Magazines

My definition of a lazy Saturday evening, which I haven’t gotten to enjoy in a while, is curling up in bed with a cup of coffee and a magazine.  While I enjoy the challenging nature of academic literature and scholarly magazines, opening up something as mind-numbing as Cosmopolitan, Glamour, or Vogue is relaxing.  I appreciate catchy words on covers, bright and enticing fonts, and the wardrobe choices for the cover star.  I love the feeling of smooth and shiny paper that easily flips and crinkles with every flip.  I love the way advertisements feature the latest trends in makeup, hair, and clothing and how they compliment articles written by the magazine.  Magazines really know how to relieve the labor of reading, by categorizing articles into section, so I can easily flip through its pages.

There is something nostalgic about reading magazines.  They were and still are in my room, in a magazine rack in my living room, and in the bathroom.  My mom always had a subscription of Highlights magazine for my sisters and me, and ordered Family Circle or Women’s Day for herself.  Although I could not understand the articles in her magazines, I was always mesmerized by colorful pictures that looked like those in Highlights.  I recognized how some magazines are dominated by images, rather than words, making them accessible to every reader.  I especially loved the advertisements that featured new perfumes by pulling up the tab.

                   

Through my teenage years, magazines like Teen Vogue and Seventeen reflected my interest in fashion and offered articles relevant to the “teenage life.”  I remember taking out the removable posters in Tiger Beat and putting them up on my walls, as my bedroom became a collage of my favorite musicians.  I also loved seeing my idols on the front covers, representing a strength and determination I admired.  Some key topics and headlines of these magazines that were relatable include how to deal with the stress of school, how to talk to your crush, why your best friends are your friends for life, and how to meet your favorite pop star.  While they seem silly today, I put faith in the messages of these magazines, which addressed issues that my school or friends didn’t.  Magazines like Seventeen are not afraid to confront taboo topics, like sex, which was definitely avoided at my high school.  It was relieving to know whatever “wonders” of puberty and adolescence I faced were being experienced by others.

                 

I continue to open up a magazine when I need a mental break or a break from technology.  I also appreciate the ways magazines recognize their major buyers, being women, and represent a feminist ideology.  Women’s Circle and Glamour always include an editor’s note on the empowerment of women and include a range of topics from beauty and fashion to health, cooking, fitness, work, and family.  While reading magazines is becoming as obsolete as reading newspapers, they provide an enjoyable tangible quality that electronic versions cannot.

I thank you, magazines, for your commitment to entertainment and news and realizing that reading is for anyone at any age.  I look forward to reading your next issues in December.

-Stephanie Montalti