I found a really great price on magazine subscriptions about a year ago. For $3.00 a year, I could subscribe to Redbook. Since I used to subscribe to it a long time ago (and liked it very much), I jumped at the opportunity. In fact, I decided to have it mailed to the school that I teach at instead of at home. Since we often use magazines in our language arts projects, I figured it would save me the trips carrying heavy stacks of magazines back and forth. From all that I remembered about Redbook (and Good Housekeeping Magazines) was that there were always great pictures that could be cut out and used for projects. There were even quick articles that could be read and have topics and issues that would work as writing prompts.
To be honest, there hasn’t been much time to create all those nifty craft projects (or we’ve used other supplies to do so) but the magazine came monthly and I found it gratifying that both the boy and girl students that I teach seemed interested in reading them. Idle hands are dangerous in middle school and I encourage reading of any kind just to keep them all reading as much as possible. So my magazine rack contained about 8 issues of Redbook sitting along side other magazines I get at school like YM, Boy’s Life, and Discover.
Recently, I noticed that three or four boys were all competing for the new issue of Redbook. There was a girl student standing near me and I raised a “teacher’s eyebrow” at her in questioning the event. Her face got red and she asked me, “Have you seen some of the articles in those Redbook magazines?” And the answer was, “No.” I hadn’t previewed (like I do with other magazines and movies) Redbook because I “thought” I knew what I was buying. There’s an old saying about “assuming” and I can’t remember how it goes except the u being somewhere in the middle of a.s and ? Anyhow, I guess I qualified.
I took some of the magazines during my conference period and began perusing them. When the boys saw me taking them from the magazine shelf they begin to stutter that maybe I shouldn’t be showing them all this kind of stuff even if I do teach health class. Others have included titles such as, “Red Hot Sex” about men’s multiple orgasms; “His Secret Turn-Ons” and “How I Know She Really Loves Me.” All are sexual in nature and all were found in just one of the issues on my shelves.
Well, what I found when reading them wasn’t a “Hooters” or “Playboy” magazine (or even a National Geographic); but it wasn’t topical for kids this age either. Way too many articles on what men like and how they like it. They discussed sexual positions and things like, 㦥 Amazing Love Tricks.” I later found that some of the advertisements were considered pretty sexy by my eleven to thirteen year olds as well. It was kind of embarrassing for me to find (during locker clean out) a pin up taken from one of my magazines of a girl in halter bra and panties lifting up one leg of her panties.
So, if it’s not for classroom use or consumption by middle school kids, then who’s it for and what’s it like?
Well, it’s not “mod” enough for those who like to think themselves mod. Probably for women in their thirties who know there’s more in life than club clothes and fashion trends.
The issues are broken into certain categories each month. These include: Sex & Marriage (see…they go together in this magazine for the main part); Health & Fitness; Beauty, Fashion, Style; Celebrities; Kids; Food; and News and Features. A few subjects covered under these categories included an article entitled, “Passionate Monogamy” which I found interesting both in content and format. It was done as a question and answer format with writers writing in for information about why some still care what their parents think to “I don’t want my husband taking Viagra.” The Viagra one was about a couple in their 30’s and how her husband wants to enhance his staying power. The answer included telling the woman that it’s not worth the side effects and that she should just keep reassuring him that he’s great. Also that maybe they can spice it up more by poring over the Kama Sutra and its 64 positions. Hmmm?
In these sections there are also movie star interviews (this month with Christina Applegate and Celine Dion). They have chic rain gear; an article about low cut dresses; simple pimple treatment; how stress can be good for your health; how to melt away winter weight; 7 safety rules when finding a hospital for your sick child; and even a personal experience story by Lauren Picker about being sad during pregnancy.
I enjoyed many of the articles I read in this and some of the other issues. I do miss the monthly fictional story that Redbook used to include in every month’s issue, but the personal stories have taken their places. They did have one piece of fiction in the Love Section called, “Love at Second Sight” which was a cute story. The best I read was a review about “Never Forget Anything Again!” While it won’t improve the frequency of my senior moments, it did contain some good advice to help we who forget things often about organization.
The every issue features each month includes:
Red Letters (reader mail), Free Stuff, Secret Self, Red in the Face (your embarrassing moments), Shopping Guide, Horoscope, Saving Time, and many more.
So if you’re a highly hormonal young teen, I wouldn’t recommend this magazine. But, if you’d like an informative magazine about love and marriage in your thirty-something life, I recommend Redbook.
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