Women's magazines of the past versus today's popular titles

When you open a women’s magazine, what catches your eye? Is it the picture of half-naked Britney Spears or the absurdly skinny models? Is it the overpriced clothing that hardly anyone looks good wearing or the articles on how to please your man sexually?

Women’s magazines are geared towards several things: how to dress, how to act, and how to be the best person society thinks you should be. The magazines showcase women like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian wearing skimpy clothes and dancing on tables, but is this what we want to teach the new generation of young women? What happened to being yourself and valuing who you are rather than how small your dress size is?

The first women’s magazines showed women how they should act, what they should be like, and how she should insist to be treated. Of course, this was in 1837. Godey’s Lady’s Book was one of the most influential magazines of the time. The magazine told women that they should be strong, influential individuals. Readers were taught to value education and celebrate individuality, while behind the scenes, the publication favored female writers over males. When it came to airbrushing and editing photos, it was 1837, after all. Without the technology, hand colored pictures of the newest fads and fashions were displayed.

Godey's was one of the first of its kind. It was about positive, strong morals and standing on your own. But magazines started to change with publications like Cosmo.

Mass Communication: Living in a Media World by Ralph E. Hanson says that Cosmopolitan today is geared at young, shy women who want to be that fun girl that people like; the one that dances around fearless and fierce and gets all the guys because she knows what to do. The magazine focuses on sex, fashion, celebrities, health and beauty, yet still probes deeper. They deal with controversial topics like sexual harassment and the publication is carried in 56 other countries. The concept of standing strong and being a unique individual was no longer selling. The message in today’s magazines, sex and fashion, was what women are buying into.

Lindenwood freshman Heather Barker said: “I love Cosmo, but at the same time all that’s really in there is how to please a man. I think that they make young women mature faster than they need to. The innocence is lost at such a young age now.”

That lost innocence may have something to do with magazines like Seventeen.

“I think that most of young women's magazines portray women as sex objects,” said Barker. “Like even in Seventeen, they have Halloween costumes to make girls look sexy, even though most of the readers of that magazine are in high school.”

Seventeen is one of today’s leading magazines for young women around age 13-19, but some girls start reading the magazine at an even earlier age. From the front cover, usually featuring a Hollywood starlet or heartthrob, to the ads, featuring half naked and airbrushed bodies, Seventeen screams: buy me, read me, and worship me! Young girls follow the beauty advice and health tips that are regular features, but they also see things like Barker mentioned.

From the costumes to the ads, today’s magazines feature a lot of risqué pictures. The ads may provoke thoughts like, ‘Oh, I want that!’ but the pictures of starlets sitting around in bikinis and cute little outfits make young girls say, ‘Oh, I want to look like her!’ What many don’t notice, is that no one can look that perfect without a little help: airbrushing. Good-bye, cellulite. Good-bye, uneven skin tone. Hello unattainable perfection.

“I remember reading that and thinking ‘I wish I was skinny like that...’” Wright State University freshman Catherine Arnold remembers. “It made me have a bad self image because I thought I wasn’t as good as the girls in it. And Heather is right; they sell ADULT costumes to high school age girls, who shouldn’t be worried about being ‘sexy’… All that really does is make young girls think they aren’t good enough as they are.”

Some magazines seem to be trying to balance the “be sexy” with “be yourself.” Seventeen Editor Jess Weiner heads the Body Peace Treaty, where young girls can sign online and vow to love themselves and be happy with who they are. Editors of the magazine and celebrities, like Pink, Amanda Bynes, and Carrie Underwood, have also signed the treaty to promote healthy habits and body peace.

While many women, just like Barker and Arnold, believe the magazines of today are very popular and very fun to read, they don’t carry the lessons and values that the very first woman’s publications did. Over the years, being yourself has become a lesser priority and being what society wants you to be is top of the list.

Hillary Johns, Keara Vickers and Kelsey Grau