Weaponry or Weddings: Sexism in Magazines

I'm going to go back to my usual cultural + things I notice + feminism = a blog post formula. I'm not done advocating for personhood and the Nov. 8 vote, but I don't have much new to say tonight. Keep checking here, as well as the blog for Parents Against MS 26 and the site for Mississippians for Healthy Families, for info on the personhood initiative (and check out the video that got picked up by Rachel Maddow's blog).

So I have become obsessed with all things magazines lately. I was looking at this website I discovered, which offers reduced-price magazine subscriptions. It seems kinda sketchy, and now that I work for a publishing company, I couldn't live with myself if I purchased a subscription from anywhere but the publisher's direct website, but it is a good way to browse through categories of magazines.

Here are some of the categories:

Lifestyle

Business & Finance

Men's

Teen

Animals & Pets

Women's

...and plenty more. But of course, my eye was immediately grabbed by the "women's" category. So I clicked on it to see the subcategories, which were as follows:

Bridal & Weddings (7)

Home & Cooking (57)

Pregnancy & Family (14)

Women's Health (27)

Women's Interests (78)

Fashion & Beauty (23)

The biggest category is Women's Interests, which is, of course, also the vaguest. Clicking on it led to a huge assortment of magazines. I noticed one feminist magazine right off the bat, Bust, and there may have been more; I don't claim to know all the titles for feminist publications. But many of the magazines in this category still had standard "feminine" cover pictures: pictures of celebrities, candles looking very homey, knitting patterns, and a baby. I noticed one magazine for working women (Professional Woman's Magazine) and at least one for exercise (Runners). But by and large, women's interests still seems to center around home decorating, cooking, and looking good.

And the "men's" category is no less stereotypical. Its subcategories are as follows:

Auto (105) 

Men's Fitness (13)

Men's Interests (39)

Outdoor (84)

Sports & Athletics (51)

Weaponry (18)

These categories crack me up. Weaponry? Tons of magazines with big guns on the covers.

It's amazing to me that in 2011 our magazines are still so gendered. If a woman with an interest in cars is looking for a new magazine, she has to know to click on "men's" in order to get there (which she probably will know to do, having been raised in our gender-segregated culture). And a man with an interest in cooking will have to find his magazines through the "women's" link. 

I know that a lot of today's magazines have been around for years, when these gendered divisions were even more pronounced in culture. But I still think it's time to branch out. After all, out of the subcategories for women's magazines, I would only click on two (health and interests), and still may not find a magazine that interests me. And I know plenty of men who find nothing of interest in any of the male categories. Yet companies, magazines, businesses, etc., continue to market products exclusively to one gender or the other (like Dr. Pepper's new "manly" campaign). 

Is this really helping products to sell when advertisers are excluding about half of the money-spending public?

Why You Should Read Feminist Magazines

I am falling in love with magazines. More specifically, feminist magazines.

As evidenced by several of my posts, I love Bitch magazine. I discovered it while working on a paper for a feminism class, and ordered several back issues to analyze. The feminist take on pop culture topics won me over immediately. Now I have a subscription, with a plan to buy one or two back issues each month to build up my collection.

Recently, I also subscribed to Bust magazine and my first issue arrived today. Already in love! Even though I may never use it, I'm really excited it by the Do It Yourself section that provides you with easy, cheap crafts (in this issue: make a fabric necklace out of old T-shirts!). I've also been introduced to cool new feminist organizations that I want to support (Buy Her Bag Not Her Body is an organization that gives Cambodian women jobs to keep them out of sex trafficking). I've discovered two new musicians (new to me at least; I tend to be behind the times). I can't wait for more.

I also enjoy the blogs on Ms. magazine's website. I haven't subscribed yet, but I have a feeling it will be my next (unless someone has another feminist magazine suggestion?).

What I love so much about feminist magazines is the feeling of understanding and community. Yes it's cheesy but it's also true. When I read Cosmo, I feel left out. I don't want to use the make-up or buy the clothes (and don't have the money to do so anyway) and I certainly don't want to take the shoddy relationship advice. But these feminists mags that I love provide me with a group of people who think like I do, who read what I read, and who are concerned about more than appearance and "pleasing their men."

So for anyone who has flipped through a traditional women's magazine and felt left out, ignored, or looked down upon, check out a feminist mag instead! They're really awesome, and they are helping me discover what I want to do with the rest of my life (... work for a feminist magazine; thought I'd spell it out just in case).