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All you ladies out there in internet land need to read this dead-on-very-astute article by the smart and delightful Molly Fischer.
I found it incredibly easy to relate to- I spent countless hours of my highschool years (also college, also, last summer) reading Cosmo, Glamour, Marie Claire, Jane on the beach. Originally we were somewhat serious, then skeptical, and now, I’ve developed it into a performance piece to read any and all of the articles out loud to an audience. It’s a popular party trick with girls and gays, I’ve never tried it with guys.
Molly traces this type of shift in opinions towards “Lady Magazines” to “Ladyblogs” and cleverly analyzes the negative and positive aspects of the changes in the young woman world.
Also, with regards to the word “lady”… I agree that it’s a funny choice for us to call ourselves that… but I don’t have a better solution. I’m a 27 year old with a full time job, rent, and cancer scars living alone in New York City. It would be demeaning to call me a “girl”. But I don’t feel like I’ve grown into (or comfortable) with being called a “woman”.