Have you noticed that many popular magazines address relationships, sex and sexuality in one form or another? It might be a feature article with some very useful information, or possibly a column with quick, precise advice in a question and answer (q & a) format. A plus for coverage in magazines is that the information is up-to-date.
Look for these articles and columns, and while you are reading them, check out the authors. Who are they? What are their credentials? You want to be sure that someone in the know writes the article, and that he/she is giving you good advice and correct information.
Be on the look out for the hidden messages (and some not so hidden) about relationships, sex and sexuality communicated through the multitude of advertisements. It’s well worth the effort to "read" those messages as well, and to decide for yourself how you feel about them.
Most magazines have an online version (Ezine) where you can go for even more information and advice. Click on any magazine logo to visit that site.
We hope you use the following list of six magazines as a starting point to decide on the best option for you.
Popular Magazines
Here are three examples of how "popular" magazines cover the topic. You might think only girls read these magazines, but market studies show that about 25% of the readers are boys. A couple of teen boys told us they read Cosmo Girl to understand what girls are thinking!
Has a section called guys with feature articles on our topic in addition to a regular column sex and the body. For exmple, in one recent issue there was an article on STDs, and questions & answers about pregnancy in the sex and the body column. The medical experts who consulted for the column are identified. At the conclusion of the column, readers are referred to an email address (sexandbody@seventeen.com) for their “most perplexing health questions.” Meanwhile, at the Ezine version, you will find sex & body with more questions and answers, and a feature article “The Spring Break Sexual Health Guide.”
The section in YM, called guys & love, has feature articles signed by the authors. The q & a column called ask anything: the lowdown on sex and your bod identifies the experts providing the answers. The Ezine version covers the topic in a section called “boys.”
Has two sections: All about guys and health kick. Both sections have feature articles and q & a columns. Health kick says it has “honest answers to your most intimate questions, and includes a subsection Sex ed with Dr. Judy. In a recent issue, a reader asks Dr. Judy about a phobia “erotophobia,” (fear of having sex). Dr. Judy gives her advice, but also refers the reader to the National Institute of Mental Health website for additional information. There is also a general referral to the Cosmo Girl website to post additional questions.
This is a very different type of magazine from the three examples listed above. Women Express, Inc. a nonprofit, multicultural, volunteer collaborative committed to “empowering teenage and young adult women” publishes it. The publisher’s goals are to provide an alternative to the more “glitzy, gossipy, fashion-oriented publications,” and to offer an “interactive, educational forum that challenges media images of women and serves as a vehicle for change, improving young women’s social and economic status.”
Teen Voices does include feature articles and q & a on our topic, for example, Incest: Survivors Speak Out And Claim Their Power is in a recent issue. Dear D, the q & a column is edited by both a teen member of the editorial board, and subject experts. The column lists referrals to additional sources of information.
The same issue contains an article Advertisers Are Out To Get You, with personal stories of teen reactions to messages implied in advertisements.
You can sign up for a subscription to this free, weekly email newsletter through the TeenGrowth website. Each Wednesday, you will receive “the latest word from TeenGrowth about your health.” If you have an email account, this is an option for staying current on the topics covered (puberty, family, friends, drugs, sex and emotions).
Subtitled Get Strong, Be Smart, Look Good, Have Fun, MH-18 has articles on a wide range of topics, including relationships, sex and sexuality. While informing teen boys on sports, health and career possibilities, it also aims to “reveal secret thoughts of girls,” through feature articles and its q & a column Asker: Our spy in the world of girls. The website has a category girls which supplements information in the print magazine.