Lean In

In Cosmo's April 2013 Issue they had an entire mini-magazine dedicated to women and careers. The mini-mag also had an exclusive look at Sheryl Sandberg's new book Lean In, which helps and encourages women to reach their full potential at work.

The excerpt talks about statistics of women in careers, and discusses 3 tips for success in the work place. I loved this mini-mag. It was incredibly interesting to see what she had to say about women getting big positions, such as CEO, which men typical go after and get. She also discusses not "Leaving before you leave" which is about women not going after a promotion because she plans on trying to have a family. She says the time to leave work is when your home on maternity leave. She encourages women to continue striving in their careers until the last possible second, this will make the transition back into work, once you decide to go back, much easier. Women who "leave early" tend to find it hard to go back to work, feel inadequate and under appreciated.

Another interesting idea that came form the book was a "Lean In" group. Essentially it is a group of people, both men and women can be a part of it, who all encourage each other to go after a promotion, take on an extra project etc. This will help the group members achieve their greatest potential at work. I really liked the idea of people encouraging each other, especially women to go after big careers. Women are becoming a much bigger part of the work force then in the past, but they are still not becoming CEO's as much as men are and are still, typically, earning less. Women should go after a big career is that's what they want.

She also talked about "Making your partner, your partner" which means that your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend etc. should be just that, a partner, someone who helps you and pushes you to succeed. Marriages where the couple spilt child rearing and house work 50/50 are 50% less likely to get a divorce. Many men now stay home with the children more often then in the past and sometimes are home more with them. They are helping around the house more as well. This makes for happier couples, there isn't just one person working 9 hours at the office and then 5 hours of house work and child caring at home, which leads to more women continuing to prosper in their career paths.

Reading the excerpt made me want to buy the book so once I'm near a Barnes and Noble I'll be buying a copy. She has a lot of really interesting things to say and how to get where you want in your career.

Pope Fashion 101

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2013/03/pope-francis-jorge-mario-bergoglio-papal-fashion_slideshow_item7_8

Vanity Fair published an article about pope fashion highlights. I really liked this article, it was a lot of pictures which was nice and then a brief explanation of the fashion choice.  I had never thought of the pope as a fashion icon or fashionable at all but looking at the different trends and articles he wears it was really interesting. the red loafers which lead to them being the most popular accessory in 2007. I also loved the "santa hat". Vanity Fair put a fun spin to the story which made me want to keep reading.

Taking Care, Vogue March 2013

This month Vogue featured a story about a mother whose son is terminally ill with Tay-Sachs. I was unfamiliar with the disease, but the article made it easy to understand, it wasn't full of medical jargon which I really liked.

I used to read Vogue religiously when i was in high school but once I got to college I had to take a break from things I wanted to read and read things I HAD to. Luckily, this weekend I was able to buy a copy of this months Vogue and re-immerse myself in one of my favorite magazines.

The glossy advertisements and the pages filled with the latest fashion trends is what attracts me to the magazine but this month was different. As i flipped through the pages i came across a three page feature about a strong mother about to lose her son. It really made me love the magazine even more. This women wasn't a model or a fashion designer, just a women with a sick baby. Many other magazines focus on this as well, strong independent women and their story, however, i don't remember vogue taking this angle when i used to tread it all the time. It was really refreshing and inspiring.

The article itself was written in the mothers perspective, Emily Rapp, and was actually an excerpt from her book The Still Point of the Turing World. The way she describes her feelings and her actions made me feel them as well. They were incredibly descriptive and really highlighted her exact emotions. She describes cowering in a corner with him trying to protect him from the disease as if it were a predator, she tells about how she stumbled over a moment of happiness occasionally. Rapp is a great writer. I would love to read the full book and hopefully when I have time I can add it to my long list of books I want to read.

I think its great that vogue would cover a story like this in their magazine, it makes the magazine more relatable. Very few people can afford the clothes and designers the magazine feature, it's part of why I love the magazine, it's an escape from reality, a fantasy, covering  such a real and relatable story makes the magazine even better.

I was unable to find the article "Taking Care" online, it is in the March 2013 copy of Vogue.

Allure October 2012

Allure is one of my favorite magazines for several reasons. I love the layout, the content and I really love to read their articles. Their advertisements are another reason I love the magazine,  they advertise for high fashion companies such as Chanel and then smaller companies like Essie. It's a really great girly-girl magazine.

In the October 2012 Allure published an essay by Jennifer Weiner called "The F word." It was a three page spread about one women who was over weight who heard her daughter call a friend from camp "fat". I usually hate these kind of articles, as a girl the F word is one of the scariest words in the english language. The first page had a huge picture of girls being measure at a weightless camp in the catskills in 2001. The girls couldn't be more then 13 or 14. It made me really upset to think that even at such a young and impressionable age weight plays such a big part of a girls life.

I continued to read on, nearly brought to tears about the daughter Lucy using the F word and then the mothers childhood experience as an over weight child. "I was bigger then the other girls and that is what matters; that is all that matters." She's right, as a girl if you're thinner then another girl thats all that matters, the media has girls as young as 7 thinking that nothing but weight matters, whose smarter, kinder, better at kickball doesn't come close to how much weight means to girls. It's really sad and it's something that this generation needs to change for the next generation. It should be about being healthy, not thin. Weight shouldn't define a girl.

This article was truly incredible and inspiring. I'm really glad i read it and i think that more magazines and media outlets should publish stories like this one, it's a step in the right direction to combat and change societies beliefs about weight and beauty.