Not all women's magazines are feminist

Recently, the New York Times interviewed the director of Evie, a U.S. women’s magazine whose content seems to discourage women's empowerment and, more generally, feminist causes. The founder – Brittany Hugoboom – acknowledges that hers is not a magazine for those seeking progressive opinions on the female universe: «Why can't there be one that offers women an alternative?», she asks. The perspective Hugoboom refers to translates into a precise strategy: building a media company aimed at an audience of women distant from feminist ideas. For this reason, in 2019, Hugoboom launched Evie, a glossy magazine that is a sort of conservative Cosmopolitan, and the following year, 28, an app dedicated to women's wellness that offers content and products aimed at dissuading women from using hormonal contraception – promoting a lifestyle that favors natural fertility. Essentially, both products target women who want to embrace a more traditional model of femininity. According to the editorial line of Evie and 28, women can study and pursue careers, but without neglecting family; they can be sexually adventurous, but only within marriage; they can delay pregnancy, as long as they use natural fertility control methods. Critics of Hugoboom's model see it as an example of how reactionary ideas can be made appealing through a curated aesthetic and lifestyle topics, attracting politically moderate women – but ones disappointed by the lack of supportive measures for them. «By mixing identity politics and conservative values with light and wellness-themed content, the right has managed to win over a segment of female readers that the U.S. left never thought it could lose», Emily Amick, former advisor to Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, told the New York Times.

The narrative proposed by Evie is ultimately a novelty in the landscape of U.S. women’s publications. For many years, the model launched by Ms. Magazine dominated the country, as the first feminist magazine sold nationwide and aimed at a general audience. Since the 1970s, Ms. Magazine has offered feminist-themed content to readers who were not reached by other, more niche, specialized magazines. Ms. Magazine was a newspaper for women written by women, covering political and social issues, often viewed through the lens of women's conditions. Unlike many "pink magazines" of the time, Ms. Magazine did not focus almost exclusively on fashion or cooking: during its years as a monthly publication, it featured investigations on the wage gap, domestic violence, and gender-based abuse, among other topics.

The contrast between Evie and Ms. Magazine highlights how women’s magazines can reflect opposing views on women's conditions – between emancipation and tradition. If Ms. Magazine has been a reference point for feminism, Evie instead embodies a return to a more conservative model – aligned with a part of the contemporary U.S. electorate. Even in the history of gender-focused publishing in other countries, one can find examples of magazines that, at different historical moments, contributed to shaping the role of women according to the dominant ideology. In Italy, for example, in the 1930s and 1940s, the fascist regime promoted an idea of women devoted to family through publications such as La Donna Italiana or Il Giornale delle Donne. These magazines – though driven by regime propaganda – exalted the role of women as mothers and guardians of traditional values, in ways that, if properly considered, resemble the editorial line of Evie, where, in its own way, a male-centered conception of femininity finds space. Notably, narratives of this kind – over time – contribute to fueling the so-called "occupational segregation", which underlies the fact that even today, women tend to favor work sectors historically associated with the female universe. This trend – which has deep cultural roots and is the result of centuries of discrimination against women – is also confirmed by data.

In Europe, over 90 percent of jobs in childcare are held by women; similar percentages are found in secretarial and primary school teaching roles. More than 80 percent of nurses and midwives are women, as are the majority of cleaning staff and domestic workers. The fact that so many women hold these jobs is not just due to personal preferences but also because cultural and social factors effectively encourage them to choose these careers. These same factors influence – often indirectly – women's educational paths, steering them away from STEM degrees. This set of gender stereotypes – still perpetuated today by media like Evie – contributes to making many women (and readers) believe they are not suited for certain professions traditionally linked to the male domain. In this sense, newspapers and media play a very important role: spreading inaccurate or misleading information based on reactionary ideas can reinforce cultural prejudices associated with the female universe, with a significant social impact.