This post was originally published on September 29, 2010.
My TIME magazine just arrived. On the cover is the silhouette of a naked pregnant woman. I put the magazine face down on the table and I refuse to read it. The sight of a pregnant woman does not make me envious or pine for motherhood; I’m just tired of having motherhood pushed at me endlessly.
Last month’s Runner’s World met the same fate with its double features on pregnant runners and the best baby joggers on the market. My longtime subscription to this magazine is in jeopardy as they continue to aim more and more articles at parents, leaving non-parents flipping the pages looking for something to relate to.
There are magazines galore for parents and mothers-to-be. Is it too much to ask for my news and hobbies to be safe havens?
It’s Whiny Wednesday. What’s rubbing you the wrong way today?
My sentiments exactly, Lisa! With the royal wedding approaching, all the media want to talk about is Kate and William’s offspring, okay and Kate’s dress.
The point is the two are not even married yet, honestly. And what if they don’t have any children. Just what if? Would that make her inferior to her counterparts or less of a woman.
Absolutely not. Okay, enough whining. Back to work.
Sonja
I collected the contents of my mailbox, happy to see that my favorite magazine had arrived. I turn it over only to be stopped in my tracks. The title “Parents Magazine” was blazed across the front and I found that I selected to be one of the lucky people who were given a free 3month subscription to said magazine.
If I’m on some consumer checklist or profile I suppose they think I’m a mid-thirties women knee deep in children and would love a subscription to their magazine. However, they are mistaken. I might have well have been given a magazine about hunting. Or golf. Getting a parents magazine made just about as much sense.
I tried to find a way off the list. I had to visit the Parents website and wade through pages of articles and countless links. Never found a phone number or email. But I did find a way to my account (how on earth could I have an account to a magazine I’d never purchaed?!?) I found a way to cancel the mag but now what?
My point is, hunting magazines don’t randomly send subscriptions to all rural males between the ages of say, 25 – 35 with the assumption that they will all want to know the best way to call in a deer. Cosmo doesn’t mail their magazine to young women assuming that they are single and looking to enhance their (presumably) boring sex lives.
Then why does a parenting magazine think it’s okay to toss their rag into my mailbox with the assumption that I want to know how to get my toddler to eat peas or how to handle my relationship with my son’s preschool teacher.
Does their marketing think they will reach more people than they will offend? Am I just on an unfortunate mailing list? I was surprised how rattled I was by that unexpected magazine. And I didn’t appreciate it.
I’d have been rattled too! And angry. It’s rude. But then so much of marketing is rude. They don’t care if they annoy those of us not in their market demographic, they just want the ones who are.
and the ads on the right on fb? All about baby showers, having babies. No matter how many times I click on them as ‘offensive’ (ho yes) I get that irritating message telling me my click has helped them streamline the right adverts to me. My wobbly cellulitey arse. Thats not streamlining
It just keeps getting worse at work. We added another nurse to the staff. She has 4 kids – a 15yr old, twins, and a 2 yr old. One of the other girls has a 9 mo baby. Now, all I hear is baby this and baby that. I’ve resorted to hiding as much as I can to avoid hearing the banter. I’ve broken down crying practically everyday. It seems like everywhere I turn, there is some reference to babies. Make it stop!!!!!
when so much of society bases how successful you are in life on whether you have children or not, it kind of makes you feel like you’re a loser if you don’t have children – i wish society could move past judging me on how successful i am or not based on my childless [not by choice – which apparently makes me an even bigger loser!] state – i’m tired of being considered a freak!
There was talk about getting a magazine together for ‘non-parents’; does anyone know what happened w/the idea?
I was in line at a high end grocery last week and the woman in front of me wouldn’t walk forward in line because she couldn’t find her kids who were running amuck (and they were little). So, she held up the line while she went to look for them and then went back to her same position in the cue. I’m sure that fertiles and infertiles alike were bothered by her non-mothering, but it felt like a stab in my foot.