I almost never buy women’s magazines because they usually leave me feeling ugly and poor. However, I like to read them when I’m traveling, particularly when I'm going by plane. It’s so distracting in airports that the short, easy to comprehend articles are nice. But the last time I flew, I had a little realization.
The airport bookshop had a paltry selection of magazines. I wanted a Marie Claire, but they didn’t have that. I could have picked Cosmo or Glamour, but those are mostly about clothes I can’t afford (and wouldn’t wear anyway) and how to bag a man and then sneak out of his apartment in the morning. Just not me. I thought about People, but I dislike the culture of celebrity worship and I don’t want to endorse tabloids paying paparazzi to chase down celebrities even when they’re dressed up sorta classy like People. So what did I end up with? Redbook. What am I, 45? At least it wasn’t Ladies Home Journal. Or worse, Reader’s Digest.
Women’s magazines seem to be marketed to an older audience than they are actually written for. Like, 17-year-old girls don’t read Seventeen, 13-year-olds do. It’s the 17-year-olds who are reading Cosmo (let’s not even think about the twisted impression of adult life they get from that). Those in their mid-twenties are passing Cosmo for Marie Claire or Jane. Apparently by the time you’re 29, you’ve graduated to Redbook.
Redbook still has some articles about sex, but the descriptions are vague (touch him someplace unexpected to spice things up). In contrast, Comso and Glamour are all about sex and it’s explicit (wow him in bed! Stick a carrot in his butt!). I guess Ladies Home Journal probably alludes to the fact that married people are intimate, but doesn’t provide tips.
I apologize to any readers I might have who love Redbook and Ladies Home Journal and don’t think you have to be 45 to enjoy them. It was just a shock that I’d rather read magazines marketed to my mom than to me. I’m getting more like her every day.
16 comments:
I actually like Women's Health a lot, and you don't have to be a total workout freak to enjoy the articles. I'm also not embarrassed to read it on the plane. :)
I used to enjoy those magazines almost solely for the quiz. Now that there are a plethora of quizzes avail on the internet, I don't really feel the need to check out those magazines anymore. (Which is a good thing since magazine buying is banned for another six weeks.)
In the very rare case that I pick up a magazine, I usually get a cooking one or a home decoration one. I guess I am getting into the same "marketing age" as my mom as well.
OK, I almost snorted coffee out my nose when I read this post... it's all so true. At 28 I think I've also grown too old for Cosmo in my search for plane reading. Marie Claire is my usual choice, but lately when I get home for a visit my mom's stack of magazines are also suddenly more appealing... Sometimes I go for something like Shape or some other fitness magazine, but then I think, who am I kidding?!
I must not be hip enough--I've no idea what any of these magazines are! Except for People...I've seen that at the grocery store check-out line.
Phew, glad it's not just me. I'm 29, switched to the occasional Redbook 2 yrs ago. I somehow thought I wouldn't transform into my Mom until I had kids, but I have already moved into the home improvement project-y magazines. And Real Simple.
Hmmmm....I wonder what it says about me if Discover, Scientific American, Time and US News and World Report are my flying magazines of choice...
Also a magazine reader on planes, I switched off of Glamour about 3 years ago. Usually, I get Outside which is found in the sports section in bigger airports and in the men's section in smaller airports. Runner's World and Domino (sort of a young home and garden) are also favorites.
I like National Geographic for flying, and I've never yet had a seatmate who didn't accept my offer of reading it when I'm done!
I stopped reading Cosmo a good few years ago now. It wasn't all that relevant to me when I was a singleton, and it's definitely much less so now! Actually when I did used to read it (in my early 20s), I would swap it for a male friend's FHM and Maxims (British male Cosmo equivalents), which were much more educational. He said the same thing about the Cosmos.
and I thought I was the only one that was bored with Cosmo! Magazines are great alternatives to those darn research articles, my choices are Chatelaine (Canadian Ladies Home Journal) McLeans, or the economist. Fashion? don't even get me started on how I am so not the stylish mom I thought I would be
I just had this conversation the other day in the lab about how I think I've outgrown Cosmo. Roommate and I were discussing the wow him in bed! Stick a carrot in his butt! sort of thing when Advisor walked in. Then he immediately walked back out again.
Well, you got a good laugh from me with your carrot comment. Pick up a Real Simple. I love it, and you might too. Plenty of peace and calm for a plane ride or lying on one's couch.
Touch him somewhere unexpected. Like Cleveland.
Read BUST!
Once again, I've learned from your comments that I'm not alone. But what is it with you guys and the fitness mags? Working out myself is boring enough -- I don't want to read about other people doing it! Candid, I think I would like Real Simple except that I saw the super lame PBS version that kind of turned me off. I should give it another try. Madhatter, you're not missing much.
a carrot in his butt? now i love all things winter and christmas, but that is one lame-assed attempt at making frosty the snowman.
but i must agree with you all, magazines suck. i like mother jones for reading since i can finish those fashion mags in 10 minutes, not much to see there...
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