Reviews For Seventeen Magazine

it's ok. yet, now it's all about how to act in college. gees. get YM instead!

i think that seventeen magazine gives teenage girls a better understanding of what we have and might go through in our teenage years. i think it shows girls a way to deal with life in a better perspective way. i afiliate with this magazine because it is fun to read and is also a better way to asociate with other people and many people would like to talk to others without fighting, yelling,each other

I'm a 11 year old girl and this isn't good. I just like the pictures. Rather buy cosmogirl,teen people,popstar,j-14,and m. There's 2 much ads!!!!

I think that my title says it all.

Cigarette packets aren't the only items that should carry government warnings. Cigarettes might erode our lungs and lead to cancers, cardio-pulmonary disease, but magazines like Seventeen erode the confidence of young girls, something that is vital to their ability to thrive. I'd be worried if I were you, because they are the next generation of doctors, writers, artists, actresses, teachers, and, perhaps most importantly, mothers.

Buy one and open it up. You are first struck by a makeup ad featuring a girl with a face so spotless it makes you wonder which planet she calls home. Next is a clothing ad. Being that this is the beginning of the magazine, the ad is probably one of a major label. Once again, it is full of young, glowing people trying to tell you that the clothes they where will grant you eternal happiness. This might only be true if the clothing came with a morphine drip or with acid stamps sewn to the inside of the fabric so it would diffuse through the skin.

But hey, we haven't reached the content yet, so let's go there. First is a barrage of what you must have for the next thirty days if you want anyone to think you are worth anything. The clothes are often somewhat extravagantly priced for the average girl that is not a drug dealer, but that's alright. Anyone who takes this magazine seriously probably also subscribes to The Rules school of dating and marriage and knows that as a teenager you should spend your money on clothing and accessories.

Next are a mixed bag of advice columns. There is the sex column, the boyfriend column, the friend column, the guy's point-of-view column, etc. What about the you column? Aren't you, the reader, important? Not according to Seventeen. G-d forbid you think so, because if you do, you must be a selfish person. There is also the recent addition of the Girls Doing Other Things Than Boy-Baiting article, which mostly showcases a sports team or a girl athlete. I'd give it credit, but we'll get to that later.

There are the obligatory quizzes you can use to make sure that you are cool. And girls, you better'd hope that each choice in every question could actually apply to you, 'cause otherwise you are a Loser. There are the 'serious' articles, usually about being a virgin or surviving anorexia, which is a joke when you read this magazine. When the magazine interviews actresses, it makes a point of mentioning the person's clothing size. Only a stalker would care about information like that.

What really blew my gasket was an article about accepting your weight. It gave examples of 'big' (read: size 6/8) girls in Hollywood and the media, as well as young girls' personal stories. At the end it listed a bunch of statistics legitimizing the plump figure. Now I'm all about self-acceptance and I would have loved this article had it not been surrounded by ads featuring girls who have never worn a bra in their short lives and will probably give birth via C-section because they have no hips. It wouldn't have been a problem if these ads didn't encourage to wear as little as possible, to not accept your own beauty, to make a full-body mask that you should always wear in public.

Reading this magazine makes me, as well as just about everyone I know who has read it, feel bad about themselves or at least self-critical. Beauty articles dictate how your face should be shaped and how your nails should be painted. But what if your face is not one of the four they show that are in this season? Tough luck, sister, you're out until this fad blows over.

Seventeen also caters to a very narrow audience: white girls. Only in the past few years have readers seen girls of other ethnicities populate ads and articles in any decent numbers. However, girls of many backgrounds have read this for yeas, so what have they learned, that the white way is the right way? Also, it barely recognizes the existence of lesbians and bisexuals, nor does it cater to them.

Seventeen has found its niche and has exploited it for over 50 years. It is time for that exploitation to end.


Recommended:
No

Jeez, it sounds great doesn't it? "Make your crush like you in a week, Guaranteed", "Say Goodbye to Belly Bulge" or how about this one, "Beauty Make-overs that'll make that him say WOW!". It's hard to understand if you're not a teenage girl. It's difficult enough living in this external world that revolves around being thin, beautiful.. and basically, if you're not perfect... sorry! Imagine, a fat little girl, picking up this magazine and believing that her crush may like her, after following Seventeen's "Fool-Proof Flirting Tips". That fat little girl was my friend Danielle. Although that stage has passed, I still remember all her emotional trials, nights she couldn't fall asleep because she wanted so badly to be like those models she'd see in magazines & on TV, and all the times she would cry to me seeking some kind of comfort. "How come there isn't ONE chubby girl on any of those pages?" she'd ask me. "How come whenever there was an article on how 'Shapely is IN', then there was always a picture of Catherine Zeta Jones, or Drew Barrymore?" She was determined to have a boyfriend, just like the magazine said she could... "In 7 easy days!". She started taking diet pills, and barely eating... I told her that she was pretty, but she would just call me a liar. It took a lot of counseling and support to make her what Danielle is today. A confident, bright, and healthy girl who is vowing to stay abstinent until marriage, and is also drug-free and very much a positive example to her friends, including myself.

There are thousands of girls who buy magazines like Seventeen, YM, Madamoiselle, CosmoGirl, and so on. The content in these magazines, no matter how shallow, seems to imprint itself into teen girls' minds around the country. Literary publications that have that much impact on society should really work on their text's substance. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone who likes the magazine. There are in fact some positive messages, and entertaining articles. But there needs to be more of that. I truly wish that abstinence would be stressed, NOT how cool it is to have a boyfriend. I wish teen magazines would talk more about pressing social issues like anorexia, teens taking diet pills, bulemia, and it's harmful effects, instead of publishing so-called miracle diets. Other problems, such as teen smoking, drug addiction, verbal/physical/sexual abuse, self-mutilation, low self esteem, STD's, Teen Pregnancy, Teen suicide, and obesity should also be addressed, not fashion trends. What happens if that girl is poor, and can't afford the latest styles, and makeup?

This world has a lot of problems, but we need to face the facts. It's hard to really grasp unless you've seen it for yourself, such as I have. There really has to be a standard of example setting, advice giving, emotional support and just an overall more positive (and deeper) message to today's youth. We all have to realize that having a boyfriend, being thin and beautiful, and keeping up with the latest trends, is NOT important in Life's big picture. Please don't make teenage girl's believe that the prior is ALL that matters... because it will affect them in more drastic ways then you think.

















Recommended:
No

Teen Magazine is definitely not for any teens in my house. I have read through several Teen Magazines and see the same things in each issue.

There are so many makeup advertisements. The models either look like little girls wearing a ton of makeup to look older or women wearing neutrals to try to look younger. Give me a break!

Sex, sex, sex! What teenager needs to take surveys about dating and their sex life? Hopefully, they don't have a sex life and don't need the survey. No wonder teenagers think it's cool to sleep around. They took the survey and passed!

Why should teens always be reminded of dieting. How many diets have been in Teen Magazine? Teen Magazine needs to teach that teen girls come in all shapes and sizes and to love themselves as they are. If a teen is overweight and feels the need to lose a little, it's simple! Eat less and exercise more. That's all that needs to be said.

I wish that someone would start a magazine for the real teen. The teen that doesn't clean her room, doesn't look like a model, doesn't date a guy for his looks, etc.

I guess by now you have realized that I don't promote Teen Magazine.


Recommended:
No

sexenteen is more like it...... with all do respect.

Seventeen is a
promotion of the whole teen dating drama. It has dating tips like
( HOW TO -- dump your boy friend -- Why and when it's time to dump
them-- and what kind of make up will turn them on -- ) Not only
does it make the teen dependent on it, but distrustful of you if
you happen to disagree. This Mag. However has "few" good things
about it, like some of the tips they give aren't to bad and they
have bright funny words to cut out and past on the wall. Please
listen when I say that you should look someplace else for your teen.
I'm not fond of it and would not recommend it.




Recommended:
No

As a Christian mother, I must stand by the fact that I would NOT recommend this magazine. I perused it recently at the newstand and was appalled to see articles in it pertaining to information on abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, sex and such. They comment that having sex is a girl's choice so if she chooses to "DO IT", then be responsible!
Gossip about the latest in Hollywood(such great role models for our young girls...NOT!)and the clothes the models were wearing really were way too old for them! I personally don't want my teenager dressing like a 25 year-old!

We feel so strongly regarding abstinence and the covenant with God in only having sex within marriage, that I could never recommend this magazine to an impressionable young girl. She will get the idea that she must be super skinny, having sex is okay if you are responsible about it, and her heroes are from Hollywood...

A much better alternative out there(for Christian families)is "Brio" for your teenage girls and "Breakaway" for teenage boys. They are both published by "Focus on the Family". If you want bible-based articles and fun info on the latest Christian bands etc,this is perfect. They also talk about issues confronting your teenagers in our society today. But what is refreshing is that it is from God's view, not societies.

You can order these magazines by going to their website at www.family.org
and it arrives very quickly. "Focus on the family" has a magazine for everyone in your family. Check it out! I am thrilled to be able to provide this type of information for my children put out by an organization that has the family at the heart of their works.


Recommended:
No

Recently my family and I were vacationing in Cable Head, Prince Edward Island. On the twelve hour or so drive, I purchased a Seventeen, as I do on occasion, to help pass the time. As I was about half way through the magazine, I suddenly realized that really, it's just plain stupid. I ended up finishing it however, and passed it around to my grandparents and my brother with my comments about it. Everyone agreed that really, it was no more than trash, and my grandmother felt it should be burned. This gave me an idea. I went through the magazine and picked out my least favorite pages to add to the fire, as did each member of my family. The final night we spent on the island we had a big lobster dinner and followed it with the burning of the magazine.
For my page to burn, I chose a DNKY Jeans ad which showed a woman pumping gas, and a man behind her, obviously staring at her derriere. In a little bubble above his head it says 'Nice jeans!' Now one does not have to be a rocket scientist to know that the man is not looking at her jeans. I found it to be rather repulsive and just plain gross. It clearly belittles women, and shows the masculine idea that women are merely sex objects. Another page I chose to burn was an ad for Always Pads. A girl was quickly skating away from a group of guys her age because she was worried that, heaven forbid, her mattress of a pad would spring a leak.
My mother, a health educator of 20 years, chose an ad displaying two women. One sported a tail and devils horns, the other a halo. She felt that this was a "bizarre visualization of women in different roles that have nothing to do with real women." The other page she chose was another ad, this one for a lipstick. It appeared to show red liquid going out of, not on to, a woman's lips. She did not understand this ad, and could not figure out what the splash of liquid had to do with lipstick, however did feel that it was a reference to oral sex.
My thirteen year old brother chose a promotional advertisement for the movie "Dick." He feels the title says it all.
My grandmother, a retired professor of anthropology, author, and world traveler chose another clothing ad. This ad featured a guy and a girl in their teens or twenties. He was giving her a piggyback ride and it appeared that they were headed for his dorm room. It is clear what was going to happen once they reached his room.
My stepfather, a health/science teacher and coach of twenty-five years, chose a Shedevil ad. It featured a woman in a jog bra and shorts holding up a pair of boxing gloves. He felt that they were selling "sex with sweat" and that it was "something evil to portray a woman as something other than a person." It was like someone was trying to say that men and women are not different, however they are, in fact, different.
While the rest of the family did choose advertisements for their page to burn, my grandfather, who recently retired after thirty-three years as professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, chose for his page the cover and table of contents of the magazine. He felt that it was a "labyrinth that points the direction to the whole magazine like a microcosm which encapsulates that which lies within." In essence, if you have the cover, you have it all.
We found the magazine to belittle women, and treat them as nothing more than sex symbols and second class citizens. While sex begins life, life is not based on sex. I don't feel that preteens and younger people should feel that they have to be beautiful to get a boyfriend or a girlfriend and that if they don't have the right clothes no one will like them. The way they look should not be a basis of their self worth. This encourages low self esteem, and possibly eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. While I have been merely speaking of the negative sides of Seventeen, its not all bad. Articles such as "Smart Girls, Bad Grades" (October 1998) and "Teens and AIDS: Who Will Live, Who Will Die" (July 1999) are helpful and teach people about things such as overcoming learning disabilities and the dangers of HIV. However too much influence is based upon fashion, makeup and beauty. For example, in the July 1999 issue at least half of the articles discussed fashion and beauty, while most of the rest dealt with dating and movie stars. There should be more articles like "A League of Her Own" (October 1998), which gives girls a role model, and "Birth Control Basics" (Sex + Body, November 1997), that shows everyone the ins and outs of birth control if they do decide to become sexually active at a relatively early age.
Articles on real life issues like pregnancy; dealing with death, depression and divorce; and how to protect yourself against violent boyfriends, all help young women, and don't suppress them. These should outweigh articles such as "The Best and The Worst in Clothes, Television, Movies" (December 1997). Girls should not be forced into a mold of the perfect, Barbie doll stereotype, but rather nurtured and encouraged to grow into intelligent, sophisticated young women.


Recommended:
No

As most parents know, young daughters think that they are automatically older than they are. Fortunately, boys tend to be a little slower in their social development. Or, maybe, it's just a Daddy's protection factor over his little girl. Whatever the case, my 11 year old recently picked up a copy of Seventeen magazine. Soon she was sporting some very fancy, and I must say, well put together fashion ideas. Curiosity peaked, I asked her where she came up with these ideas, and she proudly reported in Seventeen.
More curious than before, I borrowed her copy, and proceeded to get the shock of my life. I can't believe that I had, unknowingly, allowed my daughter to have such a publication. Not that I am an overly protective parent, it's just that I don't feel that there is any need to grow up as fast as teens, and obviously this magazine, want to grow up. Seventeen magazine was formost filled with advertisements, and articles on what boys want, and how to get things from boys.
Most of the articles (short clips of which they are), where about sex. Although they didn't actually use bad language, or, have bad taste in their writing, they where more specific than they needed to be. Children (even if they are 17, they are still children), don't need to be made aware of this kind of material. The worst part was that they weren't warning children about sex, or it's associated problems, they where really promoting sex.
Additionally, their role models (and believe me, those sexy young girls posing in outfits are role models for children), were the stereo typical, all to skinny, all to well put together girls. If there going to produce a magazine for teens, and young adults, to read, let's make the content of that magazine useful. Sure, let's include article about how to look good, and maintain a nice appearance, but let's also write about how to study, how to relate to adults, and how to make preparations for college.
Don't allow your children to read this tabloid junk, there are so many other good sources of information for children besides the trash magazines. Parents wake-up, don't make the mistake I made and blindly provide these kinds of materials to your young children. Look at what they are reading, better yet, read it yourself so that you can relate to them, and know what they are reading. Say no to Seventeen Magazine.


Recommended:
No