The Good Life and Self Magazine

If there's a philosophical question most people are concerned with it's What is the good life? Out of all the questions that have been asked in life--and there has been quite alot of them--this one has been given more thought than any other, even more than the question of God. The reason why is obvious: we pursue happiness by nature--and everyone can relate to the never ending quest to achieve it.

But no one has ever been able to give a definitive answer to this question because what makes each one of us happy varies from one person to the next. But that hasn't stopped people from trying, especially popular culture. My mom has a monthly subscription with Self magazine, a magazine aimed at young professional women. I don't know how my mom got a subscription with this sort of magazine because she's senior aged and wouldn't be interested in the subjects Self focuses on. She was probably thrown into a certain demographic that was likely to like the magazine. But the focus of the magazine is how to be happy; it's loaded with articles about how to improve relationships, sex, fashion and fitness. These are the four major themes of the magazine, and although the editors and writers at Self may not know it this is what it promotes as the good life, and I have no doubt many young women are influenced by these ideas.

Whenever I peak at Self I can't help but feel a sense of alienation, which doesn't surprise me. After all, it is a mainstream women's magazine, and reading it is like walking through a woman's universe. But whenever I feel this sense of isolation I have a sense of feeling alienated from the culture at large. Self magazine is concerned with alot of things I don't relate to, but I know alot of young professional women do. The only thing I do relate to in the magazine is its emphasis on health and fitness. Sometimes I have wondered if Self's values are superficial. But everything about the magazine is not bad. The attention given to creating healthy relationships is a good thing, especially today. Americans are earning more than they did in the 1960s, but rates of depression have also risen since then. Also, its emphasis on sex--and sometimes I do wonder if the magazine is a bit sex obsessed--is seen as relationship enhancing. It doesn't surprise me that the magazine makes a connection between sex and relationships; most women in western societies tend to value relationships and try to cultivate relationships more so than men. Whenever an article appears in Self about sex it assumes the people reading it are in a loving, committed, long-term relationship, and are comfortable talking about it. This too might not be a bad thing. But if I had a daughter who was interested in such magazines I'd tell her to tread carefully because relationships, fitness, sex and fashion aren't all there is to happiness.