Women's Magazines

I have some good news for you: you are beautiful. Fuck women's magazines. You deserve intellectual, psychological, and inspirational food for thought, not poison in a pretty pink pill.

But I have some bad news, too. Unless you won the genetic lottery, there's no way you can look like the models in these magazines. There's no product, procedure or magic wand that can wave away bone structure, scars, genetics, skin type, or time. It's not possible for Steve Buscemi to become Megan Fox––or vice versa. You might eat the best food in the world, exercise five times a week, and fail to resemble the Venus de Milo. That's okay. It's not your fault. It's just how it happened.

And even the most beautiful women in the world aren't beautiful enough. Even Scarlett Johansson has more photoshop than a McDonald's hamburger ad--Scarlett Johannson! Or Penelope Cruz! No matter what gifts nature gave them, somehow they're just not beautiful enough. And if they're not beautiful enough, what chance do you (or I) have?

Deep in your unconscious––where these ads do the real, dirty work––an irrational voice keeps whispering, "It's your fault you're not worthy of love! You don't deserve it!" This fear––of aging, of abandonment, of loss of control––is very deep-seated in the human psyche. There's also the desire to excel, to do a good job, to be important. They're not so much implanted by advertisements as exploited and deepened by them.

But you are pretty enough, even if you don't know it yet. You are worthy of love, even if you don't change anything about yourself. You deserve to be loved as you are. And you deserve better reading material than women's magazines. Not all magazines are created equal. Learn about alternative women's magazines here.

Critiques of Women's Magazines

Click on a magazine cover to read the critique.

The women's magazine report is part of Minervana's women in the media feature.