Amy Schumer Blasts Sexist ‘Girls’ Life’ Cover

By Daniel J. Solomon September 21, 2016

Between the fashion tips and romantic confessionals, women’s magazines get a bad rap for perpetuating sexism. A side-by-side image of the covers of “Girls’ Life” and “Boys’ Life” magazines circulating on the Web bore that out this week, drawing the ire of actress and comedian Amy Schumer.

Singer Olivia Holt graces the cover of “Girls’ Life,” surrounded by cliché teases for the articles inside: “Your Dream Hair,” “Wake Up Pretty,” “Bye, Drama,” “The ‘New’ Denim Checklist,” among them.

“Boys’ Life,” on the other hand, features a microscope, laptop, and chemical vial on the cover, with the words “Explore Your Future” stretched across the page.

Schumer dropped the mic on Twitter, posting the image with a caption below that simply read “no.”

No

A photo posted by @amyschumer on Sep 20, 2016 at 4:49pm PDT

Israeli writer Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll also waded into the controversy with an open letter on Facebook to the magazine’s heads. “You CAN fight the tide of objectification of girls. You CAN create covers and stories that treat girls as more than hair, lips and kisses,” she wrote. “Until you do, I guess I’ll sign us up to BOYS LIFE because the quiz I want for my girls isn’t ‘Am I ready for a BF’ its ‘What Do I Want To Be.’”

The magazine’s founding editor Karen Bokran responded to the backlash, telling Refinery29: “Are we more than lip gloss and clothes? Of course. It’s OK to like lip gloss or be interested in fashion… I don’t know how [the problem] became either you like lip gloss and clothes or you like being an astronaut.”

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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