Oh the irony

That's why I think counter attack is a better idea than saying it shouldn't happen, absent. In other words, as others have said before me, women should shout back. And stop buying the trash.

There is a shop in our village. It sells some newspapers and mags among other things. I've never bought one. I don't even look at the racks. I can read what I want to read online and avoid the trash that way

Oh, wait! I did buy GS1 a CBeebies magazine last time he was here. In August.

"Little woman" and "pretty/ugly girl" syndromes are still prevalent throughout the media. You don't have to be famous or a celebrity (or both) to be subjected to it. If a woman d'un certain age is mugged, she's almost invariably labelled as "grandmother of four" or "pensioner Lily" – or both. If a man of the same age is mugged, he isn't usually described as "grandfather of four" or "pensioner George".

Concentrating on the "Maralyn moment" rather than the charity and what the Duchess had to say is, of course, sexist. She's such a sweet girl [31-year-old girl that is] with nice legs who's worrying her pretty little head about something nasty that our readers don't want to know about – that's the picture.

Plenty of male celebrities are criticised in the tabloids for weight gain, plastic surgery, man-boobs, naff clothes sense etc. I agree that far more women are targeted, but perhaps that's because there's more to comment on? Men tend to wear trousers, not short skirts or see-through dresses...

Don't you have newsagents up there in the far north Bags ?
Yes there are a few pics of Gove that keep on getting used again and again. And he gets criticised for being ugly. But that is not quite the same as being criticised because of your hair, makeup, weight, taste in clothes etc in a constant stream.

No, of course not, bags and by the same token I wouldn't call what I see reported in many papers journalism, either, yet apparently it all comes under the umbrella of journalism, and there are quite a few journalists who cut their teeth on trash magazines when they first started out.

Can the contents of these magazines like Heat (which I'd never even heard of until today) really be called journalism though, when? I agree with your ideal but it is an ideal and will always, I think, be a long way from reality because of how people are – not everybody, obviously, but a good number. People buy the trash because they like it in some weird self-destructive way. I'm not counting those who, like you, bought it (or looked at it anyhow) for professional reasons.

Women are just as insultingly sexist (if that's the right word) about women as men are in the sense that they not only lap up all the trashy stuff but write it as well in some cases. We can be our own worst enemies.

jess, yes, I recall a few pretty unflattering press photos of males, especially politicians. Sauce for the gander! I honestly wonder if a concerted campaign to spread gander sauce (!) whenever there is blatant goose sauce poured around would maybe wake a few people up?

bags my sister (a woman of strong opinions) used to work on a local BBC TV news programme as a stills researcher. if there was an item about a politician coming up, she would be asked to find suitable photos (these days its video). She used to pick the unflattering ones of people she didn't approve of

I can't say I'm keen on women writing the same things about men. I'd rather see a culture shift towards both men and women learning that journalism should be a serious profession and press coverage of news items should be accurately and responsibly brought to the public in a way that doesn't denigrate either sex. Not holding my breath!

God! What a horrible thought!

Just as well i don't read rubbish mags.

Is it a standard of perfection, though? Really? I don't think it is. That's only my opinion, but it runs deep. I scoff at this "standard of perfection" and I believe that the only way to stop it taking hold in young minds (or old ones, come to that) is to teach people how to see through the falsity and the bullshit.

I agree, gadabout, about the weight of the rubbish in the press is focussed on women. So how about encouraging journalistic ambition in young women to redress the balance? I mean, if the press has to focus on people looks and clothes, then women need to start getting in there and doing the same about men. I think that's the only way to redress the balance – show them up and make them reflect a little by giving them a taste of their own medicine.

If you can't beat 'em (and you can't), join 'em. And make it non-sexist that way.

I too think it's very sad that many women in the public eye seem to feel pressure to conform to some over-made-up, artificial appearance.
I used to admire Sophie Raworth in her younger days - she seemed to possess a natural attractiveness.
But I saw her on the BBC News the other night and was sad to see the immobility of her face, the overdone makeup and the helmet-like hairstyle.
Sorry if anyone thinks that's unkind, but I preferred her the way she used to be.

Yes quite gadabout its the constant commenting about well known women that makes it sexist. And yes bags the standard of "perfection" expected by these sleaze merchants is completely unrealistic for the majority - make up or no makeup. Its not just a standard of natural beauty it is a standard of "grooming" that ordinary young women are made to feel they should aspire (false eyelashes, straightened hair and stuck on nails etc) So the journalists hold up this gruesome "ideal" - and apart from on their pages the only place you usual spot an outbreak in "real life" is when the camera pans along the line of "wives and girlfriends" in football and rugby matches - a row of pretty young women who appear to have been tended by "hair and beauty" for about 5 hours before emerging into the light of day.

Oh dear! I didn't mean that last comment to go through! I was trying out my laptop[ which was indicating that my post's were being blocked, but when I checked on OH's far superior desk top it would appear that they aren't - so goodness knows what the story is!! Apologies for the inconsequentual comment!

i like the royal family

bags

I think making detrimental remarks about other peoples appearance both un kind and rude

I hope you didn't think I was suggesting your post was cyber bullying Bags because I certainly didn't mean that at all. Apologies if you thought that

But isn't that the point bags? - there are not so many comments about men & their appearance all the time. Doesn't an ..ism have to go with an unequal balance of power to be one, like bullying too? I think the fact that there is this kind of photo on the front page of many newspapers most days, whether of the Royals, film stars or Strictly contestants is lazy journalism going for a cheap win.

I wasn't suggesting that anyone had suggested that kids shouldn't be helped to withstand rubbish press publications. Just saying that society has to do its best to help them withstand what they need to withstand. But we also have to put up with the bullshit.

Re-reading one of jess's remarks "One minute they are praising some beautiful "celeb" like Kate for looking stunning and the next minute showing a pic of her looking slightly less than perfect (getting the milk in without makeup!), suffering a "wardrobe malfunction" or commenting on her "baby weight" or the loss of it. All this commenting makes up two sides of the same coin", leaves me wondering why (if, even) this sort of stuff is sexist because it's mainly applied to women, or because it's actually wwrong for the press to comment on people's appearance, perfect or otherwise.

What I hate is the prevalent view that being without make-up makes one's appearance imperfect.

That aside, what I'm trying to get at is, suppose there were equivalent comments about men all the time, would that be sexist too, or would it just be a human behaviour issue – our obsession with appearance? I do wonder if it is sexist at all when i look at it from a purely animal behaviour point of view. What I'm thinking is, what about other species where it is the male who has to have the right kind of appearance? There are plenty of examples, birds in particular. Is it sexist or just animalist and, therefore, inevitable?

Well, I AM a royalist, and as such it saddens me that in virtually every paper the Duchess of Cambridge is constantly being criticised for just about everything she does/wears/says - people's comments in a particular newspaper are sometimes so horrible as to border on the vile. Lets face it she's damn if she does and damned if she doesn't, even on remembrance sunday she was taken to task for, I think, twirling her hair!! If she had spent the whole time in tears, no doubt that would have been picked up as her being over sentimental and insincere - it's quite ridiculous, almost like a vendetta. Her skirt blew up? so what, she took it in good part, and it could happen to anyone, why the big deal? but of course, fault has to be found, trying to protray her as frivolous and silly, instead of concentrating on the valuable serious nature of her visit. I think she is a lovely young woman, and hopefully she and her husband will pay a visit to our neck of the woods.

Whenim64, I also read those magazines , because so many of the parents I was involved with sent stories to them, some of which were published.

Thatbags, I may be missing something, but I haven't picked up any comments on this thread suggesting children should not be "helped to withstand both sides of the coin". Kate was opening a cyber bullying project, something aimed at helping children understand more about this type of bullying. That isn't hiding nasty stuff from children and young people, it's exposing them to it in constructive and supportive way.

I don't share the dismissive view of Kate expressed by some on this thread. I stand by my view, she is a young woman who seems to be attempting to use her role in a positive way. "Faffing around cutting ribbons and receiving bouquets" is part of that role, as well as constantly being alert to the possibility of a wardrobe/hair malfunction. She seems to manage to do it very pleasantly, and good luck to her.

Pretty sad if the pinnacle of your aspiration is to get onto Kyle show or have your sordid story in a mag when.

I used to read Chat, Heat, take a Break etc. because so many young women that I supervised as a probation officer not only read them, too, but wanted their stories published in these magazines, and received unwanted publicity that put them at risk from ex-boyfriends, or resulted in their benefits status being investigated. They also applied to be on Jeremy Kyle's show, some of them succeeding. It's enlightening to see how children and young women learn about their world from these magazines, which exclude the wider world and the opportunities that education, work and travel can help to improve their lives. They lower expectations for girls by publishing such rubbish.

Didn't think you did