It’s the end of season one! And what better note to end on than right back where we started: with the OG of having it all, Cosmopolitan.

It’s October 1992 and Lucy is at the helm as the Mag Hags navigate post-Thatcher pre-Loaded gender politics to explore the timeless editorial territory of: has feminism been bad for men?

There’s a recession on, but that doesn’t seem to have dented Cosmo’s advertising coffers because this magazine is HUGE. We have, inexplicably, four entire pages about the concept of Being Blonde. And there’s a feature about the women who have affairs with other women – which has aged like an outdoor shellfish buffet on a hot summer’s day.  

Plus: the Mag Hags pay homage to the bygone era of women’s mags providing essential service journalism. And Cosmo recommends its readers try out temporary tattoos. Too cute.

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Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. 

Mag Hags is created entirely by us – Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!

LINKS

READ - Power and the production of subjects: a genealogy of the New Man and the New Lad, by Ros Gill

WATCH - Men Behaving Badly on ITVX

CHAPTERS

03:35 – Intro to Cosmopolitan, October 1992 

09:30 – “All you need to know about abortion”: A reminder of the comprehensive service journalism women’s mags offered their pre-internet readers 

11:47 – “Poor darlings”: Writer Michael Bywater skewers men who are butt-hurt they aren’t getting more thank-yous from women

26:38 – *An ad break from 1992*

29:02 – “Are you going through a lesbian phase?”: INTERNALISED BI-PHOBIA KLAXON Cosmo attempts to unpick the hidden phenomenon of ‘lesbain tourism’. It’s every bit as problematic as it sounds so do skip ahead if you’d rather 

45:33 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1992 

48:55 – “More than just a blonde”: An exploration of that now-extinct creature: the Bimbo 

56:24 – What’s hot and what’s not in 1992?

–

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

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Kicking off the new year with a bang, the Mag Hags are manifesting the season they want… with a June magazine issue. Franki is taking us back to the 80s to 19 magazine – a sister title to Honey that’s ticking all the women’s mag tropes. Directive diet features! Reductive psychology quizzes!  

The Mag Hags reckon with some food demons from their childhoods: notably the 80s/early 90s obsession with low-fat alternatives (Franki) and being the victim of egg-shaming (Lucy). There’s a glimpse into Banarama’s Siobhan Fahey’s unhinged eating habits, a charming little account of becoming an aerobics instructor at that vanguard of the group exercise boom, and an astonishing hygiene-focused beauty feature that does Lucy a mischief.

Plus: a magazine quiz aiming to find out how in touch with your emotions you are is strongly reminiscent of the NHS mental health triage questionnaire.

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. 

Mag Hags is created entirely by us - Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!

LINKS

READ: Memphis Group

WATCH: This 1981 BBC newsround coverage of the fast food boom

CHAPTERS

03:08 – Introduction to 19 – June 1986

09:49 – “All work and lots of play!”: Four gals making careers in sport explain how they got into their jobs. This should come with a trigger warning for anyone who, like Franki and Lucy, began their career post-2008 

22:42 – *An ad break from 1986*

25:53 – “You are what you eat. Can you swallow it?” DIET FEATURE KLAXON: Amidst the 80s fast food boom, 19 attempts to cut through the misinformation and guide you on how to have a healthier diet 

38:30 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1986

41:39 – “Are you in tune with your emotions?”: We finally come across our first quiz! A convoluted series of questions helps us find out how in touch with our emotions we are  

54:54 – What's hot and what's not in 1986

–

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney. Edited and produced by Franki Cookney.

This episode was mixed by Siân Williams.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Burn your bras, lads: we’re back in the 70s this week – only this time the magazine under the spotlight *has* caught up with the decade’s radical social progress.

Lucy is leading the way through a tour of Cosmo’s little sister mag: the recently launched Company. There’s a report into how technology is about to transform work as we know it, some timeless fashion tips, and an ad for a 1970s-era Hinge.

But it’s not all women’s lib. The Mag Hags get the ick over a Freudian feature about girls’ relationships with their dads. And there is an *exquisite* essay about the sexiest thing imaginable: not having sex.

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. 

Mag Hags is created entirely by us - Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!

CHAPTERS

04:14 – Introduction to Company – December 1979 

06:50 – What’s on the cover?

12:06 – “The leisure decade”: Sociologist Ann Karpf explores how technology is going to precipitate a 20-hour-work week and a socialist revolution 🫠🙃

26:42 – *An ad break from 1979*

30:15 – “Fathers are first”: A deeply psychologically problematic feature telling readers that if their dad is absent then they’ll definitely never have good relationships with men. 

42:42 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1979

46:11 – “Lunchtime lovers”: Is there anything conceivably hotter than an indulgent flirtation with an intellectual sparring partner who you also fancy? Over lunch??

59:03 – What's hot and what's not in 1979

–

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gather round, high-flying spinsters! The Good Friday Agreement has been signed, the US president is definitely *not* having sexual relations with that woman, and we are hitting New Labour's economic zenith : it’s 1998 and the Mag Hags are reading Marie Claire. 

Franki is in the driving seat as the Mag Hags dive into plastic surgery tourism and ponder why Woman Of The Moment Gwyneth Paltrow is on the cover and yet mysteriously absent from the rest of the magazine. Elsewhere, Lucy gatekeeps singledom and there’s an exploration of the ultimate late 90s conundrum: how come you can be smashing the glass ceiling and *still* not hold on to a boyfriend? 

Plus: a first-person account of being raised by lesbian mothers calls for an expert’s view, so Franki catches up with women’s mag editor and author of The Queer Parent, Lotte Jeffs. See more of Lotte's work at: https://lottejeffs.com/

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. 

Mag Hags is created entirely by us - Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!

-

READ: Alison Yarrow, 90s Bitch: 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality

READ: Lotte Jeffs & Stu Oakley, The Queer Parent

-

CHAPTERS

01:49 – Introduction to Marie Claire – May 1998

08:50 – “Poor little rich girls. They're wealthy, successful, and attractive. So why does a relationship elude them?”: Is it toxic masculinity or their intimidatingly high standards preventing these five loaded women from finding love? 

22:02 – *An ad break from 1998*

24:30 – “I was brought up by lesbian mothers”: One woman’s heart-warming account of growing up with her mum and mum’s girlfriend while Section 28 continued to drag on.

29:23 – Franki chats to magazine editor and author Lotte Jeffs 

41:05 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1998

45:03 – “Scars and bars”: Dispatches from Wrocław and the British travelling there for plastic-surgery package deals

56:52 – What's hot and what's not in 1998

–

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab your Barbour and don your wellies – it’s time for Tatler! 

Lucy is taking the Mag Hags back to Tina Brown’s formative career years and a festive issue of the high society bible. Here, Franki and Lucy learn some valuable lessons in how to *really* show off one’s status and discuss the British aristocracy’s take on Quiet Luxury. 

There is some questionable history on 20th century tax policy, the origin story of a ubiquitous old lady shoe, and a reflection on 1980 through the lens(es) of different magazines of the day: from The Stage to The Field.

Plus: have *you* come up against the Beasts of Belgravia 

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. 

Mag Hags is created entirely by us - Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!

LINKS

READ: “The Vanity Fair Diaries, 1983–1992” by Tina Brown 

READ: Death of a Princess 

CHAPTERS

02:20 – Introduction to Tatler, December 1980

09:22 – “Status – You show me yours and I’ll show you mine”: The subtle art of exuding wealth without letting on you’re wealthy 

28:42 – *An ad break from 1980*

30:27 – “Looking at the world through Vole-coloured glasses”: A sojourn through 1980 via the stories of different magazines, including The Lady, Church Times, and a now-defunct ‘glossy quarterly for Arab women’ 

42:11 – Fashion (and no beauty) tips from 1980

45:02 – “The Beasts of Belgravia” – On the hunt for villains terrorising butchers, bakers and candlestick makers in London’s premium postcode

56:12 – What's hot and what's not in 1980

–

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Guess The Meat with Lucy and Franki! ... Only joking! That would be insane. 

This episode, Franki is taking the Mag Hags deeper into the archives than they have gone before… to Woman’s Own, November 1972. A relic of the mid-century suburban housewife, this mag is serving up hobby how-tos, a guide to hats, and a free sheet of ‘foil-edged cooking film’. No, we have no idea either. 

There’s speculation about Prince Charles’s love life, a quick lesson in menstrual history, plus a reader’s story of Loving Against The Odds (spoiler: it involves a woman setting aside her own feelings). 

Plus: the Mag Hags risk cutting diplomatic ties with France following an ad for Vichy skincare.

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Mag Hags is created entirely by Franki and Lucy. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Thank you so much!

CHAPTERS

02:45 – Introduction to Woman’s Own, November 1972

09:22 – The World’s Most Wanted Bachelor: Why HRH Prince Charles is just like you and me – and how to bag a date with him 

19:21 – *An ad break from 1972*

22:05 – “My husband can’t resist other women”: A Betty Draper-esque reader tells of her tempestuous marriage to her serial-cheater – but completely irresistible – husband  

34:00 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1972

37:34 – 101 things to make for pleasure or profit: Readers need ideas to stave off boredom, and Woman’s Own has the answer…

48:01 – What's hot and what's not in 1972 

–

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dig out your Union Jack tea-towel dresses, girls! This time, Lucy is leading the way through a magazine that’s channeling all the Girl-Powered benign anarchy of Spice World: The Movie. It’s New Woman, September 1997. 

There’s a ‘how-to’ for spying on your boyfriend, bafflingly horny ads and – in depressingly 90s style – a feature about how you can weigh 10st and still be technically obese (check the time stamps if you’d rather sit this one out). 

Then, stick around for the guide to disaster-free dinner parties that is less Ottolenghi and Instagram tablescaping, more homemade margs and snogging the downstairs neighbour in the loo.

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Mag Hags is created entirely by Franki and Lucy. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Thank you so much!

LINKS

Read: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray

Read: Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

CHAPTERS

03:09 – Introduction to New Woman September 1997

06:50 – Being in our Girl Power era

12:52 – It’s good to stalk: A completely normal feature about spying on your boyfriend 

19:51 – Let’s talk about men for a minute 

25:04 – *An ad break from 1997*

27:43 – [Content warning] ‘Three of these women are technically obese’: We come to our first body image feature. Do skip ahead if you’d rather not listen 

41:45 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1997

44:04 – How to throw a disaster-free dinner party: spoiler! It involves a lot of booze…

52:29 – What's hot and what's not in 1997 

--

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mag Hags are back and cooking with gas! This episode Franki and Lucy ponder on some cutting edge household appliances – cordless iron, anyone? Because, yes, Franki is guiding us on a tour through Good Housekeeping, March 1988. 

There’s Ovaltine innuendo, shoulder-revealing fashion, and a self-help book extract suggesting that Lucy could be a threat to Franki’s marriage. 

Plus, a questionable beauty feature calls for back-up, so Franki speaks to award-winning beauty editor and author Anita Bhagwandas. 

Want more of these mags?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about in the show, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Mag Hags is created entirely by Franki and Lucy. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Thank you so much!

LINKS

Read: Pessimist’s Archive: an archive of historical, technology pessimism https://pessimistsarchive.org/ 

Read: Ugly: Giving us back our beauty standards by Anita Bhagwandas 

CHAPTERS

05:06 – What’s on the cover of Good Housekeeping March 1988 

15:04 – The enemy within: Is TV bringing about the moral downfall of society?

25:55 – *An ad break from 1988*

28:37 – Examining the English vs American vs French approach to beauty… with problematic results

35:15 – Anita Bhagwandas shares her take with the Mag Hags 

48:24 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1988

50:40 – Don’t take your love life lying down: Self-help guru Paul Pearsall reveals why your friendships are ruining your marriage

58:41 – What's hot and what's not in 1988 

--

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy and Franki are back with more dispatches from vintage women’s glossies. 

This week, Lucy is heading to Honey magazine March 1976 – but it’s less Patti Smith and Sex! on the Kings Road, more women named Sue and unequal division of household labour. 

We also meet the last of debutantes, contemplate a bath-time workout, and witness a disastrous PR campaign for British Rail. 

Meanwhile Franki is underwhelmed by “Strip Monopoly”. And the Mag Hags ponder: did the editorial staff of mid-70s Honey realise they were selling the bucolic lesbian dream? 

Want more of these magazines?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Mag Hags is created entirely by Franki and Lucy. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Thank you so much!

CHAPTERS

04:43 – Intro to Honey March 1976

11:18 – Weekending: Five women tell us what their average 1976 weekend looks like

31:35 – *An ad break from 1976*

35:04 – Is selfishness a sin or a necessity? Therapy speak, 1976-style 

45:53 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1976

47:16 – How lovely to be beautiful? Honey tackles the immutable question: is being hot bad, actually?

51:25 – A brainwave for bathtime: a workout how-to that is absolute perfection, 10/10, no notes

52:35 – What's hot and what's not in 1976

LINKS

Read: ‘Having it all: Love, success, sex, money, even if you’re starting with nothing’ by Helen Gurley Brown

Read: Helen Gurley Brown obituary by Sali Hughes

Podcast: The Rest is History – Britain in 1974

Read: From balls to Bridgerton: a brief history of debutantes and the social season 

--

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the very first episode of Mag Hags, the podcast that every modern woman should know.

Join Franki and Lucy as they dive into the glossy archives of women’s magazines to find out what's still hot, and what's definitely not. 

And where else to begin than the OG of having it all: Cosmopolitan.

Franki has travelled back in time to October 1982, when The Pill turned 21 and publishers were just cottoning on to the idea that women buy books.

Elsewhere, a hapless man gets some Thatcherite therapy and the Mag Hags get some dinner inspo from a truly astonishing advertiser.

Plus, Lucy reveals her daddy issues about His Majesty King Charles III.

Want more of these magazines?

Sign up for the Mag Hags newsletter. See the features we talk about, marvel at the amazing adverts, enjoy vintage fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, and get access to loads of other bonus bits. Plus episode transcripts straight to your inbox. Go to maghags.substack.com

If you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?

Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Mag Hags is created entirely by Franki and Lucy. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Simply go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Thank you so much!

CHAPTERS

07:09 – Intro to Cosmo October 1982

09:33 – Girl Bossing vs Having It All

10:29 – The pill that promised so much: A review of 21 years of oral contraceptives written by someone who's never taken them

26:47 – *An ad break from 1982*

30:09 – Talking It Out : A Cosmo "counselling" session that reads more like a scolding

38:13 – Tactful sex tactics: Can you use the word "fondle" without laughing

42:28 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1982

44:42 – Frills or Thrills: Trashy paperbacks are having a moment. Is it good, steamy fun or patronising frivolity?

48:37 – What's hot and what's not in 1982

LINKS

Research: On coils and ectopic pregnancies: Safety, efficacy and patient acceptability of the contraceptive and non-contraceptive uses of the LNG-IUS | International Journal of Women’s Health, 2009

Read: On Erin Pizzey: Feminism’s Purity Wars by Helen Lewis | The Atlantic, Feb 2020

--

Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.