Just When You Thought You Were Okay...

Just When You Thought You Were Okay...

Women are so lucky. Come on, let’s think about it. We are incredibly lucky! We can go to the grocery store, and when we’re done shopping, we can take a minute to look over the magazine racks. Right there in front of us are dozens of ways for us to be better than we already are! How lucky is that? Through countless women’s magazines, we can find a way to improve on virtually everything from our looks to our relationships. Advertisers are begging us to use their products designed to make us look younger than our years. The cover stories are full of ways to improve the quality of our lives.

Men just don’t realize how unfortunate they are. They don’t have the opportunity to have the choices we do. They don’t have to decide what type of moisturizer is best for their skin type, or even know what skin type they have. They don’t think about hiding the bags under their eyes, or making their lashes look longer and fuller. They don’t have the option to think about whether they should use a moisturizing make up, or one designed for oily skin to hide the shine, they are stuck with the skin they have. They don’t make their cheekbones stand out or look more defined through the magic of a brush and the perfect shade of blush. They’ve been left behind, and one has to wonder if they don’t feel slighted at times because cosmetic companies have chosen not to focus on making them look better than they do.

Oh yes, we women are indeed fortunate to have all the information we have. How else would we know how to feel about ourselves if not for the media telling us we can always improve on something? New products are designed all the time, and we rush out to buy something “new and improved,” wondering why they didn’t make it that way to begin with. We have shelf upon shelf of products we’ve tried, and dismissed as “not for us.” If we didn’t have this information, we’d walk around feeling like we were actually doing okay. It’s obvious we need a lot of assistance looking younger than our years. After all, if we didn’t need all that help, why would we rush to the store just to buy the latest item developed just for us?

Let’s not forget the articles that pinpoint just how to improve our skills and relationships. It’s not just about looking better, but being better. We can figure out how to manage our time more effectively, organize our homes, and become more efficient at cleaning our houses. We can learn how to improve our relationships, make them deeper and more meaningful, even when we thought they were fine the way they were. We can become better mothers, sisters, daughters and friends, not to mention lovers. We can find six easy ways to spot a cheating spouse or partner. We can even find out if our jobs aren’t actually right for us. These articles also give us clues about men and what they like, enabling us to be better partners both in and out of bed.

I don’t know about all of the other women out there, but I have to say I am so grateful I don’t walk around with the idea that I’m okay the way I am. How misguided would I be if I didn’t use the right moisturizer, the right make up, (after all, long, thick, and luscious lashes are important in the scheme of things), or wear the right clothes. How inept would I feel if I didn’t clean with the latest cleaning “technology”. It is a must to know all the latest trends, and be informed of all the latest products. It’s necessary for me to know that I don’t have to actually spend time cooking dinner; I can just pop something in the microwave, and I’m told it’s as good as something home made. I need to know the ten things most necessary for having a healthy line of communication with my husband. (How else would I possibly know how to talk with him?) I have to know how to manage my time most effectively, and how to best organize my household. How else would I do these things if I couldn’t pick up the latest woman’s magazine, giving me the latest “how to” instructions?

Again, it’s sad for men. They don’t have a clue about what they’re missing, unless per chance they pick up a magazine and browse through it. How envious would they be if they only realized how much they were missing, how the markets of today are not focusing on them, or how they could improve their lives. Some do, but let’s be honest; men have missed the boat on this one. Men have magazines for self-improvement, but for every men’s magazine, there are perhaps five for women. After all, we women need to improve much more than men do. It’s obvious by the number of magazines assisting us and prompting us never to stop our quest for being better than we are.