in thinking women's magazines make women out to be stupid, and many of us are complicit

[RitaLynn]

After years of reading my mum's magazines and those left around in doctors' surgeries, I've come to the conclusion that women's magazines largely make women out to be stupid.

They're full of news-lite stories, fake health information (detox), celeb stuff, psychic stuff and horoscopes.

In contrast, there are lads magazines, targetted at young men, but there aren't men's magazines in the same sense, that work on daft stereotypes. If men are reading magazines, they're reading The Economist, or New Statesman, Prospect etc.

Am I being unreasonable to suggest that women's magazines make women out to be stupid, and too many of us are complicit?

Exactly why I don't buy them!

I do have to laugh though at the amount of people who say they only read them at the Docs/Hairdressers/someone else's house

And they present men as homogeneous. All the "What your boyfriend's really thinking" headlines and articles, which turn out to be based on the responses from five investment bankers they found somewhere.

If you want to know what your boyfriend thinks about something, ask him.

I don't think all magazines make woman out to be stupid and there is definitely a scale.

Brutal truth is though that some woman (and people generally) are stupid and don't want educating in their leisure time. If reading "my husband ate my hamster" appeals, who am I to argue?

I think some of the modern glossies, whilst hardly on a par with the great litterary classics are written to a reasonable standard and often contain informative and interesting writing.

literary damnit!

I only read the Economist and know plenty of other women who do too, how on earth could anyone think of it as a man's magazine?

Women's mags are rubbish and always have been.

those you've mentioned aren't solely aimed at men only are they?

though CQ is and is more interesting that red and the like

YANBU

It is all diet info, recipes, clothes, make-up, blah de blah.

I agree - reading those magazines make your brain fall out. FACT. Or at least feel that way.

There are many, many many magazines that are targeted at women, and seem to assume women are braindead (such as Heat, Cosmo, Take a Break) but - you don't have to read them.

Occassionally I foray into buying Grazia (like once a year), but I always feel cheated afterwards. Most of the time, I just read the Economist. It's fabulous. I don't think it's necessarily just targeted at men though, or maybe I'm missing something.

Chandelina, I didn't mean to suggest the Economist was a men's magazine, just it would be a magazine that a man would read.

I never buy women's magazines. Can't stand them. ON the cover of cosmo it's "how to give a great blow job", "how to read his minds".

God makes me sick. Like we have to turn ourselves into paragons of physical perfection and read men's minds so we can anticipate all their desires!?!?!

meanwhile, over at nuts or zoo it's all about how to dupe women into giving it up. there's no token nod to 'understanding women'. Ha why would a nuts/zoo reader want to do that

i hate magazines.

Why would I want to read DH's mind? He can bloody well tell me what he wants, what with him being an adult 'n' all.

These magazines always seem to concentrate on "how to keep him happy" but never seem to have articles about why you shouldn't date an arsehole and how to spot them.

Grr.

years ago cosmo was full of how to make it in business type articles

If I'm not being unreasonable, why are so many women complicit in this?

I can't stand women's magazines, they never seem to contain anything worth reading. Even get boared of them at the hair dressers (good job they don't keep me waiting to long).

Your much more likly to see me with a copy of New Scientist then anything else.

I have no idea why women keep buying these sort of magazines. It is a mystery.

RitaLynn, I think young women are more cuaght up in playing the game. the man's game. ie, being girly and pretty and figuring out what random men want! as we chalk up a few miles on the clock we begin to question that game and think, hang on a fukcin' minute? what do I want?

I'm single and no way do I want to bend over backwards figuring out what somebody is thinking. If it's somebody with the skill to communicate and I care enough to ask then he'll presumably tell me.

crackfox I disagree. I read a lot of magazines (my sis is in the industry so I have a free and steady supply) and I cannot rememer the last time I read a "how to keep him happy" article.

Recently I have read a fairly informative and insightful article on stalking, what is not acceptable, how to cope with it and some practical advice from associated charities and the police on what to do. Same re DV.

I have read articles on how to set up a business/take a gap year/write a CV/get a payrise.

IME, some of the magazines are very positive, especially given the target age range of late teens early twenties.

I used to read a lot of glossies until I had an epiphany one day and realised they were expensive, rotted my brain, made me feel crap about myself and want to spend money on crap.

YANBU. I wouldn't be caught dead buying them.

I read The Economist...

I don't read/buy any 'women's' mags. I used to like Marie Claire because it ad interesting articles, but then it went a bit 'Ooh! Handbags and kittens! Squeeeam!' Now I only buy chicken magazines.

I bet even the chicken magazines make you want to spend money!!

If mags treat women as stupid it's the same as all the ads on TV that make men out to be brainless nerks. I think too much 'creative media' in general is populated by decision makers that think everyone's a bit thick, dumb-down the output and appeal to the lowest common denominator...

I feel 100% bettter since deciding about 10 years ago not to read these magazines. Even if they are not all about having better sex, they are just article after article of how to improve your life, make things happen, be happier, eat better, do more exercise, look different, blah blah. Then there are lots of case studies of people who have done the said thing and are completely transformed (yeah right, forever?)

I found it tiring and demoralizing and am glad I have no idea if I am fashionable or a good type of a person any more.

Oh, I love them, all of them. I absolutely do, and I refuse to be ashamed of it. I also have a degree in English lit and alongside my Marie Claire, will be reading something decent (like The Economist, which seems to be the apogee of 'intelligent reading' if this thread is correct), so it isn't indicative of stupidity.

Why do I read them? Something to do on the bus or tube, that's light and easy and that I really don't have to think about. I don't WANT to spend all my time reading novels, poetry or newspapers.

When you pick a 'women's' magazine off the shelf, you know what you're getting yourself into. If you're not able to read it and keep your self-esteem intact, then don't read it. I happen to like the combination of clothes, make-up, sex and the occassional venture into 'serious' issues (some of which are rather good). It scratches a particular itch, and as part of a wider reading pattern, isn't harmful in my opinion.