Magazines for Black women

[DOVE1920]

What do you think about the magazines that are aimed @ Black women? Some I read are: Essence, Honey, Heart & Soul. Personally I'm not happy wih any of them(don't ask why I continue to buy them). Essence seems to be geared more towards Black women 25+, Honey is like a Female-Vibe/Source and Heart & Soul is just plain. Personally I would love to see a Black version of YM and Seventeen. I think Black teens need a magazine that addresses certain social/health/financial/educational issues.

[PrettyPetite]

I actually like Essence and Honey. I like Essence overall--that is a magazine that I can read from cover to cover most times, and I am 22.

Honey, to me, is a 'flip through' magazine, if you know what I mean. I will check a good article if I see one, but otherwise, I'm just scanning.

I don't read Heart and Soul. I can't even stand watching the show on BET.

I think I like Essence b/c I have already graduated, and I can relate more to the articles now, especially the fashion and travel articles, since I got a decent paycheck now. But seriously, most of the articles in Essence interest me.

The others--Sister to Sister, that other one that always has sometthing like, "How to make your man marry you" or something like that on the cover (ya'll know which one I am talking about, it's a real cheesy magazine)--I classify those in the 'I'm waiting in the grocery line and I am bored' category. You WON'T catch me buying those!

[blueberi1920]

I don't buy those magazines on a regular basis anymore. Of the 3 or 4 major publications I usually read Essence and sometimes Honey. I think the quality of the articles has declined in the past years, they just don't seem to catch my interest. The only time I actually go specifically to but the magazine is when they have a great cover
I remember there used to be a magazine ysb(young sisters and brothers) probably close to 8 or 9 years ago. It was the closest thing to a black YM.

[aprilzeta]

I am an avid reader of Essence. Overall, I really like this magazine b/c in each monthly issue there are articles of interest to me. I do feel that the fashion layout of clothes are sometimes unrealistic(because most of the items are a bit too pricey) to sisters who are working class with families. I do read Honey from time to time. I feel that it is definitely aimed at young women under 25. Within the last few months I have grown dissatisfied with Heart and Soul. Since Yanick Rice Lamb, left the magazine, I really don't care for the layout of the magazine. Anyhoo, I will continue to buy Heart and Soul, to continue support for it, b/c it is really the only health magzine geared to women of color. I haven't read any of the others like, Today's Black Woman, Sister 2 Sister, etc. and I probably will not, but i feel like some of the topics for the articles on the covers of those magazines are just plain out silly.

[PrettyKitty]

I used to have a subscription to Ebony and Essence...now I dont have one to either and I usually only pick them up if someone tells me it's somethign worth reading in there...most of my reading is done in books and in the paper nowadayZ....

[Special1920]

To answer the question, of the ones you mentioned I might read Essense, but not often. After years I stopped the subscription, I just noticed recycled articles. It use to be a magazine called BELLE. It was for us Full-Figured sistas. It only came out quarterly. It had fantastic articles, but havn't seen it in a year. I miss it.

[zphibnj]

There used to be a magazine aimed toward AA teenage females. It was called Girl. I found it by accident about a year ago. I ordered subscriptions for 3 of my nieces. When they didn't appear, I followed up. I was told that the publisher had just bought Mode magazine and was trying to put all its efforts into that and had cancelled Girl. I was promised a refund months ago which I never got. FYI.... Mode went under too.

[DOVE1920]

Originally posted by zphibnj
There used to be a magazine aimed toward AA teenage females. It was called Girl. I found it by accident about a year ago. I ordered subscriptions for 3 of my nieces. When they didn't appear, I followed up. I was told that the publisher had just bought Mode magazine and was trying to put all its efforts into that and had cancelled Girl. I was promised a refund months ago which I never got. FYI.... Mode went under too.

Wow, I would have loved to see that. I remember YSB(Young Brothers and Sisters) I believe it was published by our beloved BET...I wonder why its no longer in print?

[zphibnj]

Yes! I do remember YSB. I had gotten my niece & nephew subscriptions for Christmas several years ago. As you can tell, I'm big on reading.

[Japera1920]

I enjoy Essence but I would like them to feature more real women that I can relate to. I use to read Mode (full figure woman mag). They had sensible fashions and articles that I relate to.

If you had the opportunity to publish our own mag, what will be your main focus and your target audience?

[DOVE1920]

Originally posted by Japera1920

If you had the opportunity to publish our own mag, what will be your main focus and your target audience?

My magazine would be socio-political geared towards Black women ages 19-25. There would be profiles of Black women who deal with social justice issues, etc.