[London, November 20. Image via Getty]

Hula hoop artist 'Marawa' performs during a photocall to promote the 'La Clique' Cabaret in London, on November 20, 2009. The show is a mixture of cabaret, burlesque, circus and variety and runs in London, from November 20 until January 17, 2010. AFP PHOTO/Leon Neal (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

As someone who spends a lot of time reading - and writing about - American ladymags I thought that, for a change of pace, I'd investigate a few foreign ones. So a few weeks ago, I bought four British magazines and four French ones to see how they stack up against their American counterparts.

I was particularly interested in how these foreign editions treat single readers: Does the strategy for love and romance veer from what American women are used to reading? Are there tips? Is being single considered a blessing or a curse? Do they want women to be more or less assertive? Let's take a look:

More! - Oct. 19th edition
Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie and a reality tv judge in the UK, is on the cover. Almost the entirety of her interview is devoted to her "gorgeous boyfriend" Kris, a rugby player six years her junior. "He accepts me in my tracksuits and my UGG boots and no make-up and my hair in a [headband]," she gushes. "He's The One." It's no wonder she's obsessed with her boyfriend-her friends and family sound psychotic. "When he met all of my family and friends, they all came back to me going, ‘If you mess this up, we won't be your friends any more because, seriously, we thought you'd be single forever.'"

Later in the issue, the magazine ask forty men to answer the rather cheerful question "How Can We Tell if You're About to Dump Us?" And there's a feature called "I've Never Had a Boyfriend," in which four attractive twenty-something women confess that they've never had a serious relationship and a nebulous-sounding "relationship expert" tries to understand how exactly that could happen. Sample advice: "Between now and Christmas I want you to get to know men with a good relationship track record so you'll know what to look for in future relationships."

However! I am willing to take back anything I might be inclined to say about the obsession with monogamy that this magazine appears to have because there, on page 100, was the Position of the Week. This week's is called The Cat and it's reenacted step-by-step by an interracial Barbie couple. Plus!! There's a bonus tip that involves a vibrator "to maximize your pleasure." And if that was not enough, there are five readers profiled who were paid to try it. Yes, that's right, our British sistren can get paid £30 to try out sex tips in magazines. It is times like this that I question whether the American Revolution was a good idea.


Marie Claire (UK Edition) - -November 2009
"In the midst of this doom and gloom, I feel inclined to spoil myself more." Ah, another article on the minor luxuries women won't give up during the recession! Except this is a pretty serious, reported article called "The Pleasure Boom" that claims that the recession has resulted in a kind of golden age for sex toys in Britain.

Moving on from gold-plated vibrators, they address the age-old "Should I Tell Him How Many Men I've Slept With?" question by encouraging evasiveness. I loved this: "When men want to play the numbers game, I stick to my ‘more than one, less than a hundred' line, and remind them that all of my experiences have made me into the sexually confident woman that I am today." I usually cringe at any mention of the O-word-oxytocin-but I appreciate that they warn women that the "cuddle hormone" can "lead to inappropriate bonding with that random one-night stand."

General bonus: this magazine came wrapped with a giant bar of chocolate to celebrate Chocolate Week 2009.

Glamour (UK Edition) - November 2009
I was not particularly moved by any suggestions in "Happy Couple Tips to Try Tonight, Tomorrow and Forever." Is there anything new in "Brag publicly about him," "Spoil him," or "Think back on all the reasons you fell for him"? Plus I'm not sure that using a photo from Gossip Girl of Dan and Serena making out is the best way to illustrate eternal love.

There is a fairly depressing piece on what men talk about when we're not around. From "Overheard at a football match": "She's got the premenstrual with the cramping and bloating and terrorizing, then the menstrual, then the post-menstrual. No shit, she's fit for habitation for only, like, ten days a month." Not only in there no analysis of this comment but there is no indication that this kind of casual misogyny-fed to us in a women's magazine, no less!-is completely unacceptable. What's next? "Top Ten ‘Take My Wife, Please' Jokes"?


Cosmopolitan (UK Edition) - November 2009
This month's Cosmo quiz is dedicated to all the single ladies, namely Agyness Deyn, Alexandra Burke (the winner of the American Idolesque X Factor), Kate Hudson, and Lily Allen. "They're all gorgeous, sexy and single. What can your celeb relationship twin tell you about your love life?" I took the quiz, answering questions like, "If a friend invites you out on the same night you've got a date, you'd cancel to go out with a friend." My single celeb soulmate is Kate Hudson and our shared problem is that we are prone to judging too quickly. "Like Kate, you're not ready to settle for one guy. Perhaps that's because in the back of your mind you're always thinking someone else might come along."

There's an interesting article on women who have had to move back in with their parents-whether for financial reasons or because of a bad breakup-and who think it's the best thing they ever did.

In an advice column, an 18-year-old asks whether she should go out with her coworker who is ten years her senior. The casual response seems like something that would probably never see the light of day in American magazines: "In a couple years' time, 10 years between you and a boyfriend will make much less difference to anyone."


Cosmopolitan (French edition) - November 2009
My favorite part of French Cosmo is the special psychic supplement that comes with the November issue, which includes a punch-out tarot deck and a quiz called "What Kind of Love Witch Are You?" I took it, and apparently I'm the kind that loves "eternal adolescents who don't take anything seriously, especially not love." My inner goth could only be happier if it came with love spells.

There's a long reported story that feels a bit behind the times on online dating and another depressing story about men. This time it's a list of the ways (by text, via the silent treatment) in which men leave us. There's another story told from the point of view of men on what their girlfriends do better than anyone else ("walk wearing stilettos," "read my thoughts").

The last page is an ode to wearing garter belts by a female writer who claims they're "comfortable, practical, and they makes me feel more sure of myself." Very French.


20 Ans - October 2009
20 Ans (it means 20 Years Old) is something that doesn't really exist in America: the sexually frank magazine for teenagers. But it's less like Sassy than a hybrid of Bonnie Fuller-era YM and Maxim.

There's an article on what men like to do in the morning (Sleep in! Eat a ton of cereal! Have sex! I have never heard of a woman enjoying any of those things!) that is pretty vapid, but I did enjoy the the Ten Good Reasons to Sleep with Someone article: "there's nothing on tv," "you're young, beautiful, and sexy," "you have nothing better to do," "you want to." They also include a few reasons not to: "you haven't shaved," "you have a sex toy," "it's too hot out," and "you don't want to."

Later, there are several stories prepping girls for adult relationships. And by "adult relationships," we mean "male disappointment." There's an article on why your man doesn't do what you tell him (the answers: "because he doesn't want to" or because you're a nag), another of tricks to get your guy to get off the phone/internet/tv (parading around in lingerie is encouraged), and a quiz on whether he's happy with you.


Glamour (French edition) - November 2009
Can I be honest? I have never encountered a women's magazine with so little love advice to dish out to their readers. There's a story on how to catch a man's eye, and another about fantasies women have about yoga teachers, bakers, and surfers but the vast majority is taken up with articles on that don't make finding and keeping a man your life's central conceit. Which, of course, doesn't mean they're breaking much new ground; you'll find stories on how to build your own bookshelves, the return of the smoky eye, and women who love their thigh-high boots.

Bonus merch: This month's issue comes with a tote bag that says BAG GLAMOUR BAG on one side and a line drawing of last month's cover on the other.

Biba - November 2009
There's a quiz for couples to take on whether you're sexually compatible and a food story on recipes for seduction (raspberry tart, berry muffins). There's a roundup of women's stories about guys who tried to pick you up and failed: "He began to guide me through poses, murmuring that I had a great body… What he didn't know was that I was the sub for yoga class that day." There's not any new ground here, but I did appreciate a reported piece on whether girls and boys are raised differently, and whether sexism comes from imposed gender rules on kids.

These British and French women's magazines have the occasional bit of advice that feels a bit more risqué than anything published in the US, but overall, the familiar far exceeds the exotic. I do think that our lady mags could take a cue from their foreign counterparts and start illustrating sex tips with Barbies and giving away cute totes. If anything can help sagging newsstand sales, I'm sure it's free chocolate.

• A recent poll found that Russians are the most snap-happy - and possibly the most vain - people in Europe. Russians are also more likely to post pictures of themselves online than any other group studied. • Several schools in the UK have halted HPV vaccination following the death of a young girl. Although officials say the vaccine is safe, the batch that was administered to Natalie Morton is under investigation. • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has temporarily shelved the approval of Cervarix, another HPV vaccine marketed as an alternative to Gardasil. Officials state that this is unrelated to the recent death in Britain, but the vaccine is under review. • And in other cervical cancer news, a HPV vaccine will be available in Japan by year's end, according to a government panel. • The Detroit City Council are considering an amendment that would ban lap dances and require club workers to get certified for their positions. • Lawmakers across the pond have announced that starting today, police will have the power to ban anyone arrested for domestic violence from their home for up to 14 days. They hope that the new domestic violence protection orders - known as "go orders" - will give victims some much-needed "breathing space." • New research indicates that elderly men are more likely than elderly women to attempt suicide. Researchers also report that women who attempt suicide multiple times are likely to "complete suicide." • Maoist activists gathered on Thursday to protest the "Miss Nepal" pageant. "The contest is a forum where women are used by companies to popularize and sell their products," said protest leader Manu Humagain. "It is a blow to the dignity of the women. We oppose it." •

"I have never yet seen, and you probably never will see, a fashion or beauty picture that hasn't been retouched. Unfortunately, we are living in a retouched world."

— photographer Derek Hudson, who says he would "make a stink" if an editor Photoshopped his pictures.

"When teenagers and women look at these pictures in magazines, they end up feeling unhappy with themselves… If people knew they had to describe what they had altered, it might make them less likely to do it. These photos can lead people to believe in realities that very often, do not exist."

— Jo Swinson, a British member of Parliament from the Liberal Democratic Party, which wants to ban altered photos entirely in ads aimed at children under 16.

"I spent the first 10 years of my career making girls look thinner. I've spent the last 10 making them look larger."

— Robin Derrick, creative director of British Vogue.





Lifting the Veil of Mere Pixel Perfection [NY Times]

Earlier: France Proposes "Health Warning" Label On Photoshopped Images
British Lawmakers Take Stand Against Photoshop
Here's Our Winner! 'Redbook' Shatters Our 'Faith' In Well, Not Publishing, But Maybe God
The Annotated Guide To Making Faith Hill 'Hot'
Faith Hill's 'Redbook' Photoshop Chop: Why We're Pissed

According to the Telegraph, Lorraine Jones, of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, says female shopworkers, airline cabin crew and other employees must wear high heels as part of a dress code — but male employees do not. Jones, a practicing podiatrist says: ''This is not a trivial problem. Two million working days are lost every year through lower limb and foot-related problems. We are not trying to ban high heels - they are good for glamming up but they are not good for the workplace. Women should have a choice of wearing healthier, more comfortable shoes.''

Sounds great, right? Not according to Loraine Monk of the University and College Union, who opposed the move, arguing: "This well-meant motion will see the union movement portrayed in the media as the killjoy fashion police… Let's stop telling women what to do."

The Guardian reports that a Tory Member of Parliament, Nadine Dorries, wrote on her blog:

"I'm 5ft 3in and need every inch of my Louboutin heels to look my male colleagues in the eye. If high heels were banned in Westminster, no one would be able to find me."

Mary Turner from the British Trade Union has fired back: "If you need to wear high heels to stand up to men than I feel very sorry for you."

In any case, this case is not so much about banning high heels as it is about making sure employees aren't forced to endure a health hazard. BBC News notes that "where they are found to be hazardous, they should be replaced with sensible and comfortable shoes." The problem, of course, is that for some women — especially those working in retail — high heels are part of a "look" to represent a brand. Some women do feel more powerful, more confident in heels. But can you be plucky and self-assured when you've got a twisted ankle, bunions and tendonitis?

Unions Take 'Stand' On Stilettos [BBC News]
Women Should Not Have To Wear High Heels At Work, Says TUC [Guardian]
High Heels 'Should Be Banned At Work' [Telegraph]

It's believed that Suman suffers from a hormonal imbalance, but her family has been unable to afford to travel to Calcutta for expert medical treatment. WWKAD? What Would Katy Abram Do? • Margaret Bush Wilson, a civil-rights activist and head of the Missouri NAACP, has died in St. Louis at the age of 90. • Jose Garcia-Perlera, who tied up and gagged widows living alone in a series of attacks in 2007 and 2008 in Maryland, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. • The mom in North Dakota who was busted (heh) for breastfeeding while intoxicated can't stay out of trouble: She's been arrested twice since her sentencing. • Poor Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones. They paid a Utah newspaper to run their wedding announcement, only to have it rejected. The same-sex couple were legally married in California in June and wanted the announcement to run in Jones' hometown before a family get-together next week. "After all, our marriage is just as real and legal and entitled to celebration as any of the others that are announced each week in the pages of The Spectrum," Jones wrote to publisher Donnie Welch. Welch replied: "This simply is not true. While that may be the case in some states it is not the case in the state of Utah. As our policy is to run marriage announcements recognized by Utah law, I have made the decision not to run the announcement." • Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota has asked a judge to prevent the state from suspending its license to perform abortions in Sioux Falls. • A 35-year-old woman known only as Carole — a convert to Islam — was banned from her local pool in Paris for trying to go swimming in a "burquini." She bought the garment because: "it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing too much of myself, as Islam recommends." But officials claim the "burquini" is a possible public health risk. Daniel Guillaume, a regional official in charge of swimming pools, says: "These clothes are used in public, so they can contain molecules, viruses, et cetera, which will go in the water and could be transmitted to other bathers." • "Everybody used to say how radical I was. I just thought I was pragmatic." — Billie Jean King, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday, the "the highest honor a civilian can receive in the U.S." • Scary, but not surprising: Pregnant women who underwent female genital cutting as girls are at increased risk of needing an emergency Cesarean section or suffering serious tears during childbirth. • Filament, a UK magazine for women featuring semi-naked men, is have problems pleasing its audience, which wants pictures of erect penises; its printers, which refuse and object to working with such content; and distributors which won't handle a women's magazine with a man on the cover. Writes Kristina Lloyd, "When set against the plethora of men's lifestyle and top-shelf magazines featuring scantily clad and open-legged women, the struggles faced by Filament highlight a deeply entrenched sexism: Men can look at women but women cannot look at men… The sexism is in the inequality. • Wow: Women's boxing will be added to the 2012 Olympic Games. Boxing was the last all-male Olympic sport.

As mentioned yesterday, Orobator was arrested in August, 2008 at the Wattay Airport. It is believed that she was trying to leave Laos for the UK, and officials say that Orobator was carrying 680g of heroin (Laotian law requires the execution of anyone caught with over 500g of heroin). Like everything else in this case, Orobator's guilt is unclear. It has been reported that Orobator claims she was forced into carrying the drugs, while the Telegraph said yesterday that Orobator denies the drugs were hers.

Orobator has still not met with a lawyer, and the legal charity Reprieve says that they have been refused access to Orobator. Anna Morris arrived in Laos on Sunday, yet was barred from speaking with her and told that Orobator will be appointed a local lawyer. Morris said: "She hasn't been appointed a lawyer yet and that has been our concern. We are concerned that any hearing may be quite quick in comparison to what will happen in other countries."

Laotian officials have claimed that they will not execute the pregnant woman, because it is against the law to kill expectant prisoners. Laos government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing told the BBC: "We would not sentence a pregnant woman to the death penalty." Claire Algar, a lawyer from Reprieve, said she is "encouraged" by this news, but adds, "She will only remain pregnant for the next however-many months." (As Amnesty International reported last year, no one has been executed in Laos since 1989, although, like everything else in this story, there has been a conflicting report that the last execution occurred in 1990. Furthermore, the British government hopes that it will be able to reach a prisoner exchange agreement with Laos: Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell is expected to raise the issue on Thursday when he meets with the Laotian deputy prime minister.)

The circumstance of Orobator's pregnancy is still a mystery. Some have reported that she became pregnant in December, while other sources place the date of conception somewhere in January. Laotian officials claim that Orobator was pregnant when she was arrested, however, they also say that she lost the fetus during her time in prison. Nuanthasing said officials are investigating Orobator's current pregnancy and also claims, in a response emailed to the Associated Press, that "the Lao Government never denied ... access to Samantha" and that the group should recognize Laos "has its own law and rules."

The stay of execution, of course, raises some difficult questions: isn't there something slightly unsettling about the logic behind the law, which essentially states that Orobator's life is only worth saving because she is pregnant? That the fetus she is carrying in her womb has a greater value than her own person? And, as Algar points out, she will not be pregnant forever: This is only a temporary "fix", and one that continues to ignore Orobator's rights while granting certain privileges to the contents of her uterus.

Laos Mum-To-Be Denied UK Lawyer [BBC]
Pregnant Briton To Escape Death Penalty In Laos [CNN]
Mother Of British Woman Facing Death Penalty In Laos Pleads For Her Release [Telegraph]
Laos: Pregnancy Means Briton Won't Face Execution [AP]

Earlier: Pregnant Briton May Face Firing Squad in Laos

In the video at left, Knightley leaves the set of a movie she is working on and drives home to her apartment. She discovers her boyfriend has already broken a mirror and there is blood on the floor. He asks Knightley about kissing her co-star on the set and throws a towel in her face. She says that wasn't in the script, looks at the camera and asks to cut. He knocks her to the ground and kicks her repeatedly as the camera pulls back to show that they are actually on a set. The final screen says, "Isn't it time someone called cut?"

The ad breaks many of the stereotypes about victims of domestic violence by having Knightley play a character like herself - a young, glamorous film actress - rather than a meek housewife. The ad is obviously inspired by Rihanna, and tries to get across the message that even a woman who is confident and successful may be experiencing abuse at home.

"I wanted to take part in this advert for Women's Aid because while domestic violence exists in every section of society we rarely hear about it," said Knightley. "Domestic violence affects one in four women at some point in their lifetime and kills two women every week." The ad was directed by Joe Wright, who directed Knightley in Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. Both were not paid for the ad, which is scheduled begin appearing this month on TV and in theaters only in the U.K. The ad agency is still negotiating with the group that clears ads for TV broadcast. The creators are campaigning to keep the graphic images of the beating in the ad, but they may be forced to edit it down for TV.

Keira Knightley Stars In Ad Campaign Against Domestic Violence [The Guardian]

Controversy broke out this month at George Tomlinson primary school when some parents pulled their children out of lessons on homosexual relationships. The school told parents that if they pulled their children from class, the absence would be counted as truanting. Now members of the Westboro Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas say they will picket the school this week. The group's founder, Reverend Fred Phelps, was already barred from entering the U.K. last month when he tried to picket a play about a homophobic killing. A spokesman for the school's council said, "We are supporting teachers and schools in taking positive and innovative steps to develop children's ability to respect people's differences." [The Guardian]

While the parents of the octuplets delivered today probably wouldn't describe the birth of their children as "tragic" as The Daily Mail does, multiple births do pose health risks for mothers and babies. Multiples are often born prematurely and are more likely to have cerebral palsy or not survive the first week of life. Women who carry multiples have a greater risk for pre-elcampsia, miscarriage, and hemorrhaging. This month, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority enacted a new "single embryo transfer" policy, under which IVF doctors are limited to implanting one embryo at a time unless circumstances are extenuating. Under this new Code of Practice, all UK fertility treatment centers must have in place a documented strategy for reducing their annual multiple birth rates. Though the parents of the U.S. octuplets refused to say whether they received fertility treatments or not, experts believe they probably used fertility drugs taken before artificial insemination. According to Peter Bowen, a fellow of the Royal College of Obstretricians and Gynacologists, it is unlikely the mother used IVF because "no doctor in his right mind" would put eight embryos in a woman's womb. [The Daily Mail, HFEA]

Readers have emailed us and told us that Jezebel is blocked by the US Army, MBTA, Bonhams Auction House, the Embassy Suites in Bentonville "Home of Wal-Mart" Arkansas, a Chicago Hilton and the Curtis Hotel in Denver — usually by automated web filters that block sites according to meta tags or words that appear on the page (like "sex" or "dick" or "pot").

Sure, we may discuss sex every now and then and we are sometimes known to use potty-mouth language when the mood strikes us, but are we ban-worthy? According to What's My Blog Rated, Jezebel is PG-13 because the word "sex" appears four times on our page and the word "shoot" (?) appears once. Our site probably would not appeal to someone under the age of 13 but that isn't because our content is inappropriate... it just isn't directed towards tweens.

Websites May Be Given X-Rating [Times UK]
Jezebel Blog Rating [What's My Blog Rated?]