Friday 30 May 2014

Holiday blog/everyday sexism



I write to you from a sun-bed in Spain, it’s a particularly cloudy day so I’ve resorted to blogging as a pastime. Today I present to you everyday sexism, at its finest. 

I’ve always had a problem with magazines which aim themselves at women, but I specifically had a problem with one I picked up the other day. I was in the Supermarket and thought I’d have a browse over by the magazine section. Were the lads mags on full display to little children? Yep. Were there enough women objectifying themselves to sell more copies? Always. After doing the obligatory ritual of moving all the lads’ mags to the top shelf, quickly this time in hope of not being caught by the sales assistant, I saw the word “holiday” sprawled across a pink page with a woman standing in the middle, looking suitably miserable. I decided to pick it up anyway, and of course all it was telling me was how I can “lose 20lbs in a month- for that awesome holiday body!” (A more appropriate headline may have been “how to starve yourself for 3 weeks to become miserable and finally obtain that flat stomach all women want!”). After a quick skim through, I went back to the contents page to have a look at how the articles in the magazine were advertised at the start of the magazine. 

“get some  SEX tips for that holiday ROMANCE

“get that SUMMER BODY for your beach HOLIDAY

“8 BEAUTY tips for that effortless summer look”

I realise that magazines do this for money, as they advertise products that women don’t need by telling them they really need it, or they won’t be perfect for summer. There is obviously a market for this, the magazines are selling and the readership of these magazines tends to be fairly big. They’re still profiting from women’s low self esteem. I have to admit, I was immediately drawn to the “how to get that summer body” section, despite the twix, quavers and chicken triple sandwich pack already in my basket. I was intrigued by the apparent simpleness of it all, as if there is a clear, easy path in how to become the perfect woman. Starving was the answer, apparently. Maybe an occasional lentil if one is feeling particularly hollow. I then thought about the amount of girls I know who would jump on this idea and want to do this ludicrous diet. It’s not fair to sell these kind of diets as a way of getting a ‘nicer’ body. 

This industry is playing on young women’s insecurities and sacrificing their health to sell more copies.

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