We politely discuss the social, political, cultural problems brought upon us by the patriarchy. This is all-inclusive
Girls' Life magazine vs. Boys' Life Magazine

This has been going around with some of my friends on facebook. Along with a rant. I'm not posting the rant. I agree with the rant, it's not that. But I want people to look at this with fresh eyes. People who aren't parents. And everyone that I've seen on facebook who's been posting and reposting it is a parent. And a parent of a daughter. So since I'm a parent of a daughter, I'll put my thoughts below.




It's what I call the smurf problem. I realized it when I was seven years old and I have been fighting it ever since. The boy smurfs are all these different things, differnt jobs, different moods, different everything. And then there is smurfette. And her whole job, her whole being is being female. And that is what is being sold to us ever since.
Smurfette even has a trope named after her:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smurfette_Principle
Hah, I didn't know that. Very apt.
For me it was always the roles though. The fact that for one gender their were hundreds of different roles available and for the other just that one.
To be fair, Boys' Life is a publication linked to The Boy Scouts of America. What is Girls' Life's affiliation? It isn't the Girl Scouts, is it?
This isn't like comparing Cat Fancy and Dog Fancy where the publisher is the same conglomerate.
The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts aren't really comparable either. The Girl Scouts don't currently publish a magazine. They used to. Girls' Life Magazine has its own publishing company says google.
1) Girls' Life magazine ALWAYS looks like this. This isn't an anomaly. There's always a teen girl on one side. There's always some sort of fashion tip, weight loss tip, beauty tip on the left... just look:
Boys' Life magazine isn't as easy to find covers of. I generally don't see them in the wild as they say. But the ones I googled show a far more active and diverse group.
(Ignore the one on the bottom right, that's just a LIFE cover.)
So girls, here's what you're supposed to be interested in. Fashion. Make up. Finding a date. Fashion. Crushing on boys. Fashion. Spring Fashion. Fashion. Losing weight. Being fit. Fashion. Oh, and maybe good grades. As long as you look good getting them.
Boys, here's what you're supposed to be interested in. Your future, kayaking, being active, hiking, sports, cars.
These magazines are fair to no one.
My one child gets Zoobooks because they love animals and want to get into something having to do with animals when they get older. None of them will get these magazines.
That could be a direct line from a teen girl magazine, no joke. That's how they talk to us.
Honestly, I didn't even know boys had magazines too; girl magazines are a problem in and of themselves and that carries into adulthood (ie women's magazines). They're reinforcements of strict binary stereotypes, they're incredibly white washed, there's zero inclusiveness of any other lifestyle (unless its trending!), they foster insecurity.
I have such a visceral fucking hatred for girl magazines. Just thinking about them gives me an aneurysm.
I actually pretty much took it from the cover. "How to have fun, make friends, and get all A's" which is under "Wake up pretty!"
Just... why? WHY?