Sweet New Mags or Same-Old Rags?

As the New York Post recently reported, a bunch of new magazines are debuting this season, and some of them target us ladies.
Many of you have heard about Suede, the “first-ever fashion and beauty magazine to be inspired by the young, contemporary woman of color”. I am (cautious but) excited about this. It’s about time someone recognized the women of color out there — you’d think when reading Lucky or Jane (lets not even get started on Cosmo) that every young woman was white! It’s also great that streetwear is being recognized as a legitimate form of fashion – it’s already one of the most influential. (Suede is especially focused on what women wear “on the block”). But I really, really hope this magazine is run by intelligent people. The potential here for exploitation of an already exploited group is high. I also hope Suede capitalizes on its own great idea. Not all women of color are from “the block” — some are from the suburbs, other countries, etc. If Suede is smart enough to touch on all these angles, I think the magazine could be an important and rad addition to the racks.
Then there’s All You, Time Inc.’s new monthly women’s magazine. According to Isobel “Bella” Price, the magazine’s editor, All You “will talk to women as they really are — recognizing all they accomplish every single day — instead of telling them they could do better…. We want to inspire, not patronize, our readers with affordable, down-to-earth ideas tested by real women just like them. And because we also know that women are looking for quality as well as value, All You will feature the very best design and photography in a unique package to enrich every aspect of our readers’ lives, no matter what their budget.”
Now, that sounded good to me until I heard this: During its initial distribution phase, All You will be available at Wal-Mart stores only.
WAL-MART???? Has Time, Inc. been reading the newspaper? I am all for a magazine that recognizes women’s tight budgets and inspires rather than patronizes. (I am also aware that many women in this country shop at Wal-Mart.) But I can’t really get over the hypocrisy of selling a pro-woman magazine exclusively at a women-oppressing retailer. This seems to me the first sign that All You is not all that.
Let’s keep a (critical) eye out for these and other mags coming our way this fall.

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