Self Help Magazines

The latest issue of Cosmo Magazine is no different than any other month - It is filled with headlines that will help women to become more attractive to men. Out of the 9 article headers on the front cover, 6 are geared towards helping women reinvent themselves to create an image that would be just what a man wants. Whether it's how to be better in bed (not so she enjoys it more, but so he enjoys it more) or how to look better so you can find a man to try these techniques out on, none of the articles are aimed at helping a woman improve her sense of self worth or esteem. On the contrary, they do everything to diminish these qualities. The overwhelming message in these magazines is to play on women's insecurities about their bodies and identities in an attempt to sell not magazines, but adverstisement. You heard me. The publishers of Glamour, Cosmo and GQ aren't out to sell magazines, they are out to sell the advertisers. They make very little from the subscription price of selling a magazine, instead they make their money from the people who choose to advertise in their magazines. They have a chosen demographic for their product and guess what? You're it! That means that publishers have to do something drastic to make their target demographic take notice of their product in order to buy it. That means selling what women are most insecure about. Their bodies, their relatioships and their self esteem. They print articles that mislead women into believing that they are helping them to overcome their weaknesses, but instead they are seeking to reinforce that women are flawed if they fail to live up to society's ideal of what is considered sexy, beautiful and feminine.