Dd (13) wants a subscription to Teen Vogue

[lunabelly]

Dd just turned 13, and she's become very interested in fashion. She wants a subscription to Teen Vogue. We've had long conversations about the media's promotion of unhealthy body types, anorexia, and an unachievable standard of beauty, and she understands, doesn't buy into it, but I still don't think it's a good idea to have it in her home (I know she's being barraged from other quarters).

On the other hand, I don't want to squash her interests either-- partly because I know it'll just fuel the fire. I also know I'm going to have bigger battles than this. I'm thinking of letting her pay for the subscription, reading it with her, and talking about it. I'm even thinking of having her write a monthly response to an article of her choice. She likes to write, so she wouldn't consider it a punishment. I think it might be a way to be in critique mode while she's reading it. She has a subscription to New Moon. Maybe she could compare them.

Any other ideas?

[chiromamma]

We had a similar situation last year. I didn't commit to a sub. I let DD buy InStyle or Vogue with her own money. Sometimes I would surprise her with one. She became very knowledgable about different designers' styles and fashion design as an art...elements of design, etc.
I didn't worry too much about the body image thing. She became very passionate about the unrealistic portrayal of women in magazines as a result of her interest in fashion design.
Now she's on to other things...chefs and gourmet cooking.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by lunabelly

I also know I'm going to have bigger battles than this. I'm thinking of letting her pay for the subscription, reading it with her, and talking about it. I'm even thinking of having her write a monthly response to an article of her choice. She likes to write, so she wouldn't consider it a punishment. I think it might be a way to be in critique mode while she's reading it.

Your ideas all sounds good. I'd let her get the subscription.

If she has an interest in fashion design, you could suggest that she re-design some of the clothes to flatter all sorts of body shapes or recreate a look by searching the local thrift shops rather than the runway, rather than re-writing the articles. IME, the teen mags. often run articles about "being yourself" and "setting goals", as well as the "spot the trend" fashion advice and celebrity gossip. She may get as much out of something that taps into her creativity and interest, instead of a book report kind of task.

[MusicianDad]

What part of Teen Vogue is she interested in? DD gets a few of these magazines and for it it's all about getting ideas for fashion design. She doesn't often read the articles, more looks for the things that appeal to her sense of art. Though she occasionally comes to us with an article that just seems completely absurd to her.

[lorijds]

I think in that situation, I'd tell my dd why I didn't support it (as you apparently did in a long conversation), but I'd let her buy it herself if she really wanted it. I wouldn't make her write a rebuttal each issue; to me that seems a bit overkill, and as a kid I would really resent that.

[mtiger]

If she has an interest in fashion design, you could suggest that she re-design some of the clothes to flatter all sorts of body shapes or recreate a look by searching the local thrift shops rather than the runway, rather than re-writing the articles. IME, the teen mags. often run articles about "being yourself" and "setting goals", as well as the "spot the trend" fashion advice and celebrity gossip. She may get as much out of something that taps into her creativity and interest, instead of a book report kind of task.

I really like the above idea.

On the flip side, I'm chuckling as my 16yo girl just subscribed to Baseball Digest.

[lunabelly]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree

If she has an interest in fashion design, you could suggest that she re-design some of the clothes to flatter all sorts of body shapes or recreate a look by searching the local thrift shops rather than the runway, rather than re-writing the articles.

I think this is a good idea, too. Maybe I'll have her design clothes that would fit me!

chiromamma, dd loves to bake, too! Maybe I'll get her a subscription to a foodie magazine at the same time and see if it sways her interest.

Thanks for you ideas!

[SusanElizabeth]

I would let her get the subscription. Sometimes forbidding things backfires and just makes them seem more attractive. When I was a teenager, I knew a guy who loved James Bond novels and his mother didn't approve and wouldn't let him read them. So he collected them on his own and stored them at different friends' houses. Some of the other parents even participated in helping him hide his collection.

[amnesiac]

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

What part of Teen Vogue is she interested in? DD gets a few of these magazines and for it it's all about getting ideas for fashion design. She doesn't often read the articles, more looks for the things that appeal to her sense of art. Though she occasionally comes to us with an article that just seems completely absurd to her.

My dd actually goes through InStyle for that same reason. She doesn't generally even read the articles. She has a design book that she uses to put magazine clippings in & then adds her own drawings etc. It gives her ideas for things that she makes herself too.

[SeekingJoy]

Originally Posted by amnesiac

My dd actually goes through InStyle for that same reason. She doesn't generally even read the articles. She has a design book that she uses to put magazine clippings in & then adds her own drawings etc. It gives her ideas for things that she makes herself too.

What?!? Instyle has articles?!?

I also love fashion mags, but just for the fantastical fashion design, photography and playful art of it. I rip out my favorite pictures for collages. I don't know that I have ever actually read anything in them.

I don't have a teen yet, but loved periodicals as a teen and eventually worked for one briefly. I would let her buy it.

[bestjob]

I think the subscription is worth it's weight in gold if it results in all the possible discussions that have been suggested in this thread. You and your teen will pick it to pieces and she'll be a fashionista, a rebel, and a critical thinker!

[maggieb]

I would let her purchase the subscription and do all of the things you mentioned.

I wasn't to crazy about my girls getting 17 magazine, but I had the subscription when I was their age. They have to pay for it. I just think there are bigger battles to fight than about a magazine subscription.

[junipermuse]

Even if you don't let her have a subscription, she can always just go to the library and read it, which is what I did as a kid. So either way she'd be reading it. I do think that fashion magazines have a role in creating bad body image in young girls no doubt, but I also see that they do have postives as well. Also I don't think its the sort of thing you can protect your child from, as much as you might want to. I was in love with these types of magazines as a teenager and well into my young adult hood. I don't buy them anymore because I no longer feel that they are worth the cost and have realized that they often leave me feeling bad about my body (though I don't really need a magazine for that). However I really needed to come to this conclusion on my own. If someone had tried to stop me from buying them or reading them I probably would have wanted them even more. I definitely think reading them with your daughter and talking to her about them and letting her know how you feel about them as well as analyzing them critically with her (but in a way that doesn't feel like you're critical of her or her choices) is probably a great way to deal with it.