Picture stolen from here
So. Emer still gets letters about her body hair. Here is one:
From More:
> Hi Emer
> I hope you are well?
> I saw that you have written quite a few articles for the Guardian and I was just wondering whether you would be interested in taking part in a relationships feature about body hair for more magazine.
> We would be able to pay a substantial fee.
> Please do let me know either way.
> Thanks
> Laura
From Me
> Hi Laura,
> I just took a look at the More website and found that you’re promoting Playboy perfume, while addressing an audience that you presume will be worried about GCSE results. Horrible! I could never write for any publication that flogs soft-porn paraphernalia to schoolgirls.
> Sincerely,
> Emer
You are my hero.
Aren’t teenage girls being lured by Playboy marketing probably quite in need of a rational article about their body hair?
Trips is right. However, I fear the More subeditors may decide to squeeze any last ounce of ‘rational’ out of anything that it submitted. I hate these mags. *sigh*
I don’t think you can get into bed with these people.
Good stance. You shouldn’t ever get involved with people who think that “I hope you are well?” is a question anyway
Way to go! By the way, how unprofessional is Laura’s spelling and use of punctuation?
Brilliant! Emer, do you have a blog/twitter? Your writing is my favs.
Aw, thanks GLMR. I don’t have a blog or twitter, but I have a contributor page on The Guardian. Except I don’t even write for the Guardian that much. I’m a bit crap at the internet.
I’m naming all my children after you (if I ever decide to have some), ALL of them!
Yay!
While i respect your stance on the playboy perfume aspect, i think it would have been a a great way to get the femininst movement some attention from young women who might never come across anything feminist based. I think it would provide food for thought, and i know that alot of people never question the media or society views in terms of ‘women should look a certain way’ or with the playboy thing ‘do u aspire to be hugh hefners gf?’ or ‘have a million men wank over pictures of you?’ it might make girls stop and think. A rational logical self respecting voice.is needed amongst the fashion beauty magazines. i think it would be really cool for you to do that article.x
I disagree, I think they’d twist whatever you said anyway to make you look crazy/push their own agenda…these people aren’t interested in giving the feminist movement some attention. I think you did the right thing!
Thanks Pumpener and Katie,
- Pumpener, I really do see your point, but these are people who make a living from selling playboy products to schoolgirls: they are EVIL. Also, they have absolutely no vested interest in convincing young women to value themselves in meaningful ways, or in helping young women to question a society that teaches them to hate their bodies. More makes its money from selling insecurity – your bum is too big, buy these control pants; your skin is the wrong colour, buy this fake tan/skin lightener, your tits are the wrong size, buy this corrective bra until you’re old enough to have plastic surgery; boys don’t like you, buy this magazine and we’ll teach you how to be sexy! More is grooming young women for the dieting and plastic surgery industries. I don’t want to contribute my creativity and political drive to a publication like this. I don’t want my writing to appear alongside pictures of underweight teenage models selling sweat-shop manufactured clothes.
More, and other insecurity-peddling woman-exploiting shit-fests, are trying to add token nods to feminism to their otherwise patronising and mindless fare. Why? Cause they’re scared. Blogs like Vagenda are ripping them to shreds every week. Young women are reading blogs like Vagenda, and that’s where I feel my writing can really make a difference. I want to contribute my thoughts to publications like this one. I want to crush More into the carpet like a smouldering fag butt, not throw it a life-line as the kick-ass young feministas who can see they’re being talked down to by Hugh Heffner’s lapcats leave it to sink.
Nice one Emer, perfect! Vix. x