Women's Home Interest Magazines

[NumTumDeDum]

Just that really. Since I've been reading on this topic, I've been noticing all sorts of things I had previously just accepted. I was in Sainsburys yestersay looking for inspiration for my hallway, so I looked for home magazines. I was gobsmacked that they appear to be divided into two categories. The first is next to motorcycle/fishing/other trad male interest mags and focus on building and DIY. The interiors were lumped together under the heading Women's Home Interest. These consisted of Homes and Gardens, Your Home, My Style at Home etc. I actually bought Your Home as there were some ideas I wanted to use. But just reading through it now I've found a section headed 'Girls' Guide to DIY'. I wasn't aware we needed a separate guide? I have a collins manual on DIY, a tool kit and the ability to look things up or ask others in the same way a man does.

How on earth can building a pergola be gender specific? The more I look at this magazine the more irritated I am. Every house featured is being shown off by a woman.

I understand that magazines will all aim to appeal to a different demographic of the population but I found the approach of this magazine pretty annoying. I would be interested in views on this.

[UptoapointLordCopper]

Obviously riding a motorcycle or fishing or DIY is much easier with a penis, while decorating your house or wearing nice clothes is much easier with a vagina. I'm surprised you don't know that. But wait! All is not lost. There are guides for those who have vaginas but are so unnatural, or unfortunate not to have a partner with a penis, as to want to do DIY! For those we have the "Girls' guide to DIY"!

(I wonder if there's a "Boys' guide to needlepoint"?)

I recently also discovered that you need penises or vaginas for different types of doodling. I've written to Usbourne to thank them for enlightening me, otherwise I might get the wrong doodling book for my children and fuck them up for life. They have not replied.

[FreedomOfTheTess]

According to our local newsagents, you need a penis to like sport, as all the sport magazines are in the men's interest section.

[AMumInScotland]

How about writing to Sainsbury's - probably the head office rather than your local one, as it is probably the same set of headings everywhere. You can point out that a section labelled "Homes and Gardens" would work better and not irritate women/alienate men who might want to buy something from that category.

And to the editor/publisher of the magazine telling them their article is insulting and they should reconsider in future.

These places seem incapable of seeing how insulting they are without having us point it out!

[grimbletart]

According to our local newsagents, you need a penis to like sport, as all the sport magazines are in the men's interest section.

Just checked in my knickers. Appear to be female. I like sport. Am I therefore a man?

[msrisotto]

Well that's the great philosophical question grimble.

Don't titles like "Woman and home" piss you right off too? They do me.

[NumTumDeDum]

Yes, Woman and Home does annoy me. I think I actually will write to both. I've never felt sufficiently annoyed about anything to write before.

[UptoapointLordCopper]

Do write! They need to be told.

"Girls' guide to DIY". Not sure whether I'm more annoyed about the gendered nature
of DIY or about being called girls. Are maybe they are aimed at female children!?

LOL at grimble having to check knickers. Sometimes it just feels like that ... Perhaps we should start a campaign of checking in knickers in front of magazine racks in Sainsbury before buying.

[TheDoctrineOfAllan]

A couple of the big retailers (Tesco and Morrison?) have changed their categories after feminist campaigns.

[Bue]

I checked the other day - in WH Smith this section is called Homes and Gardens (or something like that). The only irritating section was 'Women's Weeklies". Gossip Rags would be far more accurate.

[grumpyinthemorning]

Picked up a copy of xbox magazine last time I was in tesco, got told I was so good for buying my boyfriend his magazine he barely plays xbox, that's my thing.

[UptoapointLordCopper]

I don't understand why once a woman has a male partner they automatically are assumed to "look after" him, like you've suddenly become a mother of some toddler. That seriously gives me the rage. The look of disbelief on some of my relatives' face when I confessed to not buying DH's shirts or ironing them.

[UptoapointLordCopper]

Sorry. This probably belongs to another thread...

[NumTumDeDum]

It is weird isn't it how you are somehow expected to pick up where mother has left off. My personal bugbear is being expected to remember things for dp. I.e. birthdays for his relatives, father's day etc and get the cards. Dp isn't too bad at this thankfully, but exH was dreadful and I always got the blame from mil if he ever forgot anything.

[UptoapointLordCopper]

DH does the birthdays etc. My family is not big on birthdays and things so I simply don't have the habit. I like my family (which is lucky). We are very relaxed about things like that. It's more important, to us, to have good everyday relationship than to do special occasions. We are quite far apart now but email almost everyday.

[Tweet2tweet]

I had to buy auto trader a while back and sales assistant said '£2.50 sir' and got a surprise when they looked up to see me! Although not as bad as help desk who asked me if m husband was available as fix involved a screwdriver!