In the Blog
Jane Magazine Dies: Women now forced to read articles on how to please their men.
It’s no secret that I am a feminist of the femme variety. I’ve already explained my interest in beauty products and high heeled shoes, and admittedly, my feminine obsessions translate to my newsstand purchases as well. I’m a magazine circulator by profession, so I buy and read a lot of magazines, many of which are thoughtful, intelligent and culturally relevent: Bitch, Ms., Utne, Venus, and of course, Shameless.
But every girl has her fair share of guilty pleasures, and mine was my beloved Jane Magazine. Every month I would relish in the relaxation that was page after page of witty full colour fun. While being informed of new sunscreens to buy and basking in the glory that was cute belts coordinating with cute skirts, I’d also get the occasional informative article on American politics, STD prevention and practical investment strategies for women. Last month, Jane even taught me that my boobs were perfectly normal.
Well my friends, Jane Mag is no more. The staff at Jane cleared out their desks today and the “subscribe!” link on the Jane Mag page is redirecting me to Glamour, because now I’m supposed to care only about bronzers and fad diets and not about my cervix, the health of my breasts, and taking a cross country road trip.
It’s a sad day folks. Even if you thought Jane was fluffy, trashy and vacuous, you have to admit it did offer a mainstream alternative to vapid articles about sex positions that seemed to only benefit “your man” (heterocentric anyone?) Jane was birthed out of the teen glory that was Sassy mag (before it got shut down by the Christian right for giving too much truth to teens,) and in my books any friend of Sassy is a friend of mine.
Now Jane had it’s fair share of content troubles, and was often criticized for not pushing the envelope far enough to differ itself from the media soup of shopping, sex and shoes that is other women’s glossies. Having said that, the demise of the magazine marks an important trend in the media landscape: mainstream corporate mags no longer need to cater to a woman’s mind. While there remains some thoughtful reads for women in an older age demographic, anyone under the age of 35 should make sure they don’t put their thinking cap on when they head to the newsstand.
Jane, you will be missed. Bathtub reading won’t be the same without you.
