I've had a subscription to Glamour magazine for about 8 years now, but will not be renewing this year. I used to really enjoy that magazine. Their photographs and tips on fashion and make-up were helpful, and I just loved their focus on female empowerment. While magazines like Cosmo were just about sex tips, Glamour always had great interviews with not only celebrities, but the not-so-famous women accomplishing amazing things. I loved their fiction stories selected from readers, and most importantly, their focus on military women. One of the best parts about Glamour is that it was about all women, no matter what political side that woman was on. It's true that it was sometimes too focused on "being green"--what I like to call a politically inspired way to say one is being frugal (that phrase is dishonest to me). But it never seemed to be politically biased. Glamour loves Condoleezza Rice just as much as Hilary Clinton.
I don't know if I've changed or if the magazine has changed, but there is so much of it I can't stand anymore. Not just because I sent in a picture of me holding an issue of Glamour in my wedding dress and they never posted it in the "Where's Your Glamour Been?" section. I forgave them for that. They only post pictures of readers in their bathing suits. Always. And not just because they named Selena Gomez their "Woman of the Year." Seriously. They really did that. But most of it is the fashion transition into androgyny. This is probably not Glamour's fault, but I can't stand seeing it in magazines anymore. When I go through them I feel like I'm having an identity crisis.
The male models in photographs look terribly metrosexual to the point where they are by no means attractive, but kind of scary. I honestly can't tell the difference between the women and men in some pictures. Women are wearing oxfords and menswear, and men are wearing tight pink things. Not to mention dresses. The last issue had a male fashion designer in a dress.
I love being a woman. I love everything about being a woman, including the fact that we have a look all our own. I love the differences between men and women and I have no desire to be anything like a man, yet I am independent and strong. Isn't that what female empowerment is all about? Women in control of their own destinies.
But I love men, too. When I see pictures of effeminate men I feel an intrusion into my own identity. I know who I am. I expect men around me to know who they are as well. I need a manly man, who is strong, has chest hair, and knows how to be my pillar of strength if I'm freaking out because of a spider in the shower.
When I see the models in Glamour, I feel like my womanhood is being subdued. It's like Glamour is communicating that women are so awesome, men should want to be like them, too. Maybe Glamour is trying to attract a gay audience? I have no idea. But I do know, if that's the case, they are no longer a magazine that's all about women. I also know that I do not feel empowered by a feminine man, on the contrary, I feel threatened. I thought Glamour was a magazine that implied "Go Women!" not, "Everyone's a woman!"
