Recently I was mailed a free issue of Chatelaine, a mainline Canadian women’s magazine. Rather than immediately throwing it out, I paged through it and discovered, once again, why I don’t read such magazines.
Besides the general silliness, ungodly attitudes, and shallowness, I found the stupidest advice I’d ever read.
Here’s Chatelaine’s advice to a woman married to a good man, ‘not perfect, but close’.
Even though you love him; though he’s kind and faithful and dear; though he’s your best friend and you’re his; though he will be devastated if you leave; though you can’t imagine life without him; though your friends will be upset; though you said you would stay; though there is nowhere to go; leave him ‘because you want to. Because wanting to is enough.’
Can you imagine any more mindless, absurd advice? It’s not even selfish; it’s downright senseless, meaningless, and ridiculous.
To think that people choose to spend time and money on such drivel boggles the mind.
To think that some foolish women will act on this and leave their kind, faithful, ‘almost perfect’ husbands for no reason makes one weep. Yet I’ve seen women do it.
Truly, when a woman forgets about the Lord and His values, she becomes completely foolish. She tears down her house—her life and her family—with her own hands as Proverbs 14:1 says.
And that is why I have better things to read than such magazines:
- Two chapters of the Bible a day on my own, plus what we read with the family.
- Quality books (many of which I review), articles, and websites.
- The book of Creation, that God spreads out for us so beautifully especially in the spring.
- And the beloved faces of my dear husband, children, relatives, and friends.
As for this magazine, I’m throwing it into the garbage rather than recycling it or passing it on as usual. I’d rather kill a tree than spread such poison. And Chatelaine is by no means the worst of the magazine selections at my grocery store check-out counter.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of Chatelaine and have (obviously) expressed my own opinion.
This post is linked to Encourage One Another Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday , Raising Homemakers, Growing Home, Above Rubies, Wisdom Wednesday.
Wow, I can’t believe that advice was given, how sad. I would throw it out too. Thanks for the honest review. 🙂
I often throw away magazines too, even advertising magazines from retailers. The content and visuals just aren’t what I want my kids reading or seeing. Blessings to you! Love, Rachael @ Inking the Heart
That’s terrible advice!!
I still sometimes read those magazines in dentists’ offices and such, but I quit subscribing to Glamour after the night I found myself sobbing because I had never “groomed” my eyebrows to meet their standards and this meant I was a BAD WOMAN according to the magazine! I was premenstrual and had a fever and it just hit me too hard, but good grief, what a silly idea–anybody who thinks badly of me based on my eyebrow shape is a bad person herself!
I don’t read them, either. Family gives me their cast offs. I usually toss them in the recycling bin.
Yeah, I was pretty offended about that magazine’s “s–y pumpkin pie” cover last Thanksgiving (link to my post about it is in my signature). I don’t even subscribe now to the Top Canadian Family/Lifestyle Magazine (you can probably figure out which one, Annie Kate), for similar reasons. Great recipes, but too much of a much on the other stuff.
Hey Annie! Glad you stopped by WHO CAN STAND and happy to have found your blog! This is indeed a tragedy. I used to subscribe to Martha Stewart’s Magazine (which I figured was pretty harmless), and it mostly was – except for the ads! In some of them the woman was basically nude.
May we continue to pray for our country.
Hi ‘Becca, that seems to be what those magazines do: mess with your values and self-esteem.
I’ll never forget what I once read about magazines. What they’re really selling is not a magazine to their subscribers, but their subscriber base to their advertisers. The less secure the subscribers feel, the more likely they’ll buy advertised products to fix their ‘problems’.
Sometimes, ladies, I feel like I’m the only one who thinks such magazines are trash–it’s good to know that there are more of us! Thanks so much for your comments.
I absolutely agree with you, how ridiculous to give that advice!
How important it is, now more than ever to surround ourselves with holy things that will help us on our way to Heaven.
That is SO sad! What terrible, awful, EVIL advice.
I agree with this strongly. I find most women’s magazines terrible. Even the one’s that aren’t will always have a few disagreeable articles. I recently got a few copies of some women’s magazines at the thrift shop for 25 cents each. They were Vogue, Ladies Home Journal and Redbook. While I knew the Vogue was going to be full of overpriced clothes and weird ads, it also promoted strange plastic surgeries and other ridiculous vain pursuits. But it was really the other two that surprised me. One of them (can’t remember which) had a terrible article about some French woman who has written a book about how horrible it is for women to be at-home mothers. Like you, I felt I couldn’t even donate these magazines back to the thrift shop, because I would hate to think it might actually influence someone, and threw them in the recycling can. I don’t care how cheap they are, I’m not getting any more of these from the thrift shop!