Old Ideas Coming Back

I was talking to Nigel and doing a little reading around the all-knowing and all-powerful Internet (All Hail). And I remembered an idea that I had back when I was in high school. I loved magazines, but I never subscribed to any because there wasn't enough in any of them that I could truly relate to. So I came up with the idea of starting a magazine for black teen girls. My mom thought it was a good idea, but like every idea I come up with, I didn't follow through. I couldn't think of a good name. But as I was reading an article on things that guys don't understand about women and reading some of the things off to my husband, he commented on some stuff that he doesn't understand. We realized that the concerns that he had that were not on the list were related to black women. I thought that maybe I should start up a site where black people could read about sexual and relationship concerns that they could relate to. Then I remembered my old idea about a magazine for black teens and tried to see if I could find one. Apparently no one has really jumped on this yet, although I did find a small internet magazine that I didn't think was on par with what I want it to be.

And just so I'm clear, this isn't really a race issue. Anyone that knows me knows that I am usually the last person to pull a race card. I consider myself to be a racial realist. I don't see racism around every corner, but I also recognize when a situation is focused more on race than it should be. The reason I think that there should be a separate magazine for black girls is because the content of mainstream teen magazines often don't have material relevant to the black culture. I loved looking for makeup and hair tips in magazines, but I would often be disappointed when I could find nothing that would work for my skin or hair type. And I don't blame the makers of mainstream magazines, either. They market their content to the majority population, and the reality is that the majority population isn't black. That's just statistics.

So what's the problem? I think the problem might be largely cultural in and of itself. Look at the content of teen magazines. They are often centered around boys, makeup, and fashion. The black community prides itself on keeping it's young women either oblivious or resistant to being "boy-crazy". It doesn't work, of course, but I think that may be one reason this idea has been hard to get off the ground. We should not be focused on those things. I, personally, think black women's obsession with independence from men is a big mistake anyway, but that's a topic I could write a thesis on. What we should be concerned with is promoting self-confidence in our young women, by showing them good role models and giving them stories of success from people they can relate to. I'm getting all passionate about this again and since I am majoring in Communications now, it might be something to run with. Maybe I can stay on task this time...

I'm sure I'll also start a site for my age also, although, from what I've seen, Essence has stepped up their game. More pro-sex and pro-relationship articles. I might have to just make mine a little more.... detailed.. Until next time, people.