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What magazines do you read? Do you feel embarrassed purchasing some?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by AlamoCity, Jun 29, 2013.

  1. AlamoCity

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    I was at the magazine section at Wal-Mart and noticed how the sections seemed to be organized by "masculine" and "feminine" interests. On the left, you had all of the cooking, gossip, and gardening magazines and on the right side you had the fitness, guns, and cars magazines. Since many people essentially think that LGBT folk have interests that are opposite of their gender, I wanted to know what magazines do you read and if you consider them to be "gay" for you (i.e. magazines whose demographics tend to be of the opposite gender of you). Do you ever feel embarrassed purchasing magazines that people would consider "inappropriate" for your gender?

    ___________________
    I don't have magazine subscriptions but do like to pick one up from time to time. My favorites include:

    Southern Living
    Martha Stewart Living
    Mother Earth News
    The Economist
    Scientific American
    Field & Stream

    The first few would are geared more towards a female audience and the latter are more towards a male one. I do get a little embarrassed purchasing the first two magazines; as for the rest, I don't really care.

    In general, my reading material seems to be balanced.
    ___________________


    What are you?
     
  2. silkfrog1292

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    The only magazine that I actually read on a regular basis is National Geographic (nerdy i know.) Other than that I also read some gossip-y magazines from time to time, and no I don't feel embarrassed buying them.
     
  3. Aussie792

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    I am kind of neutral; I like magazines such as the Economist, but I do like cooking magazines. I also like reading scientific, architectural, and arts magazines. In any case, I don't see how hobbies can be inherently masculine or feminine. I wouldn't be embarrassed buying anything I'm into for gender reasons, but depending on where I am, anti-intellectualism has gotten me pretty bad looks for buying the magazines I like.
     
  4. King

    King Guest

    I don't read magazines anymore, but when my sister used to buy Us Weekly and In Touch I'd read the shit out of them.

    I've considered buying some for myself but not through a subscription. I might do that today, actually.
     
  5. FruitFly

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    I wanted to know what magazines do you read and if you consider them to be "gay" for you
    Listing the magazines I regularly buy from various shops is like a huge wake up call, I obviously spend far too much money on magazines:
    • Practical Reptile Keeping
    • Dog Friendly Out & About
    • Fur & Feather
    • Woman & Home Feel Good Food
    • Fortean Times
    • Kitchen Garden
    • Horse & Hound
    • BBC Wildlife
    • National Geographic
    The only other ones I read are are part of my professional membership deal.

    I have no idea if people consider them a deviation from the typically female centric magazines or not. Outside of those actively targeted at women (case in point: W&HFGF) I kind of view magazines as gender neutral :|.

    Do you ever feel embarrassed purchasing magazines that people would consider "inappropriate" for your gender?
    No. As a child I did become upset when people told me I couldn't read magazines about dinosaurs and insects because I was a girl, but it didn't stop me wanting them.
     
  6. leer

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    Men`s health
    match of the day BBC football magazine
    NME music magazine sometimes

    When I was 15 I bought the odd Brit Boys magazine:***: second hand from a market stall a few miles away from my home I caught the train hoping no-one would notice me I regarded it like an army exercise.:dry:
     
  7. Tightrope

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    I do not purchase magazines. That's what Barnes and Noble is for. I read them there and pay them for the cup of coffee, as in thank you very much! I tend to read more male oriented magazines, mostly about cars and the standard news related ones. I don't read any magazines about sports. I don't read any fashion, design, or gossip magazines. I enjoy traveling, but I find Conde Nast to be too elite and I can get the types of travel articles I would enjoy from much more low key publications, including the AAA magazine.

    It's funny you bring this up. A friend and I had a good laugh about this division you speak to. He and I are both interested in cars. I remarked that all of the car ads for tires, batteries, and brakes were at the end of the sports section, which he and I didn't read! Well, the paper has to do SOME profiling, and chooses to put that stuff there to reach a wider audience. I don't think it would work at the end of the Home Decor insert. It just wouldn't.

    Add: as a kid, I could get lost in National Geographic, for hours. I just saw that above!
     
    #7 Tightrope, Jun 29, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2013
  8. Sartoris

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    Don't read magazines as much as I'd like to but I tend to be drawn more towards literary and arts related stuff at the moment, in particular Film Comment, but that could expand over time. In any case, I'm not embarrassed at the thought of buying any of those magazines, they're very neutral to me.
     
  9. StefaniW

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    I don't read a lot of magazines either I do most of my reading online, but like the other person if I got to Books a Million or somewhere I do read magazines.

    I like the fashion magazines for the beauty tips like Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire. I also looove Southern Living, OMG, all the pretty things, lololz. We used to get People at my house and I would read that occasionally...

    And I think gender stereotypes are silly. The stuff I read matches my gender yes but ANYONE could read it it's not just for women.
     
  10. AlamoCity

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    That so sad (*hug*).

    I understand they have to make their ad dollars work and it makes sense to place ads where they think it'll work best. Although, I sometimes wonder if the ad exec is some fresh-outta-college kid who says, "Old people must read this magazine, let's put some Viagra ads here."

    We have something in common :slight_smile:.
     
  11. StefaniW

    StefaniW Guest

    @Alamo,

    My mom got me into it cuz she used to sell it when they still had their At Home line (now it's like Willow House or something not nearly as good). She used to have like parties and things and she still has some of the stuff left over actually.

    But yeah their stuff is reaaally pretty and it makes me wish I had my own place so I could decorate it, lolz XD
     
  12. The username

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    None. No need. I have the internet.
     
  13. Candace

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    I like to read People (and see the covers of Men's magazine :wink:) but generally I like Time, National Geographic, Esquire...usually if there's a hot guy in the issue ;D.
     
  14. HuskyPup

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    Nope, not embarrassed!

    I sometimes buy:

    Stereophile
    The Absolute Sound
    (and other audio related magazines)
    The New Yorker
    Harper's
    The Atlantic
    Adbusters
     
  15. DanD

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    My sister lets me read her copy of Writing Magazine, and as I used to be a columnist for a drumming magazine, I get that sent to me for free each month, which is a waste of time as I haven't played for nearly three years; I have dozens of them still in the plastic wrapper. :frowning2:

    That's it. I'm thinking of perhaps buying mens health in the near future.
     
  16. Sartoris

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    How are Harper's and The Atlantic? I've seen them on the shelves before, but don't think I've read an issue of either yet.
     
  17. AlamoCity

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    Not a stalker, but I remembered your comment about that magazine a while back and looked it up :icon_bigg.

    _________________________________________________
    My dad would always buy Men's Health when I was younger and I would really be into it. I only read it for the articles, I swear :grin:.
     
  18. justjade

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    I am obsessed with fashion, so I'm always buying Vogue, Elle, InStyle, and GQ, and I keep an inspiration journal with different images from each. This is kind of old-school, but I really like newspapers. I like the crossword puzzles, the comics, all of it.

    I don't feel ashamed buying them. I'm sure I get funny looks when I'm presenting male and come up to the checkout with all these "girly" magazines, but I don't care. Fashion is one of my favorite art forms, and I am very passionate about it.

    I also picked up an issue of Details once (Jeremy Renner was on the cover), and I liked it pretty well, but I like GQ better. It has really great articles and talks about stuff that I enjoy, like beer! I know my uncle thinks it odd that I read GQ, but I really enjoy it. My husband also has issues of Playboy and Game Informer lying around, and I like to read those once in a while.

    In short, I don't care what people think of me based on my taste in magazines. I want to look good no matter how I'm presenting, so I have to have all the style sense of both sexes. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: