So tomorrow I will start a brand new magazine aimed at 16-25year olds what's in it?

[MargaretGraceBondfield]

If I had the money I would love to fill the gap in the market for a decent women's magazine. Replace Cosmo, More, Vacuous for dummies, Stick thin, Hello, etc etc with something that people want to read, not myths, misogyny, and diets!!

So what would sell?

I absoltuley agree on a checklist and warning signs of an abusive man.

article's on the misogyny on this weeks top tv shows. discussing why the storylines of the top soaps are so very much anti feminist.

cover models who are chosen for their worthyness of character rather than appearance.

but also fashion and make up. being a feminist does not mean you should feel guilty to wanting to look beautifull. but also with the message that beauty is more than a chanel lippy and some mascara.

I think Company magazine are doing alright, have been surprised recently they have had some interesting articles (def covered DV, drinking - great columnist called Jameela, some overtly feminist ones too - they reprinted a blog article I read first linked to here) and their fashion is more about 'individual' style than size zero. Their sunbed campaign is good (though their 'getting home safely'... not sure...)

Ultimately though, magazines (and I love them dearly) are about selling stuff so you need to think what can people buy that doesn't offend our feminist principles... maybe focus on different hobbies? Too small a target audience, perhaps...

Am so so so bored with the diet/detox yawn that seems to be splashed on every January mag I have bought though, and never read the boring beauty bit.

London School of economics has just published a report on the online activity of teens and the sexualisation of young people....perhaps we should have online safety and disclosure articles, trafficking, objectification articles. Perhaps if these issues were surrounded by gloss, real life gloss and not misogyny fuelled myths it may stand a chance of survival?

I often read Glamour because I like the fashion (which is not expensive). Whilst the slant is definitely image based (although def not size zero) there is plenty to read about.

In the last year or so there have been articles raising awareness of trafficking, DV and stalking, fairly informative careers advice, info on places I'd actually like to travel to etc etc. They do a woman of teh year competition with various different categories and interview all the woman (industry leaders, sportswoman)

All washed down with a healthy amount of trash.

Yup, I like Glamour too. Has good months and bad months.

Make women feel productive in ways other than earning millions or being famous.

Sexy craft-type articles that produce nice things; and calm gender-neutral DIY projects that don't patronise.

I used to like Scarlet before it folded. I wasn't really bothered about the erotic literature bit (which they seemed to push as the main angle) but the rest of it was good - articles which assumed the reader had some intelligence rather than the crap that is in most women's magazines.

I don't think I have any copies left so I can't give you any examples of what the articles were about.

Oooh I love this thread.

I am 23 and have a sort of love/hate relationship with glossie mags. On one hand they are a treat, all shiny paper, nice pics to look at and less effort to read than a book. On the other they can be pretty stupid,sexist, and full of boring celebrity gossip.

In my ideal magazine I would have
.UK Politics
.Current Affairs
.A bit on ethical living
.Cooking (not diet features, more like how to make an amazing curry or something)
.The biographies wouldn't be about slebs but about I dunno woman scientists or lawyers or something
.There could be some fashion/homewares etc but high street and affordable to people on an average salary.
.Financial/Careers advice (but you know, good advice like about ISAs or something not you know "how to dress to impress at work" or somesuch)
.The problem pages would definitely not include "ways to please your man" but should be answered by someone like dittany

at my really long post. One of my secret dream careers is to run a successful and informative womens magazine

Great topic. I have also recently been reading GQ and was really drawn in by the features, both funny and serious.

Some things I enjoy/have enjoyed in magazines:

• really good interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, scientists etc

• light-hearted features about relationships. There was one in GQ (I think) where a man wrote about his relationship, and his wife did the footnotes, "correcting" his perceptions of it etc which was very funny. I also like those "who's dating who?" mix and match quiz in the guardian mag, and the blind date one (with followups!)

• I would like to see a cover with a woman on it looking beautiful, but not airbrushed, and from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. And, of course, of more than one face/body shape. So I'm imagining a kind of Benetton style portraiture of women of all kinds.

• good problem pages, and plenty of 'em. One of the trashier women's mags used to have a page for health problems, one for general life problems, one for sex etc.

• YES to Write to Auntie AnyFucker

• features on great women from the past. There are a fark of a lot of forgotten women out there. For instance the other day I was reading that there was once a female royal jester called Jenny Colquhoune (?) - I want to know more about her!

• book reviews for non-shit books, music reviews for non-shit music etc

• Shami Chakrabati writing a column about current affairs

• fix it yourself page - I would reeally like to not have to ask my dad/male friends/male mechanics how to maintain my car, fix my PC etc.

• horoscopes :o I love reading them, however nonsensical they might be.

• nice clothes/beauty pages, but not too many of them.

call that a long post bucaneve? :o

Haha! I always find posts seem much longer in the writing-in box then what they actually look like posted

I don't really understand the idea of a 'women's magazine', seems far too broad a category given how many different types of women there are out there and how many different things they're interested in. I think it would be difficult/impossible to do without stereotyping.

GQ.....perfect example of an intelligent man's mag.............I would like an equivalent.