magazines such as "cosmopolitan" and "girlfriend"- basically the whole yadda- we know they all breed insecurity within females- especially pubescence girls. However, you could argue that such editorials do have their points- undeniably they offer often very important advice to girls, which i believe is true- it is easier to confide in anonymity, and refer to a "non" living thing about certain problems than it is to another "real" person.
However, i often see editorials in these magazines about "10 ways to tell if a guy could be a rapist"- or something as ridiculous as thereof, and: "how to become a natural beauty", "How to get your Perfect Guy" and ecetera.
I get a bit lopsided with this; what are you trying to imply? You can't slip the actions of guys into 10 definitive attributes that can indicate possible rapist- it also incites a kind of fear within the person. In the article "how to become a natural beauty" - of course its fine wanting to look beautiful which would make you happy, but i dont ever really see things that outrightly states "you can be happy without liking how you look" and the way it is placed, it makes one identify as "not being pretty"- which although may not be meant, of course if you end up reading it, you obviously identify yourself with it.
Anyways, i think, magazines can be good for advice and all- but really just certain things placed in the magazines are not acceptable or healthy towards the development of pubescent girls. And yes, i know, Cosmo is not a little girl's mag- but they had the "how to tell if a guy is a rapist" thing. Btw, i HATE with a fervor gossip mags such as NW, HELLO! or whatever crap else. They should burn and turn into carbon atoms and be absorbed into the depths of the sea and be used by phytoplankton to be never reborn as paper again. They exploit the lives of others for money.
p.s. I however, know a very GOOD "magazine" for us all- the Active Collective Zine!
p.s.s. remember to read romana's post, economic crises is very important.
p.s.s.s. i'm sorry for my horrendous grammar, honestly, i can't be bothered.
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2 comments:
Good points! Those mags are full of mixed messages (on one page telling you to be 'natural beauties' on the next page having heavily touched up photos of impossible beauty).
A certain teacher at school gave a great example of how those cheap tabloid mags scrape for gossip (and newspapers, for that matter). Her daughter (quite young at the time - in teens) attended a film opening with a 'mystery man' and there was an article about how her mother was usually protective, and did she know about this 'mystery man'.
Turns out it was the girl's older brother....
And about your zine - did you want a few copies put in the staffroom? I can distribute and give a wee announcement if you want.
Also, speaking of zines, did you know there is a cute cute cute Zine project going on in Year 9 Art? They are having a festival in the hall Monday Dec 8th, Period 4 to show them off, if any Zine enthusiasts have finished exams and wanna come check them out. There's also a local Wellington zine creator giving a speech beforehand. Then the zines are beind put in some collection at the Wellington Library.
Hey Jo.
Good points as miss judge has said,
Ok. To begin.
I use to read those dull dolly and girlfriend magazines about three years ago. There is only so much you can hear about Paris Hilton (which goes for all those tabloids which i have never brought myself to read).
Then there was cosmo.
Even back then I knew it was crap. It's articles rotated and filled with articles about "how to please your man"
BUT it was colourful, vibrant and mostly just a bit of fun.
I was nieve.
Your points are very valid. Men should not be stereotyped into this group of sexual predators.
Women should know that they are always beutiful whatever life has brought to them. Cosmo on many occasions has told me that i am too large.
miss judge is right. On one page it will say you are beautiful the next not good enough. It's all mixed messages.
After stating this and agreeing with waht has been said I would like to make three points.
1. You can take out what you want. Cosmo can be positive. It tells you how to stay healthly rather than how to lose lots of weight.
The models are not stick thin and pouting (commonly shown in vogue)but curvy and more importantly HAPPY.
2. Cosmo is a very old magazine. Back when it was first released women were expected to stay at home. She would cook, clean and look after hubby. Cosmo talked about independence for women. Not only men bring home the bacon! Also (and of course) cosmo gave women a sexual freedom. And it wasn't just about hubby anymore it was about the lady. Knowlege about her body and her mind (I'm not going to get to far into that).
It's a shame because cosmo presently doesn't reflect it's former feminist ways. But we are in a different world now. Sexism is still presnt but women can fight to be what they want. Thats why some of us read cosmo and some of us don't. Thats just a trivial example but we have options. on the contrary Cosmo still has women on their front cover which are not degrading but empowering and strong (fro the opposite refer to FHM). Also the most recent issue of cosmo had an article on modern day feminism. Thats better than nothing right?
3. I agree with your view on "10 ways to spot a rapist" BUT we as a (prominantly) female organisation we must be aware that sexual predators are out there. The sad thing is that for a lot of women it's turns out to be men that they trust. I'm sorry jo but you never know. This type of article is wrong. It should read like this-
Other than the obvious e.g. repeat sexual offenders, there is no way of spotting a sex offender. Just be cautious, never leave your drink out of your sight (spikers), Don't hand out personal information over the internet and stick with your friends.
Is that a little better?
Thankyou for reading.
From Ellen.
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