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I am sure this topic has been tackled by several more reputable professionals, ( I know- I have seen them all over the web) but I felt inspired to post anyway. I feel that it will be slightly more unique, as it is from a teenage girl's perspective. Here goes;
I was sitting at my desk chair a few weeks ago, sorting through piles and piles of magazines. Let me just say, I am one of those people who is reluctant to throw things away for fear that I will need them someday. So here I am, surrounded by what seems like 20 stacks of magazines, when I come across the reading material that has been gathering dust since last October- a small stack of Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and CosmoGirl mags, rumpled and jammed at the bottom of a pile.
You see, the reason I had these was not because I necessarily read them, but because of a research project last year. In my last year of high school, one of my projects was writing a paper on a subject important to me. And after reading about the relationship between teen girls and media, I decided to write my paper on how girls were influenced by tv, magazines, and industries.
So I purchased several issues of each magazine that seemed to advertise as Teen magazines, and got to work.
Let me just say, the teen mag revolution seemed to pass me by. While my "street-smart" classmates in 8th grade gossiped about beauty advice, french-kissing, and the cute actor interviewed in Seventeen, I would read my Harry Potter book or maybe write in my journal. I was not interested. The one time I did pick up a teen mag out of curiosity (a tattered lime green copy of "YM" in the beauty parlor) my reaction was a resounding "what"!?! My 13 year old self was shocked by the sheer amount of dating advice, info on hair and beauty products, and advice on how to look "like a hot new you for school". This is what my classmates were reading?!? Why would they worry about that stuff?
With this experience in mind, I began to page through the publications to unearth what they were like today. They were pretty much the same- endless fashion spreads, dating dos and don'ts, and some "real life" stories ("I was drunk on National tv!"). And in between, the unavoidable fashion, beauty, and even ads for drugs such as birth control pills.
What I don't like about these magazines is that they seem to warp the minds of teenage girls. The material within is so contradictory it makes my head spin. On one hand, the mags preach being a good girl, being sweet and pure,and being careful to avoid STDs, binge drinking, and other adolescent dangers. But then it shows the girls how to look hot, make their boyfriends (or crushes) drool, and what to wear out to a Saturday Night party.
What bothers me the most is the emphasis on looking desirable to men. The mags seem to downplay the importance of intelligence and kindness, and instead aims to spread the message that "you aren't fufilled unless you have a guy". "You need to have the perfect pair of shoes, jeans, etc to look good". As a teenage girl with no boyfriend, I find this message a little hard to swallow. I am perfectly happy without a boyfriend, and like myself just fine. And I don't even own a pair of designer denim ;)
So this is the question- how do you feel about these mags? Do you read them, or do you allow your daughters to read them? Please remember that this is just my opinion on this topic :)
