I’ve been wanting to talk more about some of the things I notice in the media on my blog, so today, I thought I’d start this “media moment” feature where I could share these kinds of thoughts and open further discussion on a regular basis.
Last week, I was thinking about how a lot of the magazines I read feature dating sex advice/tips/etc….and all of it is totally directed at straight women. Even though these magazines tend to be relatively liberal, they don’t really have a tone of inclusiveness, which, once I started to think about it, seemed both really odd and yet totally unsurprising. I mean, can you imagine how the tone and content of their articles would shift if they suddenly didn’t assume everyone was dating someone with a penis?
Anyway, I was kind of pondering that and wondering if it’s something that we’ll ever see change, or if this is pretty much just the way it’s going to be. A few hours after I had this thought, I sat down to read the February issue of Glamour. It included a fashion spread, “Just Kiss Me,” that features real (model) couples kissing and modeling new looks. And after doing a little cheer that there was an interracial couple, I was even more excited to see that, lo and behold, there was also a lesbian couple included in the spread!
That picture is like the definition of “canoodling,” is it not? It’s not quite as exciting as the change I was envisioning, but I tend to get excited about the little things like this because they feel like steps in the right direction. Nice work, Glamour.
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Aww, pretty.
And I love it. Tiny steps lead to big steps.
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Love this. I swear, more and more media/companies are starting to do this. I just saw on Tumblr the other day an ad/display for Crate & Barrel’s wedding registry and it was a dude couple. So much love.
I saw the Crate & Barrel ad in my catalog with the dude couple too. It was fantastic!
That’s great about the Glamour photo too! Good find Rachel! Thanks for sharing.
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Yes, and an interracial gay couple! I rejoiced!!
I love this so much – thank you for sharing.
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Cute canoodling is cute canoodling. And I think the fact that it’s not the tried-and-true “too hot to be real” guy + model makes it more eye-catching and interesting. I’m much more likely to stop and double take at that shot than a boy/girl one.
Way to go Glamour! {I must now look this up online and figure out which models those are. Excuse me.}
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Ah, I can tell you that! McKenzie and Candice (no last names provided), both at Ford Models.
Haha. My employer thanks you!
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Bravo, Glamour! I used to work for a magazine, and it was as if same-sex relationships weren’t even on their radar! Granted, this was a few years ago…but STILL! So glad to see that major media outlets are painting a more inclusive picture of romantic relationships.
Have you seen the Target wedding registry advertisement? Every time I look at it, I get goosebumps.
http://www.styleite.com/media/target-gay-marriage-ad/
I like this new addition to your blog, Rachel. And especially this post! I find it really frustrating that modern magazines STILL don’t feature sex/relationship advice for other types of relationships beyond just female/male. And to feature this image in a fashion shoot is sweet, too. I hope they keep doing this!
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I used to LOVE magazines (flaws and all) before I came out. Now, I can’t recall the last time I purchased a fashion magazine. Just so. much. doesn’t apply to me. Not just the dating advice, but all the articles unless it’s specifically about OMGlesbians assume heterosexuality.
Bravo (Brava?) Glamour! And what a cute couple!
GAP has billboards in LA “Love Comes in Every Shade” that are adorbs and diverse http://www.homorazzi.com/article/the-gap-love-comes-in-every-shade-holiday-ad-campaign-nas-new-normal-rufus-wainwright-jack-huston/ (except I’m now disappointed that the two women are best friends and not cute lesbians…le sigh)
And PS Brava Rachel for always being an awesome ally!
Those are adorbs! Does the billboard actually say “best friend love” on it? Because if not I probably would have assumed they were lesbians just because of the campaign’s title and the fact that their pose is kinda canoodly!
The ad doesn’t specifically say “best friend love” – they are on billboards all over LA as well as some others. I didn’t realize the ads were portraying real relationships and thought, initially, that GAP was intending to show a same-sex female couple. However, I thought they chose the models poorly as they don’t look like any lesbian couple I know (although I stand corrected with this new Glamour photo). So, yes, I thought it was supposed to be same sex couple and my guess is that others had the same assumption. I was just disappointed to find out it wasn’t a lesbian couple (and also gratified that I was right in guessing the two women were not actually gay).
I was surprised and impressed by this as well! I was also happy to see a nice lesbian couple that was not all slutted out for the pure (and obvious) benefit of men.
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Yes! I agree and I think that was one of the best things about this!!
Completely off topic – and I’m sorry – but I need help!
I tried to google this, but it is so hard to google blogs and actually find something that you’re looking for.
I am looking for a blog that could be/ is geared towards recent grads looking for work.
Back story: My sister just graduated from college. She picked a business degree (finance) to just get through college and have a degree. It is not her passion and she would rather head into HR or more of a people person job or something with constantly changing projects.
She’s now very unmotivated and just complains about how she feels worthless and feels like her life has no direction. She wants to look for a job but doesn’t know where to start on how to find a possible position that would make her happy.
Anything come to mind?
I hate to put this on you, lol, but you’re the only person I could think to ask after google failed me :)
Hmmm maybe Thought Catalog? There is a lot of stuff on there about that post-grad transition and not having a job or the job you want. And xoJane might have some stuff too…maybe do a search on the site for “unemployment” or just suggest she start reading regularly…I’m guessing some relevant articles will pop up on either site within a few days of starting reading. :)
http://www.askamanager.com is GREAT. all kinds of resume and job search and general job advice.
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I was reading Glamour on the plane ride to Philadelphia and I saw this spread. It just made me smile! I really applaud them for not showing the couple in a hypersexual way, like other magazines may have done.
Thanks for bringing up another insightful observation to keep me thinking about and questioning the status quo. It is great to see the media start embracing real diversity, movement in a good direction.
One thing I have also noticed in the media – which is sort of related to this – is that the media in Europe only ever shows gay men when discussing homosexuality. What I mean is that now the media have opened up somewhat to homosexuality, and current affair magazines often have articles on being gay etc, but they only ever show male gay couples. I’m not sure about the US but here in Europe regular lesbians are never shown. What you might see are two plastic surgery enhanced blonde babes pretending to be lesbians but you never ever see just a run-of-the-mill lesbian couple in these articles. No matter how open society claims to be at the moment in Europe, the media here may as well just say “when we say “gay” what we mean is a male couple, when we say lesbian what we mean is the the faux lesbian porn stars in lads-magazines”. I myself am straight but I’m so tired of the ‘default’ button for gay being “male”. As if people are all like “I read an interesting article on a homosexual couple” and when you ask “oh right, male or female” they kind of stutter as if to say “well male of course, I mean it wasn’t a porn magazine I was reading which is where lesbians exist..?”
Love love love this, Rachel. Thanks for writing about it.
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