"I want to laugh, I want to cry" suddenly seems appropriate.
This makes me so sad. I still have most of the issues of Girls' Life that I either bought or got in the mail during its early years (it debuted in... 1994 or so, and I started reading it a year later). It was not like that back then.
For one thing, their cover models used to be just regular girls--just like American Girl does. They had great, age-appropriate stories on how to deal with crushes and be assertive and how to deal with the usual things that late elementary school aged/middle school aged girls deal with. I even remember them doing a story on different girls who had "perfect" body types or features--one was skinny, one was able to fill a bra, and one was petite, and they talked about the good and bad that came with that, and since I was in the same shoes as the girl who was busty, I remember being so impressed with the fact that a magazine was actually saying, "Look! This is what a normal girl who has a body like this goes through!"
Plus, they had a great book/movie/music section, and it wasn't just all about new movie releases. A lot of the books I read between fifth and seventh grade were suggestions from Girls' Life, come to think of it. You know how people talk about how some women regard Cosmo as their lifestyle Bible? Girls' Life was kind of like that for me, only in a positive way. It wasn't all about trying to be one of the cool girls. They firmly advocated being yourself.
I've always wanted to see a girls'/womens' magazine that wasn't strictly focused on the LOOK YOUR BEST FOR TEH BOYS! part. Don't get me wrong, I love looking at clothes and reading tips on how to actually engage in acceptable behavior with whoever you may be interested in on a potentially romantic platform. I'm not even adverse to exercise tips. What I do get tired of is the barrage of "this is how you should look and dammit, we are going to make our content be ONLY about this" messages in lady mags. I've started skimming GQ a bit lately (mostly because... well, it has pictures of good-looking guys in suits. STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, OKAY?!), and they have stuff that's interesting and the occasional odd clothes/fashion/relationship thing. Why can't teen magazines and Glamour do that? Not every woman is a fashionista. Not every woman is interested in what this summer's ideal eye shadow shade is. And, by God, you do not need to give twelve year olds exercise tips and ideas for a "perfect bikini body". It's bad enough for her that she has to deal with puberty and middle school and all the drama that comes with that time of her life, but to have a media outlet that is supposed to be sensitive to her doing this? It's just wrong.
Even though I'm working towards a broadcasting degree, I've always wanted to possibly start a magazine with things that I'm interested in; things that my friends like and aren't seen as being mainstream "girlie" or whatever. I thought about starting a LJ community using that idea a while ago, but I abandoned it because I don't have enough time. But I'd still like to try it. I'm in a "change the world" mood right now, even if it means writing about how it's okay to like fluffy girlie-girl things and you can still be a capable, smart, funny, and well-rounded person who just so happens to have breasts.
For one thing, their cover models used to be just regular girls--just like American Girl does. They had great, age-appropriate stories on how to deal with crushes and be assertive and how to deal with the usual things that late elementary school aged/middle school aged girls deal with. I even remember them doing a story on different girls who had "perfect" body types or features--one was skinny, one was able to fill a bra, and one was petite, and they talked about the good and bad that came with that, and since I was in the same shoes as the girl who was busty, I remember being so impressed with the fact that a magazine was actually saying, "Look! This is what a normal girl who has a body like this goes through!"
Plus, they had a great book/movie/music section, and it wasn't just all about new movie releases. A lot of the books I read between fifth and seventh grade were suggestions from Girls' Life, come to think of it. You know how people talk about how some women regard Cosmo as their lifestyle Bible? Girls' Life was kind of like that for me, only in a positive way. It wasn't all about trying to be one of the cool girls. They firmly advocated being yourself.
I've always wanted to see a girls'/womens' magazine that wasn't strictly focused on the LOOK YOUR BEST FOR TEH BOYS! part. Don't get me wrong, I love looking at clothes and reading tips on how to actually engage in acceptable behavior with whoever you may be interested in on a potentially romantic platform. I'm not even adverse to exercise tips. What I do get tired of is the barrage of "this is how you should look and dammit, we are going to make our content be ONLY about this" messages in lady mags. I've started skimming GQ a bit lately (mostly because... well, it has pictures of good-looking guys in suits. STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, OKAY?!), and they have stuff that's interesting and the occasional odd clothes/fashion/relationship thing. Why can't teen magazines and Glamour do that? Not every woman is a fashionista. Not every woman is interested in what this summer's ideal eye shadow shade is. And, by God, you do not need to give twelve year olds exercise tips and ideas for a "perfect bikini body". It's bad enough for her that she has to deal with puberty and middle school and all the drama that comes with that time of her life, but to have a media outlet that is supposed to be sensitive to her doing this? It's just wrong.
Even though I'm working towards a broadcasting degree, I've always wanted to possibly start a magazine with things that I'm interested in; things that my friends like and aren't seen as being mainstream "girlie" or whatever. I thought about starting a LJ community using that idea a while ago, but I abandoned it because I don't have enough time. But I'd still like to try it. I'm in a "change the world" mood right now, even if it means writing about how it's okay to like fluffy girlie-girl things and you can still be a capable, smart, funny, and well-rounded person who just so happens to have breasts.