No fluffy, ditzy stuff here!

This is probably the first magazine of it's kind for teen girls. Most of these other teen magazines, such as Teen People (I like it, but sadly it's true), YM, Seventeen (check the cover; it becomes obvious that this isn't a magazine for younger teens), and Cosmogirl are too fashion/gossip/make-up/boy obsessed. Instead of focusing on all of that stuff, Teen Voices covers world issues and controversial topics. Some of the topics they have featured in past issues of the magazine have been the many different faces of the female, the way girls feel about their bodies, relationship with their family members, vegetarianism, and the flag controversy. One point the magazine makes is that it's a magazine for teens by teens. As proof of this, all the stories are written by teens. For lighter reading this magazine does have an interview with a celebrity. However, none of these celebrity interviews are fluffy; the selected celebrities are intelligent and can make some good points. For those people interested in this magazine, I recommend also checking out the website. My final recommendation on this magazine is that it's great for any teen girl who wants to know what's up in the world without having to sort through all the fluffy stuff to find it.

If you're into make-up, boys, and fashion...

Look somewhere else! In fact, this magazine is meant to break the stereotype that girls are only into make-up, boys, fashion, etc. Instead of talking about all that, this magazine has stories and interviews about real life stuff. These stories are usually two to five pages. At the beginning of the magazine, after the table of contents, is the Dear Teen Voices section, where readers of the magazine share their opinions about the stories in the previous issue. What's cool about this is that the editors reply back to all comments, not just a few. After that is the Letter From the Editor. I usually skip these types of things in other magazines such as Girls Life (blah; she's too boy crazy) and Teen People (the editor thing is pointless), but I really liked the way this magazine does their Letter From the Editor. After that is the Girl Talk section. At the bottom of this page, it talks about how other Girl Talk sections in other magazines talk about make-up, boys, and fashion, but how this one is about stuff going on in the world. I applaud Teen Voices for such a positive Girl Talk section. After this section is the stories. In the current issue, Volume 12, Issue 2, the first story is called "Celebrities have Opinions Too!" This is a two page story about clebrities protesting, and whether they should have the same right to protest as non celebrities. This story leads into another story about one celebrity girl's protest. Then there's a one page article about Teen Voice's mentors. It's a little pointless, but it seems ike a positive article. The next story is a six page story called "What's Race Got to do with it?" This one is about one girl discussing race and the school prom, and then there are two teen's stories about this topic. After that is a cute little comic, whcih is about getting older. After that is a two page artcile called Dear D. This one is about coming out. The next story is about what to expect during a gynecologist visit. After that is a story about the realioty shgows that SHOULD be on TV. This article is funny, and all the shows they came up with seem so cool! Next is my favorite story! This is an interview with four female DJs and their experiences with the job. After that is a section for reviews about CDs and books. What's cool about this section is that all the reviews are written by teens. Then there's an interview with a singer named Joan Pimental. It's an interesting article, so I recommend reading it. Next is a one page story about a group called SHOUT! The next page is dedicated to stories about how teens and their moms get along. Also in this story are poems written by readers of Teen Voices. They're simply amazing. After that is a four page story on the Pledge of Allegience controversy. Then there's an article about vegetarian cooking and some points on why vegetarianism might be better than eating meat. The last article is another fave. This one compares two ads, one ad that features a naked girl (who is trying to sell CLOTHING for Abercrombie and Fitch. Oh the irony!)and one that shows an athletic girl modeling stuff for Nike. This is a great article about advertisment. On the very last page is a short article about some popsitive ads that the editors would like to see. While I don't agree with everything in the magazine, this magazine is positive in message and is a great alternative to the other teen magazines out there.