Jezebel: mixed messages

Harry Screws Up Obama's Health Care Message

Megan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EDT

Less than twenty-four hours after Barack Obama held a press conference to talk about the importance of passing health care reform, Senate Majority Harry Reid announced the Senate won't consider any bill before it departs for August recess. [MSNBC]

"Naughty, But Not That Naughty."

Dodai — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:20:00 EDT

It's long, slim, brown and beige and you put it in your mouth. The advertising slogan is "Pleasure Yourself." It's called a "Fling." The word "finger"is used. It's a candy bar. For women. [NPR]

Fat Toys With Good Intentions

Dodai — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:45:00 EST

The problem with using a chubby Barbie in an ad to encourage kids to be more active is that Barbie's original physique isn't typical for a child either. Ditto Superman. [AdFreak]

'Cosmopolitan' Magazine Says Single Women 'Can' Have It Both Ways

Anna — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:20:00 EDT

Those pesky women's magazines: exhorting us to love our bodies one minute, then instructing us on how to lose 10 pounds another. (Then there's the hypocrisy of women's magazine editors urging readers not to smoke while at the same time accepting advertisements from R.J. Reynolds & Philip Morris). Anyway, today in ladymag mixed messages, from the September issue of Cosmopolitan, how to simultaneously craft a man-eating persona while staying true to yourself!

Man Manual: What Will Really Impress Him, page 80

Sure you're sexy, smart, and fun..but so are a lot of other chicks. To really stand out from the pack, it helps to have that something extra — qualities that make a guy go 'This girl is freakin' awesome!' You'll be that much hotter to him if...

Love And Lust: When You Want To Meet A Guy, page 166.

Forget trying to become the kind of woman guys might like—really, who knows?! Become the kind of woman 'you' like and we promise, guys will take notice. 'A smart woman will work on making herself happy before concentrating on men,' says Dennison. It's more fun, and you exude an "interestingness" that's magnetic to dudes.

Cosmopolitan
Earlier: Be Yourself (But Be Yourself More With A Boob Job!)

Be Yourself (But Be Yourself More With A Boob Job!)

Anna — Thu, 31 May 2007 09:32:39 EDT

Love your body! Lose ten pounds by summer! Embrace your curls! How to get the perfect blowout! Mixed messages in women's mags are as chronic as our UTIs, but rarely do they appear on the exact same page. Until now! In the latest installment of Allure's "Mood News" roundup, readers are treated to some very curious emotional enlightenment. Such as: Did you know that ever since the 1970s, people's need "for social approval" has stayed fairly low? Because as divorce and crime rates go up, conformity to social norms dip and it becomes "more important to just be yourself"? But then... this! "Getting breast surgery tends to improve women's mental health, two studies suggest." (Sigh. Sometimes women's magazine editors make it so damn easy.) Anyway, after the jump, see how the two stories literally stack up.

Allure