Positive Magazine Reading For Teenage Girls

When I was a teenager, I had subscriptions to Seventeen Magazine, Teen, and YM. Maybe you did too. I read them all faithfully every month. I loved having them, and definitely allowed myself to be influenced by the content within them...which is really a shame. Because they focused almost exclusively on how to dress, do my hair and make-up, lose weight, and get boys to like me. Not only that, but almost 50% of the pages in these magazines (and others like them) were dedicated to ad content for the same products and diet supplements the articles were implying that I needed. At a time when nothing in my life felt certain, and I was looking for ways to self-identify and fit in, these magazines taught me to focus almost exclusively on the superficial. On what others thought of me, what I looked like, and also to ascribe an unhealthy amount of importance to what boys thought of me, how boys thought, how to get boys to notice me...you get the picture I'm sure.

From informal research (namely asking the women I know if they read these magazines, and if so, what they remember of them) I have found that most of the women I am acquainted with have the same memories. Of learning to flirt from these magazines. Of learning to hate their own bodies and to want the ultra slender ones depicted in the magazine pages instead. Of learning to fear accidentally handing someone a tampon instead of a pen during a math test. The uniform impression was that these types of magazines instilled only negative body image, and superficial values in young girls at a time when they are particularly vulnerable and in need of a strong sense of self.

There is also formal research out there to back up my informal polling of friends and work colleagues. According to a study published in Psychology of Women Quarterly titled "Pleasure Reading: Associations Between Young Women's Sexual Attitudes And Their Reading of Contemporary Women's Magazines" it is shown that these magazines have a real impact on young women's "developing sexual script." This is because they are easy to obtain, inexpensive, available for re-reading and study, and sexually explicit (In a study of Seventeen magazine they found that sexual references appeared in 30.2% of articles in '74, and 52.6% in '94.) They further found that these publications upheld ideologies that "perpetuate physical beauty as the standard to judge women's worth and teach women to subordinate their own interests to preserve their relationships with others." (49) These are not the messages teenage girls need to be getting, yet these are more or less the only messages being sent by traditional teen magazines.

These types of magazines are still just as vapid and empty of real content today as they were when I was a kid, (if not more so, with the rise of Us weekly and CosmoGirl) Sure, they can be fun. I have nothing against girls catching up with fashion trends now and then, or reading an article that teaches them how to cover a zit or pluck their eyebrows. But really, should this be the only kind of editorial content teenage girls are exposed to? I propose that instead of buying your daughter subscriptions to these rags, you get her a subscription to a magazine that encourages her to think for herself, build self confidence and self esteem, develop her talents and interests, and focus less on her appearance and how she is being judged by others. There are so many alternate choices out there, one to suit every taste and niche. Of course It may not do to ban Seventeen from your home: this might only make your daughter want it more (I know I would have immediately bought an issue of any magazine deemed off-limits.). What you can do is insist that she buy these kinds of magazines with her own money, if she asks for them, while offering to pay for a subscription to a magazine that is devoted to her more productive interests.

It can sometimes be difficult to find the full spectrum of alternative magazine choices in stores, but it is worth a look. Bookstores are a great place to browse, because they tend to carry more diverse options then a newsstand or pharmacy would. You can take your daughter to the store and let her pick out something that speaks to her (and that you approve of.) The best place to search, however, is really the Internet. Online there is virtually no limit to the number of magazines you can discover and purchase--and there are a lot of really wonderful magazines for teens out there that are not carried by most retailers.

I have done some of the legwork for you and below you will find a handful of great options, organized by topic and content, with links to their websites. Many of these sites allow you to request a free copy of their magazine to see if you like it before you commit to a subscription. My list is by no means exhaustive but I hope it will be helpful, and that it will demonstrate to you just how many great magazines for young women there are out there that don't consider trends in lipstick shades a topic of vital importance.

If faith is a strong element of your family's moral code, and you would like to see your daughter influenced by articles and topics that reinforce her religious views, there are magazines out there for you! Here are some links to magazines that are all faith based. Not only Christian, but Jewish and Muslim as well. These magazines are designed to appeal to young women and their layouts are very similar in style to the ones used by mainstream teen 'zines, but the content is more substantial and wholesome. I could not find any magazines specifically for teens that discuss Buddhism or Hinduism, but there are Buddhist and Hindu magazines for adults that may appeal to your teen (especially if she is older.)

If your family is more secular--but you still want your daughter to have something and someone better to look up to than girls who can wear a size zero, and young starlets who tend to forget their underwear--then there are plenty of publications out there whose goal is to provide honest talk, inspiration, and strong role models to teens and tweens.

It is also a good idea to look at magazines aimed at adults. Especially for older teen girls, these magazines are another wonderful source of possibilities. National Geographic, Scientific American, AdBusters, ReadyMade Magazine, and The Believer are just a few great options that spring to mind.

Ultimately, finding the right magazine for your daughter will be something only you and she can do together. You can use your knowledge of her interests, talents, morals, and hobbies to find a magazine that she can love, identify with, and be inspired by. And you can be reassured that in a media environment that bombards teens with messages about identity and values that are often superficial and negative, your daughter is being influenced by at least one strong positive source on a regular basis.