Check it out:
magazine messages

My friend Kathy pointed out the other day that women’s magazines are all about the ways we aren’t good enough.

It must be so. Just look at the covers. Month after month, all the women’s supermarket glossies
recycle the same topics, over and over.

Editorial boards keep telling us we’re too heavy and out of shape, and if we don’t change our ways we’ll probably die young. Our hair makes us look old. We spend too much, and we are stressed out. Our children will be maladjusted if we don’t take the experts advice. Our homes obviously are drab or cluttered or both. And the meals we cook?

Boring.

I find it ironic that often the same issue that tells us how to save money also includes an article that sets the bait to get us to buy cosmetics to try to look younger or home accessories to freshen or cozy our homes, depending on the season.

And the thing is, I read these articles, mostly not even realizing the messages I’m taking in. These days I’m seeking a little balance. In what ways am I doing just fine?  What do I like about my life?

I like that I’ve lived quite a full life without most of the cosmetics they tell me I must use.  (Just ask me about saving money and cosmetics. Come see the little paper cup that holds the last bit of pressed powder I’ve chiseled out of the compact to use up with my brush. Don’t tell me what I need, for $42 a pop.)

I like it that I don’t have to make the fussy cupcakes the magazine covers show every few months.

I like it that I don’t really need 58 more tips for saving money at the supermarket. I’m already a fiercely frugal shopper.

I like it that I already know that paint is a cheap way to spruce up a room and that staying hydrated helps my skin.

I guess I’ve lived long enough to learn a little something, and as Martha the magazine diva says, that’s a good thing.

Carol Willis is a freelance writer and editor. She specializes in written communications for businesses and nonprofits and other editorial projects.