From "Perspectives: Readers Beware" by Marcia Segelstein, posted 8/7/07 at OneNewsNow.com
Before you read this column, be warned that it may contain material you find offensive. But what you might find truly shocking is that all the potentially offensive material comes straight from the pages of the July issue of Redbook magazine.
Editor's note: This column contains excerpts taken directly from Redbook magazine. While readers may find some of these excerpts offensive, we felt it necessary to retain some of them to convey the coarseness of the excerpts -- but imperative to abbreviate others.
I've referred in the past to modern-day women's magazines as a bellweather of cultural decline, but I think it's worth repeating. Sitting in a doctor's waiting room leafing through magazines, as I was recently, can end up being an eye-opening experience. And even if you can handle it ... or just decide to stop reading ... imagine your young teenage daughter picking up that innocent-looking women's magazine. What behavior will she end up believing society condones?
When I was a child, I remember looking through the magazines my mother had around the house. I don't think she ever gave a second thought to what I might come across, nor should she have. My, how things have changed.
But back to Redbook's July issue ...
In a section titled "Handbook: Your Sex Life," there are 56 suggestions for how to "feel sexy in a flash!" Here's the subheading: "Whether you've got a free hour and a hot partner in crime to share it with or just a precious few moments to yourself, it's a snap to unleash your inner vixen with these steamy to-do's."
Here are some samplings, categorized by how much time you have:
If you've got 10 seconds:
"Alone? Sneak a peak at yourself!"
"Make eye contact with a cute stranger."
If you've got 30 seconds:
"Clench your g___ muscles."
"Spray a dollop of whipped cream on your chest and ...."
Got ten minutes?
"Swap your coffee break for a visit with your v______r."
...Sex, titillation, and yawning at immoral behavior have always sold magazines. But they used to be the kind that came in brown wrappers, not the kind that sit on kitchen tables and in doctors' waiting rooms.
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