Women often say to me ‘oh, magazines are just a bit of fun’ or ‘they’re not serious’. On the contrary, if you dive beneath what’s just in front of you, the front cover of a magazine can give you an insight into the reader’s thoughts and feelings. Read between the lines and you can see the sinister, almost evil, undertone to these magazines. They play on women’s insecurities and anxieties and even have the audacity to make you pay for their supposed ‘in depth’ knowledge of what’s ‘hot or not’. Feminine magazines suck out any confidence a woman may have by phrases such as ‘The seven moves every smart girl should know’ the phrase in particular ‘every smart girl should know’ is especially manipulating. The title is more or less saying ‘If you don’t buy this magazine you’ll never know our precious secret and you won’t be sexy for the rest of your life’. Now, let’s dig even further into the oppressive regime known as feminine magazines. As soon as these magazine companies have caught you in a rut of insecurity and anxiety and have got you eating out of their perfectly manicured hands you’ll find yourself in a false sense of security… until the ‘fashion’ changes. As soon as this event happens the magazines, in effect tell you, buy our magazine and find out what the ‘hot list’ is so that you are good enough and attractive, if you don’t you will be a freak in the eyes of your peers. How can a woman relax if fashion is always changing?
The hypocrisy of these magazines is so massive it’s actually enough to make anyone feel sick in body and in mind, surely you must agree. ‘You’re NOT fat- the truth about body confidence’ in bright yellow letters… what are they on about? By placing a highly attractive (with a SLIGHT hint of sexiness) of Kate Hudson on the front looking dubiously perfect isn’t going to make anyone feel good about themselves, is it? Obviously the journalists (if you can call them that) at Cosmopolitan magazine think that every single one of their millions of readers is stunningly attractive but lacking confidence; of course that’s the case – that’s why we need to ‘foolproof’ fake tan and wear clothes from the ‘HOT list’ according to Cosmopolitan because, naturally, we’re all perfect. Even more so, this month’s edition let’s women have an insight into the ‘sad and lonely world of ‘WAGS’’. I’m sorry if my heart doesn’t bleed. I mean, if I could shop and do absolutely nothing for anyone all day I wouldn’t be miserable. If your life is so terrible as a WAG why tell the world? Why don’t you leave your rich, famous husband/ boyfriend? This is just a pathetic attempt by Cosmopolitan to make women readers feel better about their problems. How about THIS problem Cosmopolitan? Due to your magazine women are perceived as image-obsessed bimbos interested in nothing more than what you can fit on a cover of a magazine. It’s hard enough climbing the career ladder as it is; why add fuel to an already uncontrollable fire? Why not have titles such as ‘How to climb the career ladder?’ or ‘Interested in the sciences?’? Hell will freeze over before this happens if women still abide to the ‘Cosmo-bible’s’ commandments. (We can still hope though)
So, how does the average woman get perceived if magazines were the only way judge a character? I reckon it would be something like this…
‘Women are narcissists only interested in image and status among the social ladder who find sinister stories of kidnap and rape interesting as it makes them feel better about themselves. Sticking their noses into other people’s lives is second nature to women and women only believe man is for one thing…sex and nothing else’. Am I right to say that? NO, of course I’m not. Feminine magazine portray this message on a weekly/fortnightly/monthly basis for anything up to £5 a go. Is that fair? No! Non! Nein and all the other languages the ‘Cosmo-bible’ is written in; it’s an international epidemic and we must all act now…before it’s too late.
As you march forth to the nearest newsagents think to yourself... would I happily swallow Cyanide or Strychnine? Feminine magazines are poison, resist the eye catching titles and offers inside and be strong. Everyone can improve, of course, but you don’t NEED to. Break the stereotype and be free from the oppression. A new era has begun.