October Essence
 

From a magazine I grew up with but hardly read now, the cover caught my eye so I decided to buy it "Why he won't marry you."

I read the article called "catch him if you can" :rolleyes: and was offended by this statement in the middle of the page:

"A new generation of successful postintegration women now believe that remaining single may be their pitiful fate."

Now what is so pitiful about remaining single...?????????????

I liked some parts of the article and feel that it was well written and I appreciated 2 of the brothers comments BUT

it lacked the flip side because I am single and comfortable about it, not feeling sad or pitiful.

and their are a lot of single men that I have met who have not met someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with. Believe me, they are not scarce!!

Changing times.
 

I have not read the article yet, but from what you have posted I would agree with you. I think now, more than ever, women have a lot more life choices. We don't have to be married to have a credit card, bank account and money like it was before the Feminist Revolution. I think that what is happening is that a shift is occuring in what people perceive as traditional roles for men and women. I think that since women have become very successful in the job market, then we are not as dependent on men as before. That is not to say that we don't want to get married, but our success in life is no longer solely (?sp) dependent on a man.

Also, I'd much rather be single and happy than married and miserable. Now, don't get me wrong, I do want to marry, but I don't want to rush into it with the wrong man just to say that I am married and end up on 'Divorce Court'.

btw, I kinda stopped reading Essence too. I still keep my subscription though.

That title rubbed me the wrong way, too.
 

I am not single, but I really did not like the "man-hungry" insinuations of the article title.

I have seen happy single people and miserable married people and vice versa. I am seriously considering not renewing my subscription when the time comes this winter. Time-Warner is trying to turn it into black cosmo when it was so much more.

Oh well...

sorors,
i think that women are indirectly(or maybe even directly!) socialized to think that something is wrong with them in some way if they do not have a man and if they opt to prolong their singlehood. but this idea carries over into other everyday scenarios: if you go out to eat by yourself as a woman or if you go to the movies by yourself as a woman, for examples, people will more than likely raise an eyebrow. why? because we are socialized to think that women cannot or should not go it alone in any thing... i just resent the implication that we are all in the pursuit of a man... as if that is the highest aspiration in life.
but there are A LOT of wonderful, intelligent, attractive sisters who really are genuinely having a rough time finding a brother to settle down with... but i wouldn't call that situation "pitiful"

Bumping this
 

For you Glamour Poodle, and other Essence Readers, particularly my Sorors in the DC area. :) :)

Re: October Essence
 

And this is the main reason I stopped reading women's magazines. Granted, I'm married now, but even so, I still hate how in this day and age people still try to put the idea in women's heads that they're somehow incomplete or defective if they don't have a man in their lives. :mad:

In terms of offering quality, well thought out articles addressing relationships, Essence has been on the downward slope and this was way before the complete Time Warner buy-out.

I wonder if some of it could be attributed to it's leadership and how many women have been at the helm ever since Susan Taylor stepped down as editor-in-chief (one woman served for less than a year!)?

It is disheartening to see articles month after month dedicated to how women can catch and keep a man or conveying an underlying message that something is wrong if your are single.

I would love to see Essence focus on lasting healthy and loving relationships. :(

How come we don't see articles dedicated to sistas in their 50s, 60s and 70s who are in/not in relationships (the wisdom of elders is extremely important)? Their needs should be addressed, too.

Well, there has been a revolving door where the editor in chief has been concerned (I know for a minute there, it was like, dang, ANOTHER editor in chief) and it has definitely had an effect on the publication. Essence could benefit from the insight of older women.

Who is on the cover??

Sometimes I feel like Essence recycles articles.

Re: Bumping this
 

Thanks Soror BlueReign!;)

The current cover is with Beyonce.

To the last point, I don't think we see enough of such articles because of the underlying capitalism. There's a thought out here that says that people in those age groups don't have disposable income and aren't attractive to advertisers. *le sigh*

Me too. But, I think many of the major women's magazines do. A couple of years ago I was throwing out some old Mademoiselles (?sp) that piled up and I noticed that for about everyother issue, it talked about the best mascara / lipstick / foundation, dating tips, the major health concern of the month and fashion tips.

I think so many of these magazines have a formula and just plug whatever is the latest trend in the formula. If rose colored lipstick, L'Oreal mascara and pelvic inflammatory disease is 'hot' this month, then for next month it will be purple lipstick, Cover Girl mascara and uterine cancer. That is why I stopped buying Mademoiselle, Vogue, Cosmopolitian and Harper's Bazaar. They just recycle stuff. Like I said before, I only keep my subscription to Essence 'out of duty'. I really don't read it much anymore.

Not to change the subject, but I really liked the original 'Honey'.

:( I miss Suede and where is Honey? I haven't seen it on the newstands lately. I pick up Essence every now and then.

Suede was put on hold. There was a post about it but I can't find it. Not sure what happened to Honey. I never read that one but I found this thread.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...honey+magazine

Didn't the company that published Honey fold?

Why is it so hard to keep these magazines?? Now Vibe has "Vixen" but it's so-so.

Vanguarde media which owned Heart & Soul, Savoy and Honey filed bankruptcy. Due to financial issues and not having the backing needed, all three magazines folded.

I REALLY miss Heart & Soul. It was the only health magazine (that I was aware of) devoted to Black women. :(

If you miss Heart & Soul, check out Oxygen magazine. It's a fitness magazine that's mostly focused on women who compete in fitness competitions, but lately I've seen a lot of sisters on the cover and featured in the magazine.

It's not the same thing as having "our own", but I really like it.

I was pissed with this month's issue as well. How many times do I need to see Beyonce? This is like her third Essence cover. Why not feature all of Destiny's Child since this is their last hoo-rah together as a trio? Or better yet do a feature on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. And I pray they stop featuring clothes that are too darn expensive for most sisters to buy.

Heart and Soul was good in the beginning but then they put the editor of MODE, the former plus size fashion magazine in charge and it became a whack version of Essence. Exercise and nutrition got relegated to the back of the magazine and that's when I stopped buying.

We really don't have any publications that attends to our needs in any substantive way. I hope that changes very soon.

PhDiva

Problems I have with this issue are:
1. The cover is out of focus. I expect much better from Essence.

2. Instead of consistently putting entertainers on the cover, why not our women of the community? Civic leaders, artists, professionals...the other people who BUY the mag. If the mag is about us, shouldn’t we be represented? I would love to see sisters like Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, Susan Fales, Dr. Mynora J. Bryant, Linda M. White, Barbara C. Moore, Dr. Louise A. Rice...I'm saying take it to the next level. We're not all entertainers.

It's so interesting that you mention this b/c a friend of mine and I were just talking about how they had Usher on the cover of their most recent anniversary issue. We were wondering why this magazine dedicated to black women couldn't find a better person to feature for such an important issue. I mean really, an issue like that should be a testimate to what you were created for. Also, the Editor-in-Chief (who interviewed him) raved about how wonderful he was and how proud she was to feature him in their anniversary issue. Now, not to knock Usher or anything, but I've always heard that he was a little cocky and not the most selfless guy around. Again, this isn't to bash him, but it's to say if Essence can misrepresent him this way (by painting him as a Saint), then what else are they misrepresenting to us?

Here are somethings that I do like about Essence:
- The financial advice column (I forget the name of the woman who writes it each month)
- The career/business planning column (I also forget who writes it, but it deals w/how to handle various business situations)
- The sex ed column by D. Hilda Hutchinson (We don't want to be vulgar or anything, but some of what she says is more woman's health related)
- The 5-8 exercise poses
- Informative features like those on the black women killed in Iraq, or black women who have been missing, or the black women who own their own businesses, or black women who have been able to retire young, or even the woman whose son has schitzophrenia.

Here is what I don't like:
- The entire front half of the issue is dedicated to beauty. Not only is this too much, but it isn't well organized. Sometimes I have no clue what their recommendation is.
- There is too much focus on entertainers. I honestly don't care about Beyonce or Mary J Blige (though I did like the piece on Jill Scott). I wish that they could keep these to a minimum and intergrate in other prominent women in black society (as mentioned above)
- Underdeveloped articles. There was recently an article about men (I'm not sure if it focused on what they want from a woman, or why they cheat, or what, but the format was a conversation w/about six black men from different backgrounds). It could have been done a little better. Each guy only answered about 2 - 3 questions, so no one character really got developed. There was no theme or message for you to take away. It was just a brief conversation that left me :confused:
- Random articles that don't tie to the theme of the issue. They always have about 4-5 articles that are 1 page long. Sometimes they tie into the issue, but sometimes they don't have anything to do w/anything. It's like they have hundreds of these random little articles that they throw in as fillers.
- The last 20 pages. I hate flipping to the back of a mag to finish an article (that's just me), and I don't understand the need for the random recepie here and there or tons of tiny advertisements. I'd rather that the articles be complete, and if they want to add recepies then they should make that a legitimate portion of the magazine with a theme and some backstory.

Sorry for the long post and/or any spelling errors.

Quoted! :p

I totally agree with you, NP. I dont think the people at Essence would have anything to lose if they decided to concentrate, even for only a few issues, on REAL women. They do not even need to be big names to be important. Ordinary people make EXTRAORDINARY contributions to our communities everyday.

:cool: You rock, NinjaPoodle!

Love the idealism
 

But I may have to be a realistic voice in the wilderness. I suspect (although I don't work for the company) that Essence/TW did market research and found that celebrities sell better than non-famous AfAm women. Hence, Beyonce, Mary J., etc.

Bottom line: they're in the business to sell magazines. It's not a nonprofit that doesn't accept advertising and the like. In an ideal world, there would be a wider range of mags to appeal to us. We're not there yet, alas.

Re: Love the idealism
 

And I agree but I'm saying instead of ALWAYS having an entertainer on the cover, switch it up. It's one of the main reasons I stopped my subscription. (The other was the buyout)

Thanks for the comp and I agree.

This is why I haven't had a subscription in like over a decade. Because I knew it was about $$$ and selling magazines. :mad:

There was a time back in the day when the cover was an educational experience. It was someone new or someone who was important in the black community or someone to be discovered!! I remember buying Essence (around mid to late 70's) when I was in my early teens because I looked forward to being ENLIGHTENED.

Mary J. Blige has been on the cover 3 or more times. How much about Mary do I or the rest of the buying public need to know?:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

They should have put me on the cover by now. DO MY STORY! I won't charge.:D :)

I'll take it a step further, BlueReign...
 

I remember in the late 80's reading my mama's Essence magazines just thinking, "Sisters are the BOMB!!!" There was some variety in who got covered. Yes, they had celebrities, but there were so many sisters who were movers and shakers in business and education and service... I know those magazines sold. I remember reading about Marva Collins AND Phyllis Hyman in the pages of Essence. Now, I just want to write a letter demanding a refund for my subscription money half of the time. Mariah Carey the most misunderstood BLACK woman in America??? HECK HECK HECK HECK HECK NAW!!!! (y'all can tell I've stopped cussin, huh?)

Frankly, I think they could have done better than Usher. I would NOT have bought that mag on the stands. Most of the sisters with the MOST disposable income (you know those people whose money the advertisers are gunning for - and let's face it, THEY drive newspapers and magazines) would not have either.

They would have most likely thought the same thing that I did when I saw Ms. Carey (and that WACK WACK WAAAACCCKKK underdeveloped story) Maybe Time Warner is doing it's marketing in crackhouses or something.

Like I have said before, I'll be having a subscription to Black Enterprise and that's it. I am counting the DAYS to the end of my Essence subscription.

This should be sent to the editors at Essence. Will we get a chance to view it in print?