Observation #4: Reading Magazines

For my fourth observation, I decided to read some of the magazines that Ramona lent to me that are meant specifically for black women. Being an avid magazine reader myself, (I have 5 different magazine subscriptions!) I was interested to see the differences between a black woman's fashion magazine and the ones that I regularly read.

First, I noticed that there were more social activism pieces in the African American magazine that what I am used to reading. While my fashion magazines will highlight some successful women or focus on one social issue per issue, these magazines had several different stories, most about children and education, that dealt with different issues, such as foster care, gun violence, and handling discrimination. There were also historical pieces that dealt with the civil rights movement.

Second, the approach to beauty products was different in the African American magazines than in the magazines that I read. While both magazines offer information on the best products and what's hot that month as far as trends go, the tone of the black women's magazine was one of "look what we found" rather than "look what's new". What I mean by this is that there is clearly a scarcity of products available to black women in the first place, so the approach in the magazines for black women was more about making their readers aware of what was out there, rather than simply providing more options or showing readers the best new products.

Finally, I was surprised at the openness in the magazines for African American women when it came to dealing to societal stereotypes. While a few of my magazines will randomly address issues like the inaccurate portrayal of women in the media, the magazines for African American women dealt with what it meant to combat stereotypes on a regular basis through many different means. There were articles in the finance and job section about handling stereotypes in interviews. There were articles in the beauty section of hair stereotypes and how to approach salons about what you want. One of the magazines even addressed the constant battle with stereotypes in the Letter from the Editor, citing it as the common struggle among all black females.

Reading these magazines awakened me to the fact that the struggles I've been learning about through this process are not only being talked about in the academic world, but they are being addressed by the African American female community as a whole. I was glad to see that there are conversations happening about what it means to be a black female, but I am saddened to know that this is not something many people know about outside of that community. Just like many of my other experiences with this project, it helps me understand the deep need for community with others, especially when one is having to rally their efforts on a daily basis to cope with misperception and ignorance.