By
Miss Double Shot I was a big fan of teen magazines when I was a young teenager - it felt like I was reading something I wasn't supposed to see and could get a glimpse at what could potentially happen to me in the future.
But, to be honest, you can only read the phrase "play up your peepers" and "small town sweetie" so many times until you begin to think that everything you read in those types of magazines is garbage, including dating advice.
Cosmo is the adult version of the teenybopper magazines I lusted after when I was 14 - same relationship advice and everything! - but each issue contains about a metric ton of sex advice and juvenile terms instead of the clothing and college placement ideas in Seventeen. Searching for "horny" in Cosmo's website's search bar brings up "horny hyena," "horny houseguest" and "horny horror" as results . . . search for "hottie" and you'll find "choice hottie! expressive hottie! high energy hottie!"
If anyone called me a high energy hottie, I'd be out the door.
So, in short, I don't trust magazines to give me advice on dating or relationships; I usually rely on friends or anyone/anything that doesn't call me a "flirty femme".
Do you listen to dating, relationship or sex advice that magazines give you? Should you?
Comments (50)
No. Really, prepackaged advice should always be taken with a grain of salt. You might learn something, but 9 out of 10 times whatever you get won't apply to your situation (assuming it's right.)
Wow, maybe I've never seen one of those magazines, lol.
I go for a little input from magazines (when I bother to open one, since I don't read 'em) and a little from friends (although their advice is hardly ever really thought-out). Too much of either isn't such a hot idea.
I never read magazines or the advice from the Sunday newspaper which we buy since I dont read this section.
Ha ha. No, I never did. Most magazines are so full of crap when it comes to dating and sex.
So Cosmo says you're fat
Well I ain't down with that!
'Cause your waist is small and your curves are kickin'
And I'm thinkin' bout stickin'
To the beanpole dames in the magazines:
You ain't it, Miss Thing!
When it comes to females, Cosmo ain't got nothin' to do with my selection. 36-24-36? Ha ha, only if she's 5'3".
;)
Hahaha. I don't really take advice from Cosmo. I do read it for fun, though. Hahaha. I love to read magazines.
@the_last_kiss - Guys apparently have no idea how ridiculous a woman with those measurements would look. Think Barbie meets Marilyn Monroe.
As for magazines with relationship advice... first of all, there's no Cosmo article entitled "50 Ways to Say I Love You While Keeping Your Virginity." I'm not going to need sex advice for at least another five years, and by then, I don't think the "let your luscious lover keep his toothbrush at your funky fab apartment" advice really works for the married relationships.
Second of all... I.... HATE... ALLITERATION......
I read cosmo for the fluff and because its mindless, never for advice.
@the_last_kiss - ha ha ha, yeah baby got back!
i read them for entertainment and real life stories but not for advice.
@Nikolais_apprentice@xanga - Aw, dear. It's an old Sir-mix-a-lot song (baby got back) that came to mind when I saw Cosmo. That song cracks me up. :)
And hey, I make extensive use of alliteration when I write! =/
If Barbie were a real person, she would be 6' 0", weigh 100 lbs., and wear a size 4. Her measurements would be 39"/19"/33"
@the_last_kiss - eww so unnatural. And.. impossible...
I suppose it depends on the advice .. Obviously, not all advice works for everybody. But occasionally, I'll come across something that actually fits a situation I'm in. Of course, I'll ask one of my close friends before I actually TAKE advice from a magazine. Haha. :)
I'm more into the fashion and real life stories, anyway.
I too, fell hard for the forbidden fruits of the older version of the teeny bopper magazines, AKA Cosmo.. It took me a two year subscription, and many failed dates to realize that the people writing these articles are even less experienced than I, and that the movie stars who frequented the cover looked....nipped tucked and airbrushed, and that I felt like a disgusting blob every time I opened the mailbox to find my magazine. Yuck. So, no, I do not follow dating and relationship advice dished out by 35 year old childless women who probably behave as I did when I was 16.
Courtesy of my having two sisters I have seen my fair share of those magazines and of the advice I have seen that is supposed to make the women irresistible to guys almost all of it would drive me off faster than the meltdown of a nuclear reactor.
I don't take it seriously, no way. 10 things your boyfriend won't tell you?!?! No one should buy this! I'm 17 and I think that in my life I bought a teen magazine I don't know...once, twice? When I was 13. I would rather spend my money for something else.
Oh man, 99% of the advice in those magazines are totally crap. Occasionally they'll tell you to do positive things like be comfortable with who you are, but then all the pictures of emaciated models kind of contradict the words...
They are interesting to read, but to me, they always feel a bit shallow, and I always feel like the advice doesn't really apply to me. All the flirting advice seems to be geared toward super outgoing people trying to hit on other super outgoing people. I'm an introvert who is attracted to other introverts, so I would look like a complete dork trying any of those pickup lines.
Honestly, I don't read that crap. Howevever, I do buy Maxim to giggle at their hilarious articles, especially since they are from a guy's perspective.
"How to punch like a boxer" come on, that is SO hilarious. And the sex articles and what not, no wonder so many men are pigs. A lot of the answers are to the extent of "ignore her" or "ignore it" or "dump her ass" like working things out just isn't worth your time.
Good job Maxim, for encouraging the assholes of today.
No, and no.
@the_last_kiss - Average female height in the US is 5'4.
@Nikolais_apprentice@xanga - My measurements are 40[32DDD/FF]-27-40. I look fine. I thought I looked better 15 pounds slimmer at 39[32DDD]-24.5-39.5: even curvier. There's nothing horrible about "36-25-36," except that I would prefer to have more of an hourglass shape than that (like the one that I have when I'm 15 lbs lighter, which is far more exaggerated than the one listed here, with a slimmer waist).
Some adult magazines are okay, like reader's digest. I'm not kidding. If the magazine is less about sex and making yourself look like an imaginary photo ad it will probably have better advice on relationships, instead of just the sex part. Also, it's good to read books, and sometimes you can find helpful tips on the internet. Some things are just too weird to talk about with friends and they may not know what they are talking about.
Um i do read them I do occasionally find good advice XD And I don't like Cosmo in particular. I prefer Glamour. Um, they are okay. I like the fashion and reading it to pass the time...
No, I don't go to magazines for advice. I usually talk to a friend.
Magazines for advice? In high school I used to guiltily sneak peeks at them for the sketchy advice, not the fashion, but then I took a class at my university called Human Sexuality and all of my burning questions were resoundingly answered. No more pop culture sex ed for me. ;)
@the_last_kiss - nice song choice. Reminds me of my friend Junior doing karaoke. Always a fun time.
@hopelessromantic - Your calling them "crap" reminded me of one of my 2 cosmo experiences. On our college spring break trip for HFH, we'd have the advisor read us a "bedtime story" out of cosmo for us during the week. Being the type that he was, he couldn't get through it without turning red in the face and trying to get up to leave multiple times.
After one such instance, my friend and I thought we'd look through since we hadn't before...we read it and would randomly ask things to survey the boys in the room. We labeled most everything in the magazine "purple crap" (as we X'ed with a purple marker).
no! its jsut something fun to read. : )