Betrayal of the Sisterhood

Day 9: So here in the UK there is a huge media piece going on about putting men's 'trashy' magazines in protective sleeves so that children, and women don't have to see them .. if they don't wish to. At first, I was like probably so many women out there cheering the proposal on. Why should women and children and young boys for that matter be subjected to viewing half naked women on the covers of magazines, could this be the answer to men treating women with more respect and less like pieces of meat?

 Yesterday I was listening to a radio show that was debating this topic and they made some quite balanced points and now, I can see both sides to the argument.
Lads mags said something along these lines; "why should be have to screen our magazine covers from public view when women's glossies covers are lower for children to view on the shelves, and they are generally covers that bitch about women's bodies - isn't this against the sisterhood?"

And I was like... "Actually... you are so right there." I mean take just a few samples fo these women's magazines that I found on a quick google search...

 

Women, myself included buy these magazines weekly and look at the message they are sending out! Body battles --- there is nothing freakin' wrong with those gorgeous ladies bodies... sure they don't look like mannequins but NEWSFLASH... they are not supposed to, we're not supposed to! They are gorgeous, curvy and a positive role model to women to be happy with who they are.

 

Bad Skin Days ~ How utterly ridiculous! Everyone has bad skin days... EVERYONE!!!! I have them... you have them... why should these celebrities be pulled to pieces because they don't look airbrushed and happen to look real? yet we buy the magazines to read all about it.

 

Worst & Best Beach bodies ~ OMG! All those bodies look perfectly natural and gorgeous as they are! How can you say that one woman's body is better than another's? Does that make her any less good at her job? Does have cellulite free legs make her a better mom? Does wearing a more flattering bikini make her worthy of earning more money? Hell NO!

But sadly, we buy these magazines to read about how "normal" these women are... yet the text simply rips them to shreds about how much weight they've gained, how they are eating foods to cause break-outs, and how after having a baby, a woman is still to lose her baby weight... do we really need to fund these media moguls to be told that? Isn't that something we already know about?

 

Ugh! Shame on us ladies for buying these magazines and having them lying around our house sending us unconscious messages about our own identity and body image, and also to our children. Shame on ME for doing it! I totally betrayed the Sisterhood - something that I am trying to work hard against with my "Sexy Smart & Powerful Entrepreneuress coaching".

 

 

Another quote the lads mags said was that "at least our magazines promote women's bodies, we celebrate them and always advertise a positive message about women's bodies. We praise them, and show just how sexy and healthy women's curvy bodies are."

 

I have to hold my hands up there and say... maybe you do, maybe you don't... maybe some of your covers are sleezy and could be tidied up a little... but I guess you do send a more positive message out there about women's bodies than we women do ourselves... we are simply too bitchy for our own good.

Is there room for change here? Can we jiggle things around and come to a balanced agreement? Can we meet each other half way? What's your thoughts about this?