Rant & Rave
Rant & Rave
THEY tell me to exercise and eat healthily, then tell me how to hide my flaws with the perfect bikini. They tell me not to have sex until I'm ready, then teach me how to use a condom. They tell me to be happy with myself, then their multiple-choice test (that puts all girls in three stereotypical categories) says I don't have a "sexy personality." Taken in, again, by
glossy allureMagazines aimed at teen girls represent the most contradictory use of paper you can find. If a person had told me all this, I'd have told him/her to shut up. Yet, some all-powerful force drives me to continue submerging myself in magazines' superficiality.
Do I really need to see two pages devoted to Leonardo DiCaprio photos and cheesy captions? And is it really necessary to know how to become a "violet femme" and overdose on purple eye shadow? I don't even wear make-up!
I could live without the inside scoops on the stars of the TV shows and movies I've never heard of (much less plan to watch). And after the 100th story about barfing/diarrhea/getting your period at an unexpected moment, the section where the readers send in their most embarrassing ordeals gets a little old.
So what's behind this force that attracts me to the glowing light that makes me feel so unattractive?
The magazines are all about image. They set up a perfect world where all problems are shallow ("I'm 16, and I'm an A-cup ... Is there any chance I could still grow?" YM, July 1999) and happiness in this Neverland is reliant on presenting yourself in aesthetically pleasing manners.
In this world, readers are treated as if they have the potential to be anything. It is assumed you're the most wonderful person on Earth, well, you could be, with a few adjustments. It's as if by following the cultlike advice, you too can become a happy, confident, beautiful person like the flawless models frolicking in designer clothes.
MUCH of this fantasy is centered around love. Getting the perfect guy is the equal to eternal happiness. Advice is thrown in, such as how to "dress to impress," then you're told that the guy should love you for who you are not what you look like. If not, he's a loser, and you're too good for him.
There's never a mention of girls who screw up relationships or are jerks. It's almost as if dating is a game, and all the boys are totally predictable pawns that will always fit a stereotype. There is a certain "type" of guy meant for you, and it's assumed these guys will like you.
There are always easy answers in magazines. I think that's part of their appeal. For example, they support the idealism that as long as you're "ready" for sex and you have a condom, go ahead. Sure there's an itsy bitsy chance of STDs and pregnancy, but according to this quiz you're ready.
I have never once heard the advice, "you should absolutely wait until you're married" in a magazine. On the topic of sex, they talk about protection and consequences, then claim they're open, honest, and straightforward. But to a teen-ager actually considering having sex, the parts about risk can be easily ignored.
Magazines create a powerfully convincing facade. They're easy to fall into. I would say more, but I just found out the "Ten Reasons Every Girl Needs A Guy Bud" (YM, July 1999) and I need to find a guy to be my victim -- I mean, friend. It shouldn't be hard, as long as I wear the right clothes and layer on this season's makeup I can't go wrong. My horoscope said so.
Megan Lau is a 9th grader at Punahou School. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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