Not what it used to be, but still the best of its kind

The new editor of Marie Claire changed things to make my favorite women's magazine more like Cosmopolitan than I'd like . . . but it's still not quite THAT bad. If you're going to indulge in any women's magazine, this is the one to choose.

This magazine touts itself as a publication for "women of the world" and I have to say, it does a pretty decent job of earning that label. Marie Claire is the first place I read about the Taliban (years ago ... long before Bush and Co. exploited the Afghan women to propagandize their aggression in Central Asia), and about genital mutilation, sex slavery, and other issues that have since become very important causes in my life. The articles aren't as in-depth and well-balanced as they would be in other, more scholarly sources, but they're enough to pique the interest of any would-be activist. Unlike it's trashy cousin Cosmo, Marie Claire avoids articles about how to achieve the 15 minute orgasm or how to drive your man wild, but instead features articles about real women of all ages, shapes and sizes. When was the last time you saw a size 22 woman in Cosmopolitan, let alone one wearing a bathing suit and talking about how she'd learned to love her body? I just read that in Marie Claire last month! Also, Marie Claire tends to put more "real" women on the cover--Camryn Manheim and Susan Sarandon, for example.

In all honestly, I don't like the new editor as much as I liked the last one, but Marie Claire still takes the high road more often then not. This magazine is always a much-welcomed break from my law books and study groups--and sometimes I don't even feel guilty!

A favorite...

This magazine has really grown on me of late, for a lot of reasons. Glamour and Cosmo don't appeal to me as much, partly due the the drop in their quality, and partly just due to the fact that I'm not in their target age group. Marie Claire has far more articles that are in line with my interests. They attempt to cover real issues that have an impact on women's lives. They are able to write stories about the status of women in the world (i.e. their Taliban articles) in a way that makes the information accessible without treating the reader like you are stupid and totally oversimplifying. I also like that not all the models look anorexic, and they don't inundate the reader with diet advice, or articles on sex and how to find/get/keep a man. This is still a light beach read compared to a hard new magazine, but it's far better than most other magazines in this genre.

Substance as well as style

For my money, "Marie Claire" is the best of the women's fashion magazines. Other reviewers have compared it to "Cosmo," but "Marie Claire" has got a lot more depth to it. Yeah, the fashion spreads and fun articles are there, but this magazine goes beyond the usual fashion mag drivel to actually talk about real issues that affect women all over the world--things like forced arranged marriages, the international trade in sex slaves, how caste affects women in India, etc. etc. Even the fluff pieces are written with a certain amount of insight. The bottom line is that "Marie Claire" actually treats its readers as intelligent beings rather than just consumers of trendy fashion items.