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Of course women's magazines are destructive to individuals. Women start to believe some of the garbage printed about male sexual performance, etc and expect supermen. If that is what women really need then men over 20 are superfluous.
Dave, New Zealand

The women's magazines here in Canada - mostly Canadian publications, and some American, are mostly just as described by the Social Affairs Unit. They seem to rehash the same tired subjects over and over. I don't know who they're catering to, but I suppose when they keep publishing the same drivel all the time, that's an indication someone is purchasing them. I don't buy them ! That's what the web is for - entertainment.
Molly B Denum, Canada

Without my regular readings of women's magazines, I just wouldn't have any idea about what women REALLY want. In that sense, I feel they are deserving of their place on my coffee table.
Andy Price, England

Get a life, of course they are not. Penthouse is much more damaging than magazines like Woman's Weekly which provide positive reinforcement not sterotypes which the average woman cannot live up to.
Joanne, New Zealand

I can't see how women's magazines could be bad for you, but I must admit I find endless articles on sex and how to keep your man of little interest and wish a newer style could be adopted in a new women's magazine. Perhaps along the lines of some of the recent men's magazines.
Philippa Adam, Britain

I used to read women's mags when I was a teenager..to help figure things out. I don't think 'real' women read them because they are boring, repetitive, and if you read them for more than a year nothing new turns up. As far as the sex thing goes.....at least we don't spreadeagle men all over these mags and objectify them...we'd rather look at ourselves, or get on with real life!!!
Susan Collins, UK

My impression of women's magazines is that many are just another example of how we are all made to feel inferior, and ultimately resentful of our own lives The constant bombardment of images displaying beautiful men and women and 'the lifestyles of the rich and famous' articles breed disatisfaction amongst many of the rest of us. This cannot be a healthy phenomenon and can lead only to the avid reading of more magazines to live this life vicariously, followed by the frenzied buying of lottery tickets!
Alex Molinier, England, London

The majority of women's magazines appear to me to be actively encouraging the old age premise that a woman's first and most important priority is to attract and ensnare a man. Articles that embrace wider social and political issues are rare.
Josephine Baker, United States

Women's magazines often have really useful health tips and advice not carried by mainstream media. Plus lots of time management suggestions for working mothers. As for the sex - that's used to sell all mags, teens as well as mens. Mostly it's tongue in cheek and I doubt most women spend any real time on those sections. Celebrity gossip is always popular and people who say they aren't interested in it are usually pretending.
Chantal Benjamin, UK

Well, I think they play a main role in society in spreading thinking, especially in the women's world. Besides, Men do gain a lot of benefits from reading them, don't you think so ? So, I strongly believe that women's magazines are good, not just for me, but for all the community.
Yan Chee LAW, United Kingdom

My girlfriend finished with me after reading a copy of 'More'.
Ben Rae, England

I like to read women's magazines because then I can understand women better. Now I have a better relationship with my girlfriend and we talk more often about what she fancies to do in the bedroom. Hopefully more people will do this.
Mirko Minderhoud, The Netherlands

I don't tend to read them but my comment is: "What about the new men's magazines?" These seem to be of the same genre but aimed at men.
Helena Smith England

How can all women's magazines be lumped together like this? If you peruse the wide selection of magazines on offer you will find a range of editorial styles, reflecting the different age and social groups being targeted. I also abhor the insinuation that these are the only magazines that women read. I enjoy reading Marie Claire or New Woman for some escapism and a female perspective on a range of issues. When I want more 'serious' reading matter, the Economist , Business Week, or any number of other publications are available.
Clare Newsome, United Kingdom

The majority of womens magazines are not aimed at what women want, but at what the editors perceive women as wanting. Hence, a variety of useless information on where to buy your sprouts this Christmas. If there are going to be womens' magazines they should be far more interested in reality.
Charlotte Ford, United Kingdom

Have tabloid newspapers been subject to the same sort of research? They are read by millions of people every day and claim to be news orientated, something that the so-called 'dumb' magazines do not, and yet contain relatively more sex and trivia than women's magazines. It is interesting to note that this research was led by a man pronouncing on women's magazines; maybe he would like to do similar research on tabloid newspapers, although given the circumstances I think we could predict the results.
Zoe Cornell, England

Without being "bad", women's magazines perpetuate the idea that women have to be slim, attractive and sexy -- without being intelligent. I do not read these kinds of magazines - my time is too precious. I prefer to surf the Net.
L. Larocque, Québec

If we are going to attack women's magazines on this score what about 'Loaded', or 'FHM' with its 'position of the month'??
Steven Barclay, Scotland

Most magazines, especially Cosmopolitan, make you feel totally inadequate because you don't (like all other "normal and successful" women) balance a great job, two lovely children, a perfect husband, a lover, a great figure and other more intellectual interests.
Tania Michiels, Belgium

No, there're not bad for you as long as people don't take them too seriously. This goes for a large percentage of the British press too! As long as there's market for the kind of thing they sell, I don't think we have a right to complain. If women were unhappy with them, they would not buy them.
Paul Easter, England

Women's Mags aren't bad, they teach us a lot about ourself in all kinds of ways : physically, mentally and sexually. They also tell us how to please both ourselves and our partner in all manners. There are male magazines which do the same. So why be sexist by just complaining about Women's Mags and not the Men's ?
Bonnie Yuen, Hong Kong

If you've read one women's magazine, you've read them all. Articles such as "7 ways to have an orgasm", "Pink is the colour for 1998", and "What to do with ground beef" does not offer much. Or to qualify that statement, maybe you can get a minute amount of real information on mostly trivial subjects, but it isn't worth your time. Want something interesting and edifying -- read a scientific magazine geared to mass readership.
Sharon Saunders, Israel

I find these kind of "social" commentators rather pathetic - who is paying for a study like this? Living here in Geneva, I am restricted to what English language publications I can purchase and indeed, I am guilty of buying what I call my "comics" but surely, a magazine like Marie-Clare which at least discusses taboo subjects and features articles of an interesting/intelligent nature could hardly describe its readers as "sex-obsessed" and the like. I wonder if this survey done on men's magazines would reach the same conclusion? How about including "Loaded" or the like! Really, why don't these people just get a life!
Nicola Lawson, Switzerland

The articles in women's magazines are hardly bad for the reader but it is extremely frustrating when the writers give such serious advice on comparatively trivial subjects. I wish they would take a more tongue-in-cheek approach, the readers would appreciate the respect given for their intelligence.
Michelle Frances, USA

The emphasis is now to cheapen themselves to make themselves more accessible to men - fine, they are falling for the old male game. The clothes they are encouraged to wear from a young age. All for male gratification. Most magazines should be called THICK BIRD.
Mr Ying-Hui , England

Women's magazines vary a great deal. Vanity Fair is an exception to most of the negative generalisations. The articles are intelligent; only the adverts are dumb.
Sam Dicks, USA

Women's magazines do have a negative impact on us. Sure they have the occasional article of interest, but over all, you rarely see them promote older women ~ what does Kate Moss have that Isabella Rossellini doesn't ? - Youth, sad but true, women are terrified of ageing and the great "hope" industries (cosmetics, fashion, magazines) know this. I'm 30 and don't buy them anymore because I get bored - depth, character and intelligence define women but the magazines remind us to escape and dream of beautiful clothes where one may find oneself. I love clothes, but I respect myself more.
Brigitte Lawson Chan, Canada

If some-one reads Shakespeare for example, someone is transported to the heights, read a womens magazine and notice the difference If you've been reading the wrong kind of literature for too long, then you can't even appreciate the quality of good writing, which free the human spirit Womans magazine, demean the human spirit, is it any wonder woman hood In general (and manhood) has fallen to its great depths.
Mike, Australia

As a parent, I certainly want my daughter to have a wider range of interests than the women who populate women's magazines. As a teacher, I find that young women are damaged by the stereotypes portrayed in these magazines. They are left feeling inferior and unable to measure up to the standards women's magazines present. They are not thin enough, sexy enough, confident enough, and they certainly don't have the right "man" yet.
Beric Deane, USA

I rather like Cosmo but I surpose that there's always the danger that someone, somewhere will end up actually believing that they reflect reality. In general the score would be: entertainment value 9, reality content, nil.
Therion Ware, Malaysia

To disregard a large sector of the magazine market as being 'vacuous' seems a little naive Many of them compare favourably to other publications, most notably the British tabloids. Are they any more 'sex-obsessed' than these? A number of them have also gained considerable honours for their coverage of major news events. 'Trivial, lazy, intellectually incurious'. It seems to describe many popular British publications, not least women's magazines. And since they have no political motivation I think we should take a long hard look at exactly what poses the greater danger.
Jonathon Moore, London

I enjoy reading women's magazines.. but I'm a bloke. Certain of them seem intelligent and if a publication proclaims that it's about careers, sex and clothes, how can you complain when it writes about them???
Matt Jones, Wales

I never read them because they're full of adverts. But having said that I would read someone else's just because they're good for a laugh. Of course the magazine's aren't bad for you, but you have to be stupid to believe what they say.
Bella Parker, Birmingham England.

When I was 13 I read "Seventeen", when I was 17, I read "Glamour & Mademoiselle I came to my senses before I ever started reading "Cosmopolitan". Women's magazines do absolutely nothing to help women, young or old, prepare for and work through life's challenges. They are vacuous, insipid, and yes, "DUMB" in all caps. They perpetuate the idea that women live for and are made for sex alone, and physical beauty (by which they mean size two and flawless skin). Is the only measure of a woman's worth? If cigarettes are a waste of money and destroy the lungs, women's magazines are the equivalent for the brain.
Anne Boardman, USA

The true meaning of such magazines is lost today. All that fills modern women's magazines is often not pertaining to the topic and irrelevant. People may still use it, for the sake of passing time, without any intention to draw or learn any serious lessons from the book!!
Sulove Bothra, India

These magazines aren't necessarily 'good' for you because they proliferate images of make-up women who are self-involved, vain, unusually beautiful, etc. These are the things that women with little sense of self aspire to because they see these women as the ones who get what they want financially and sexually. On the other hand if your sense of self is so poorly developed that you can't see how superficial it all is then it is easy to blame trashy shallow magazines but the real detriment is living in a society that responds to fads, trends and a pretty face not the magazine itself.
Heather Richmond, USA

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