Women's magazines: more than makeup and men

Need to find the best swimsuit for your body type? Want to find out the latest jewelry trend? Though women’s magazines are often the most sought source for such information, and bear the brunt of much criticism for such articles, three representatives from JANE, Seventeen, and Essence magazines visited the College to finally set the record straight for aspiring young journalists.

In a discussion hosted by the College’s magazine club, Ed@TCNJ, called “Women’s Magazines: Mixing Style and Substance for Every Woman,” JANE staff writer Annemarie Conte ’01, Seventeen assistant editor Elisa Benson, and Essence editorial assistant Zulaika Jumaralli discussed how their magazines strive to be about more than makeup and men.

“Teen magazines are always under a lot of scrutiny,” said Benson, a 2006 Colgate University graduate with an art degree. Benson, assistant editor of the “Love Life” section—who admits loving to write about boys—said that teen magazines are often pinned as being all about clothes and boys, but with the recent installment of a new editor, Seventeen has taken a turn for the better. One of the magazine’s new features is for celebrities to write in with advice for their 17-year-old selves, mixing the celebrity draw with reality and useful guidance.

Conte, who participated in Mixed Signals, rugby, and The Signal while at the College, said that JANE stays away from “diet articles” and “how-to-please-your-man articles.” Instead, JANE focuses on subjects like finding little-known dream jobs or finding fashion that won’t break your budget.

“Women are strong and don’t need to be told that they are bad or flawed,” Conte said.

Conte pointed out that women’s magazines are not the only ones using articles that promote body image concerns to propel their magazine sales—men’s magazines do the same.

“It’s a great way to sell magazines, but it’s definitely an industry-wide problem,” said Conte, who spearheaded the idea for a blog on JANE’s Web site where readers can send in pictures of themselves and express their body pride.

“I think it’s a reflection of our culture,” said Jumaralli, who graduated from Columbia University with degrees in English and African-American studies and is now working on her master’s in black women’s studies. She pointed out that the body ideal is not pushed onto the public solely by magazines, but by all media.

So why don’t women’s magazines include more articles about politics and other “substantial” issues?

“We try to put political articles in our magazine because readers say that’s what they want, but in the end, it’s dry,” Conte said. “People can get that sort of information elsewhere.”

Jumaralli said that Essence sometimes includes articles about politics, but from the perspective of African-Americans. All panelists were in agreement that the main concern of including news articles is their timeliness, considering that most women’s magazines are monthly.

Instead, women’s magazines have become an outlet for women to give and seek advice from other women, as well as learn more about women’s efforts and issues around the world.

“Women’s magazines are important,” Jumaralli said. “They’re such a rich forum.”