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?

A fair question might be to ask is why are there no, or so few, male equivalents? Loaded, Zoo, Nuts are aimed quite explicitly at teenagers / early 20s males, but not for mature adult men?

Men's Health might be just about there, but why no male equivalent of Bella or Women's Own? Why are men not assumed to be stupid?

Perhaps men ARE assumed to be stupid (as television adverts routinely suggest) but not to have any aspirations towards self improvement, apart from physically (i.e. Men's Health).

It's a guess, but if I worked in media, that's probably where I'd be coming from ...

So if you want men to improve ... their lifestyles, relationships, etc, then you have to target 'their women'.

Basicaly, it's assumed that we just work harder on ourselves and our lives, and so we're easier targets.

Both women's and men's magazines are light reading aimed at the lowest common denominator.

However, magazines like The Economist & Prospect do not address to a particular gender. I am an avid readers of both, actually.

If very few women are reading these and other "intellectual" magazines, maybe it is indeed because we are, as a gender, not less intelligent but perhaps less interested in general with intellectual pastimes/pursuits.

reader of both, obviously. Somebody please solve this auto-correct problem on i-devices.

I don't read them at all any more even under duress at the doctors and dentists. No need. That is what the Kindle and Kindle are for. Thank Christ!

Kindle app rather

Cote the auto-correct is too funny to ever be abolished, sorry

Men have GQ, FHM, Stuff and Mens Health which I would argue were broadly equivalent to the glossies: a mix of fashion, lifestyle, consumerism and improvement.

Nuts and that sort of shite are equivilent to the likes of closer, Basically just trashy RL and celebrity (the obvious difference being the boob jobs in the mens versions are "big" and in the womans "botched")

Then there are all manner of specialist mags: politics/sports/gaming/crafts etc some aimed at the female market some at the male.

I've never bought them, they are full of crap about people like Beckham and soap crap and fat stories from the look of the covers and adverts.

They contain nothing about cars, video games, manga/anime or heavy metal thus they are not for me.

they are only for the kind of woman who watches every crappy soap and BB, goes on constant diets and watch crappy romance movies and other such shit.

I have no idea how many woman are like that but I assume a lot otherwise they would change them to attract more buyers.

Men are portrayed as being stupid in many ads for household products (for eg) and what's the end result? Not hoards of men beating themselves up about it, that's for sure. Just a reinforcement of the idea that housework is womens' work and only they can do it best.

Most magazines exist to keep the wheels of capitalism turning and the best way to do that is to keep (or make) lots of people insecure and discontent. I had a free subscription to Psycholgies a while back and am still puzzling over the mixed messages. "Empowering" articles with a full page of airbrushed skin-care touting nonsense on the adjacent page.

Private Eye is my only regular purchase these days. I only come across mags like Hello! etc when I go to the hairdresser and I find them utterly bewildering. I've never heard of the people being written about (don't watch soaps/reality TV) and can't understand why they are supposed to be newsworthy or interesting.

BTW, there are no "lifestyle" magazines at all aimed at women of my age (49) AFAIK - are we all supposed to be reading gardening, cooking and interior design mags? Or "Peoples Friend?" Or maybe we are cynical old crones who can recognise consumerist "aspirational" garbage when we see it!

Back in mid-80's when I was a poorly-paid civil servant living in a foul flatshare in London, my flatmates and I alleviated the tedium and squalor of our existence by treating ourselves to a copy of Harpers & Queen every month.

Brilliant quirky fashion photography and well-written, amusing and often tongue-in-cheek articles about a way of life that even we recognised as totally bogus. Whatever happened to Sloane Rangers? "Jennifer's Diary", the "social" column was hilarious. I still refuse to believe it wasn't a spoof.

i think mags like 'nuts' and wank mags make men out to be pretty stupid also.

i object to calling the economist a man's mag - i read it sometimes. tbh most women's mags are just pages of trying to sell you stuff / make you feel inadequate if you don't buy it. you could equally say consumer culture thinks we are stupid for falling for it. of course some people are stupid....

I read Heat magazine becuse I want to, I fully admit to liking reading trashy magazines after a hrd day when I don't want to think about the economy, polotics or climate change.
I like reading about the lives of celebs, Im not ashamed, its light entertainment.
I never get sucked into 'lose 10lbs in a week' diet plans or 'how to get him to marry you articles' im a sensible woman I just like a bit of trash now and again.

I read Essentials becuase I like the mix of craft/food/stories in there.
I sometimes read Closer becuase thier real life stories get more and more ridiculous every week...'i sleep with my motorbike anyone?' it makes me chuckle.

The reason why there aren't very many magazines aimed solely at men is presumably because men don't buy as much reading material as woman. This is true of novels so is presumably also true of magazines.

That means that almost all magazines are 'women's' magazines. Magazines about smallholding, pedigree dogs, horses, knitting, house interiors, scrapbooking, cooking, travel and child development are all 'women's' magazines. Some women like to read the magazines that are about clothes and celebrities, but many read magazines about other things. Subjects like science,movies and music may have a more equal split of readers between men and women

I think that men's magazines often make men seem a bit dim too. The trashy Nuts stuff.

I don't see the Economist of Nationa Geographic or whatever to be men's magazines.

or

MillyR - I think we must frequent different newsagents . I see car, sailing, cricket, gardening, computer magazines squarely aimed at men all over the place!

I read the magazine Psychologies recently (in a dentist waiting room) and was very impressed - initially I thought it was aimed at the medical profession but was pleased to see a wide variety of interesting articles aimed at women and men. Included some SENSIBLE bits on style and beauty as well

So impressed in fact that I will be buying this instead of the usual crap monthly magazine which tells you 'this month's must haves' and makes you feel crap if you cant afford £400 on a tarty looking bag. Give it a go - you may be pleasantly surprised.

I once got a year's subscription of National Geographic magazine which was a nice gift.

RitaLynn - I agree with what you are saying. However, mens (lads) mags are just as bad in diferent ways.

Economist, New Statesman, Private Eye are not really magazines for men.

Mind you, I went in a news agent in Newcastle reently and they had the Economist on the top shelf next to Bride magazine and all the lads mags at eye level. The assisant even asked if I wanted the Economist in a brown paper bag. Maybe I looked furtive.

I have been watching this girls video's for years and I love this vid about exactly this topic:

I usually pick up a cookery magazine each month and I sometimes pick up Classic FM magazine or New Scientist.

The reaosn the trashy mags a re so popular is becaue they are cheap. None are more that £2.

You can get a deent novel for the price of a couple of the glossies. Which do you think will keep you entertained for longer?