maxim because I enjoyed it so much, but I have never had one to a girly magazine. I read Cosmo a lot on high school band trips when it was fun to take the quizzes and giggle over the sex tricks in the bus.
I agree with your new magazine idea; the one with inteligent articles, fashion, food, and maybe some coctails.
Ugh, I SO agree! I've found that I enjoy Esquire and GQ far more than any mainstream ladies' mags. It's high-time there was an equally smart, funny, irreverent mag out there aimed at females. Maybe we should start one!
I agree!! I used to sneak looking at my ex's Maxim magazine, and they always had silly, weird, ridiculous articles that cracked me up [interspersed, of course, with gross objectification of women]. I'm not sure why the media can't quite get on board with the fact that women are funny, too. We like to laugh, and we find many of the same things funny that men do. It is as if they think we can't be serious and be funny at the same time...or that it's not possible to have kids, jobs, wear makeup, care about the world, AND crack up at a fart joke! Though, I will admit, I often think the media underestimate men, too -- as if they cannot also be compassionate, sexual, funny, and complex. God forbid we acknowledge men have feelings! Oops, sorry for the rant! I just loved this post...
Yes, yes and yes! I don't know who reads those mags (high schoolers I assume), but I sure would like to have seen them go under instead of Domino mag. :(
I don't read them anymore. They just seem to relish the idea that women don't have an intelligent thought to offer. By this I join the rest of the commentators.
As to the swine flu. Had it, getting over it now. It's a flu from the far reaches of hell but the likelihood of survival is high.
Love this post..will shamefully continue reading Cosmo simply because it allows me to do nothing meaningful for two lovely hours :)
Amen, sister!
If you haven't seen this funny sketch, you should check it out, 'cause this is what I was reminded of.
Oh honey.
FYI, this is why I read YOU.
I do take a look at Maxim and it is funny- my boyfriend subscribes to it. As for lady magazines, not so much. I like ELLE for fashion, and I work in a doctors office so we all check out the tabloids, but I just look at the pictures. I do read books though. Like real live books you can hold in your hand. They are mostly about travel. Magazines are just good for pictures.
I do like some of the better fashion magazines for their pretty photos, but I agree that the best writing does tend to fall into the gentlemen's mags. I got addicted to vintage Playboy (thanks to a literary interest in Norman Mailer) and my best friend and I used to spend excellent evenings reading his copies of GQ. My (girl) roommate gets Details and my gynecologist's office stocks Maxim. With all the cuts in publishing going on, hopefully someone will take notice of this shift and start consolidating.
First, I'm with all who stated that we can get all the style/fashion/cooking/living/organizing/traveling etc advice from the web. That's why I decided to stop subscribing to mags last year. Second, Cosmo is the worst! Third, I actually really liked Jane magazine, particularly its last year of publication (2007). I'm so glad I kept all the issues of its last year, I still re-read them for fun and inspiration.
The only time those magazines are any good is when you're stuck on a train or a coach for a while and need somethiing unintelligent and trashy to read. Good old Heat magazine.
And how to look thin while having sex?! What the? I mean isn't it quite obvious that if he's having sex with you he doesn't think you're fat anyway? Or doesn't care?
Bloody stupid women.
Magazines of all sorts are my guilty pleasure. I love them. Cosmo is definitely the worst of them - but I'm pretty convinced it's just for 17 year olds who want to think they're grown up (just like the only people really reading Seventeen magazine are the 13 year old girls). I read womens mags to see outfits and makeup ideas - I don't expect one magazine to cover everything I'm interested in. When I want recipes, I read food mags. When I want how-tos, I read Real Simple. And when I want witty/badass but light articles, I read Esquire. I don't pick up National Geographic and then wish it had more shoes in it - any publication has to have a scope/angle and the one I'm reading today just depends on my mood - do I want bathtub fluff to veg out with or do I want something that will inspire me to get off my ass and change the world?
Just IMHO. I'm not trying to attack what you're saying because a lot of magazines are chock full of total crap. But I just skip the articles that look like a waste of my life and if I do read them, I don't take them to heart.
Hear hear! I guess we are just some consumed with tricking a man into loving us that we couldn't possibly be interested in reading something intelligent and witty.
Anne - (blush) thanks!
Kelly - I see where you're coming from. But it just makes me sad that there doesn't really seem to be any magazine that *funny*
I do like all the cultural/world-interest stuff that Marie Claire does, and I think that Glamour does a good job of putting together accessible fashion layouts ... but where's the funny, ya know? That's why I have the sidebar of funny blogs :D Are there any funny blogs out there that I'm missing that you guys are into?
I'm not a fan of Cosmo magazine at all anymore. I just got so sick of all the "How to please your man" and "be a better _____" articles. I used to read Maxim and Stuff and the articles were far more interesting then the mindless chatter in Cosmo. I much prefer to get me info from blogs.
I don't read magazines often, but when I do, they are almost always men's magazines. They are much more interesting (and are rarely offensive; women's magazines often insult me much more). Maxim and Gentlemen's Quarterly (GQ) are really excellent publications.
Fantastic post! You brought up some great issues here... thanks!
So perfectly put!
Magazines in general just don't appeal to me anymore. Too many adverts! I haven't read GQ but my friends' dad does & he's actually really cool!
♥ Christine
What Was I Thinking?
I used to read FHM for the same reasons - women's magazines were full of "50 ways to please your man in bed" or "Best beaches in the world to get a sun tan!" whereas FHM had things such as "50 top moments in The Simpsons" or "Best places in the world to swim with sharks."
I support the idea of starting an online magazine! All the female-centered online magazines I have come across seem to be centered around fashion, art and culture. While I like the high-brow, sometimes I just want to read something clever or - dare I say it - indulge in a bit of potty humour :)
I'm not much for typical women's magazines...I have a free subscription to Lucky, so of course I flip through it, but I really like Bust. It's got some humor, along with more world/political type articles - you might look into it, Sarah! Plus, you know, supporting indie publications and all that. There's Venus Zine, which I just picked up recently after not having read for a while, but I wasn't super impressed. And I get Nylon for the fashion, but don't expect anything out of it. I guess blogs fill my magazine addiction hole now! But I definitely get what you're saying...I cannot STAND Cosmo. Ugh.
In Australia, there's a magazine called Frankie (and also one called Yen) that has intelligent, well-written, often funny, sometimes moving articles about art, culture, food, music and all that kind of stuff. I used to read other magazines, but they just made me feel like utter crap.
i dont know if you'd be able to get hold of it over there, but my favourite magazine is an Australian one called Frankie. it comes out every 2 months but the waiting is worth it! it focuses on art, fashion, music, craft and life in general
for the latest issues' tidbits: www.frankie.com.au
The thing I hate most is the lame lust story of the month. Which is an excerpt from a romance novel that is in Cosmo. If I wanted to read a romance novel I'd buy one of the never ending supply ones my library has for 25 cents.
Oh my god totally. I'm all over Frankie (awesome craft, rants and reviews) and a few very scary fashion ones like Oyster and Russh that aren't as cheery. I very occasionally buy Cosmo when I'm bored or sad but I'm often really disappointed. I want a bit of sass on the side of my fashion. And if they have any more lame 'how-tos' I will set fire to their office. 'How to buy a car'? Really?
Oh and I promise to add you to my links list soon! I have forgotten how to do it and every time I try to I just end up crying and eating biscuits instead.
xxx
Vanity Fair also has good content.
I looooove Maxim. I used to look forward to peeing in my friend Dan's bathroom because he always had the newest issue in there. I swear, sometimes my legs would get all tingly because I'd be sitting there so long.
Sarah, what you described sounds like a more grown-up version of Sassy. Remember that from high school? I've still got the one with Kurt & Courtney on the cover, somewhere. That dear departed magazine assumed from the get go that girls and women have brains! ZOMG! Effing revolutionary, that.
Actually, I like italian women's magazines more that the ones I used to buy in the US. They have pretty good content, if you go past the beauty spreads and editorials with skinny models in weird poses. Of course, you have to be a little selective...
I love "home décor" magazines, I find them so much inspiration! And, of course, food mags.
I totally know what you mean! Men's magazines are actually rather intelligent once you get past the boobies. And once you do that, they kinda put women's magazines to shame.
i swear by glamour...and glamour only. i can't deal with any other magazines. i'm still a big magazine whore though because i love to read :p
I would LOVE a magazine that interviewed stunt women AND had recipes for fondue in them! Sounds like an ideal magazine for me. I never read women's magazines, although I have a weakness for beauty blogs, if only to see what the big deal is. And everyone loves a juicy gossip every now and then. But all the time? Spend money on it? No thanks.
I love Maxim! The articles are witty and I can easily look past the almost naked girls. Cosmo, on the other hand, is a waste of paper and ink. I love a magazine that can teach me something new, not fill my brain with fluff.
I have never actually read the articles in a male magazine, but I do see that the articles there, beyond the half naked ladies etc. have a WHOLE LOT more depth than a female magazine variety.
Now when I did buy female magazines I bought them for the pictures, not the articles--articles? what articles? Presently, I don't buy magazines at all. However, a male friend of mine recently made a comment a little similar to the one you're making now: "Wow, I didn't know they had good articles in playboy!"
Being more of a GQ reader, he'd never picked up a playboy magazine--but apparently, even the mother of all misogynistic magazines have good articles in them... and yet Cosmo can find nothing more pressing to write about than a step by step guide on how to find his spot.
I think the issue is that male magazines cater to the needs of men--from naked women to insightful articles for and about men.
Women's magazines like Cosmo cater to men indirectly--by giving women the impression that all they should care about is preening themselves to look attractive to men. I mean, who cares if we're more than that? At least we know how to find his spot, right...
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