Working For the Man: The Lowdown on Which Women's Mags To Buy or Burn (cont.)

Sandra Fu

Ones to Check Out: Marie Claire and Jane
Marie Claire does the man thing to a certain extent -- some of their articles employ similar captions as Cosmo -- but the difference lies in what you get when you open the magazine up.

The articles on male desire usually involve specifically interviewed guys who answer questions based on compromising situations or women's looks that they are given by the magazine -- there isn't much in the way of generalization, at least in the article concept stage. Which makes a difference to me because men are individuals, not some collective force that may actually notice the make-out tips women dig up in Cosmo. Marie Claire doesn't bash men nearly as hard as Cosmo bashes women -- usually they are represented as having numerous sides and opinions.

But let's get to sex. Marie Claire also has articles on sex, with the primary difference being that they usually focus on women's pleasure, not men's. The point being that women should have sex as often as they want with whomever they want, as long as it involves their pleasure and not the simple desire to capture the heart --or penis -- of a man.

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"I think that there's been a lot of difficulty in defining what is American, what is considered American. There's a lot of difficulty with acceptance within our community of foreignness at this time."

"But at the time it was as if he had announced to the whole world that I was wearing a training bra. So I turned around and delivered a swift kick to his crotch."

"The chief characteristic of I'm the One That I Want is bravery -- Cho simply has no fear taking on gays, straights, the media, networks, (Cauc)Asians, culture, sex, addiction and countless other components of popular American life."

"My father's side of the family had the good fortune to be on the route of the first missionaries bringing Christianity to Korea, so we jumped on the Jesus bandwagon before it got all crowded with Buddhist poseurs."

"The aptly named Carney thought that Asian-Americans would find 'Two Wongs Can Make it White' cheeky and irreverent? Maybe if they, like Abercrombie &Fitch, weren't thinking."

"Some women may find it useful to support their upper body by propping their hands or forearms on their knees. Once properly positioned go ahead and let loose the stream."

Take the October issue of Marie Claire, for example, in which one of the cover's main caption reads: "Secrets To Your Best ORGASM." Now, that's what I'm talking about -- once you're armed with that knowledge, you can easily pass it on to the man of your choice if you want. Either way, the focus should be on the woman and in Marie Claire, it usually is -- I once read an investigative piece where the reporter took a class on how to achieve female ejaculate. Now that's information women can really use!

To be serious, it's hard not to appreciate the honesty and singularity of such articles, because they deal honestly with the complexities of female sexuality; they inform women how to improve their sex lives, not how to simply get some guy off -- which is really quite easy to do.

Plus, Marie Claire is rare among women's magazines in that they are socially and politically conscious, addressing taboo female issues that most other publications of their type could give a rat's ass about. I am constantly surprised -- and then applaud -- the research and investigation that goes into their articles every month. For example, it was several months ago that I read about an organization that advocates the most extreme and violent suppression of women that only now people are becoming aware of: the Taliban. Women who read this article were already apprised of their gender's suffering in Afghanistan, long before the Taliban became Western civilization's most hated organization, and it didn't take a national disaster for Marie Claire to take notice.

Further, they usually feature an article on how decisions in current politics will affect women, listing the major politicians that either favor or disagree with the issues and how women can contact them to register their approval or grievances.

So read this magazine. If you want the beauty and fashion tips like I do, take this opportunity to expand your mind in other ways, as well.

I like Jane for completely different reasons than Marie Claire -- I have a sophisticated side and a crass, obnoxious, sex-crazed side, and Jane satisfies the second. They're much like men's magazines, zeroing in on raunchy or comical sex Q&A. For example, in their October issue, a Navy officer explains -- using diagrams -- some good knots to use for bondage and an adult film actress gives tips on how to successfully fake an orgasm. I've even seen the magazine feature a man on their cover, but not often enough. Memo to Jane: more hot men, please.

Of course, the magazine is not without its flaws -- they use sarcasm for humor, which can be quite funny, but sometimes it seems over the top and downright lame. I'm not too fond of their "Dear Man" section where some nobody "groggily answers your neurotic questions." The premise in itself might be funny, but the article's silly and useless. That's usually the risk you take when being quirky, so it's easy to forgive them for it.

Jane's features are hit or miss, too, but you have to admire their audacity and courage to write things that most women would blush over - plus, they swear and since I can hang with the best of truck drivers, this amuses me. Jane, like Marie Claire -- though with much less frequency -- also includes some socially and politically conscious issues, but not usually with the depth and seriousness that they deserve. Check it out for the mere entertainment value.

So, in closing, women go ahead and give into the girly-girl that's in all of us and grab a magazine off the rack -- just make sure you pick the right one. And that's the low down on what to read and what to burn.