Turning boys into girls - humor - men's magazines - Cover Story - Industry Overview

Washington Monthly, May, 1998 by Michelle Cottle

The ad for Men's Health's web site says it all: "Don't click here unless you want to look a decade younger ... lose that beer belly ... be a better lover ... and more! Men's Health Online: The Internet Site For Regular Guys" Of course, between the magazine's covers there's not a "regular guy" to be found, save for the occasional snapshot of one of the publication's writers or editors -- usually taken from a respectable distance.

The moist young bucks in the Gap jeans ads and the electric-eyed Armani models have exactly as much in common with the average American man as Tyra Banks does with the average American woman. Which would be fine, if everyone seemed to understand this distinction. Until they do, however, I guess my consolation will have to be the image of thousands of once-proud men, having long scorned women's insecurities, lining up for their laser peels and trying to squeeze their middle-aged asses into a snug set of Super Shaper Briefs -- with the optional fly front endowment pad, naturally.