How many women’s magazines are there exactly?
Whenever my parents go on holiday, my mum makes sure she has reading material. This is usually in the form of a stack of women’s magazines, such as the one above. Today, I accompanied my dad, as he was securing a fresh supply for her.
In the Kiosk, I started wondering about several things.
- Are all women blonde and have blue eyes?
- Is it true, that all women care about is fashion, cooking, diets, and haircuts?
- How many women’s magazines are there exactly?
- Why do all these magazines have stereotypical female names? Lisa, Laura, Lea, Elle, Birgitte, … .
- Is there any men’s magazine called “Peter”, “John”, or “Steven”?
I tried to find some statistics. What I could find was incomplete. Counting the Wikipedia list tells me there are at least 50 German-speaking magazines. And I know, the list is not complete. Because some of the ones that my mum seems to read are not on the list. Next time, I pass by a Kiosk, I will count them all. Just for fun. (Update: I counted. My local kiosk has 45.)
That in itself is a testament to how wasteful capitalism is. All of these magazines have exactly the same content.
- Hairstyling tips
- Fashion recommendations
- Celebrity gossip
- Diet advice
- Cooking and Baking recipes
- Advice columns
There Are More of Them Than I Can Count
Yet, there are possibly hundreds of them in existence. I find something else even more puzzling. According to these mags, #meetoo never existed. Nor did any female emancipation take place.
The only female image, these magazines seem to offer is the one I still grew up with. All women love baking and cooking. All women are crazy about fashion. And all women love to gossip.
Now, I know I am a guy, so what do I know. But many of the women I met in my life do not fit into these boxes. Yet, there seem to be enough profit prospects in promoting these stereotypes.
Now, the male equivalents of these magazines are not better at all. Their male image is that we all love to hit the gym, and are fascinated by cars, sports, beer, and women. I can reveal, that I am not belonging to the intended target group.
It would be high time to put these magazines where they belong. In the dustbin of history. Unfortunately, capitalists can still make money from these stereotypes. So it’s not going to happen. If there are any female readers, among my followers, I am interested to hear your input.
