Chat mags - Selling the Hype

Selling the Hype

These womens chat magazines are available to anyone with the money and are even for sale online.  They are promoted as trivial entertainment yet their subject matter is far from that.  Young readers, who have uncontrolled easy access to this adult material see the world through a distorted lens of "men are evil".  They are unaware that all these stories have been selected precisely because they support a misandric viewpoint.



The website Newsstand ("The UK'S Largest Online Magazine Store") wants you to subscribe to Chat Magazine online. 

..Her blood was splashed
all over the walls"

This is what they have to say about it...

"..a good old romp of racy, gossipy goodness. It brings you real-life stories that will shock and amaze you every week, but it’s also open, honest, and moving. It has thousands of prizes for you to win, and features loads of gritty tales of horror and abuse, as well as plastic surgery gone wrong and grisly murders, but also loads of heartwarming, uplifting stories about pets, families reunited, and weddings, to name but a few. And remember, it’s all true and happened to people like me and you! 

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Or how about an online subscription service Pocketmags.  It has this to say about Chat magazine and suggest you read all about the rapes and child abuse as you "wile away a few hours with a nice, hot cuppa."

"RAPED more than 20 times"

"If you love to read the most outrageous, inspiring, fascinating and mind-boggling stories from around the world, then Chat magazine is the perfect magazine for you. Filled to the brim with astonishing true stories that you won’t believe, you can be confident you’ll have your mind-blown with every issue! Whether it’s a triumphant story of overcoming tragedy, an unbelievable tale of mistaken identity, heartwarming pictures to bring a smile to your face or a shocking story to make you gasp - Chat magazine is full of fascinating features every single week."

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More online subscriptions from Readly.com.  It wants you to read "Pick Me Up" women's casual chat magazine because...

"He buried his wife in the garden
SO HE COULD HAVE SEX
WITH HER SISTER"

"Pick Me Up! is the beating heart of the modern family. Its rip-roaring real-life sparkles with warmth, helping the reader find the silver lining on the rainiest of the days. Pick Me Up! is packed with ways to help your budget go further. Whether it's the best, brightest bargain fashions, the latest money-saving vouchers, cheap and simple recipes or bargain beauty buys, Pick Me Up! is the magazine that will save you money. Escape to our website pickmeupmagazine.co.uk for endless fun."

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Paper Versions of Click-Bait

A trend that these magazines have started using on their front pages around summer of 2018 is the use of pernicious "click-bait" headlines.  These are horrific headlines followed by some text that compels you to look further - just like click-bait does on web pages.  

Horror stories with smiling faces

Here's some of their examples...

• My MUM walked in as DAD was raping me - Would she save me?
• BEATEN AND PREGNANT BY A FLASHER - then he did something even sicker
• I woke to my DATE SAWING OFF my FEET -  but he'd done WORSE to my PUPPY

Children also become intrigued and attracted by these inappropriate adult clickbait headlines, sat next to their comics.

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What Others Think

You can get an idea of what others think about these magazines by reading some of the articles written about them.  Here's some references to a few of the articles.

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Website: VICE.COM

Read the full article here: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/wd78az/this-is-what-its-like-to-work-for-a-womens-weekly

Meeting the People Behind the Grim Headlines of Women's Weekly Magazines

• Quote: "Who is buying this undulating wave of misery porn? As a rule: mums and nans. And as a result of their thirst for despair, the UK's weekly cover headlines have turned into a luminous collage of unimaginable horror.  At its height, the biggest consumer women's weekly, Take a Break, sold nearly a million copies a week."

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Website: iNDEPENDENT.COM

Read the full article here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/magazines-time-for-a-reality-check-5330362.html

Magazines: Time for a reality check

• Quote: "Who on earth, you ask, wants to read this stuff? And the answer is: millions of people. Every week, a combined market of nine million readers shells out their 60p or £1 for their weekly fix of family secrets, ghastly revelations, sick babies, traumatised oldsters, deformed body parts and shocking news from abroad. It's a market that has grown steadily."