Understanding Women by Reading Their Magazines
December 10, 2011, By Tom McNulty 2 comments
Next time you're browsing the magazine rack at the store, don't just page through your usual "Sports Illustrated," "Men's Health," "Esquire" and "Car & Driver." See how (and what) women are thinking by scanning magazines aimed at female audiences. You'll quickly learn that their minds are on more than recipes and shoes.
Despite many in-depth conversations with women, I'm still not certain how they think, reason or make decisions. Why do they love shoes so much? Adore movies like "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Sense and Sensibility"? And, during arguments, how do they use their photographic yet selective memories like elite attorneys on cross-examination—pulling out something you said or did years ago and leveraging it to fit the issue at hand.
Females are mysterious creatures—perplexing, unpredictable and definitely hard to read. These characteristics drive men nuts, but they're also major reasons we're so fascinated by them.
I thought women's magazines might give me at least a clue to what they think about.
The mainstream mags include "Good Housekeeping," "Better Homes & Gardens," "Family Circle," "Martha Stewart Living," "O(prah)," "Real Simple," "Ladies' Home Journal" and the like. Their cover stories advertise articles on cooking, sewing, decorating on a budget, organizing, losing weight, self-actualizing, fashion, beauty, avoiding depression and other benign topics with headlines like "Let's Have a Picnic!," "Marriage Counseling—Real or Fake?," "Flatten Your Belly Without Dieting," "5 Words You Should Never Say to Your Hairstylist," "Self-Awareness Workbook" and "Tummy-Tuck Checklist."
On the other end of the spectrum are magazines like "Cosmopolitan," "Women's Health," "Self" and "Glamour." It is this group where a guy can learn something. These mags seem to skew to a younger, single-ish, dating, career-girl demo and many of the cover headlines are very similar to those appearing in the men's mags I read, such as "15 Minute Body Fixes," "Flat Abs Fast," "Boost Your Brain Power," "10 Sex Secrets She Wishes You Knew" and so on.
But other cover headlines were surprising—often shocking. From "Have Great Sex—Red Hot Moves" to "We're Married, We're Bored, We Cheat" to "Get Hit on All the Time" to "Enjoy Makeup Sex Without the Fight."
Edgy, yes. Compared to "Cosmopolitan," however, they're almost G-rated. Now, I'm no prude. My mind is relatively open, as long as content has some sort of redeeming value or is intellectually compelling. I could find neither in that magazine.
The point is, tracking women's magazines is a valid way to find out what's important to them, from "chick lit" to sex, romance, relationships and yes...even recipes and shoes. Try it. She always seems to know what you're thinking...so why shouldn't you get an edge on her, too?
Comments (2):