History of Magazines Between Men and Women
Women's Magazines
Britain's first ever Women's magazine was created in 1693 called The Ladies Mercury. It was a spin off of The Athenian Mercury published by the author John Dunton which was a magazine aimed at both men and women, people would send in question generally on the topic of love and marriage.
The Ladies Mercury was a weekly publication offering advise on love, how to dress and how to act. It filled a single sheet printed on both sides, however, it only lasted 4 weeks and at the time was not called a magazine. The term magazine was not used until the publication of the Gentleman's Magazine first published in 1731. Historic magazines for women are known for being very sexist. Most of the featuring women were known through their husbands name and not their own. Women's magazines were usually house wife themed, giving instructions on how to be a good wife or new knitting patterns which installed the traditional rolls of a woman.
Men's Magazines
Britain's first ever magazine for men was The Gentleman's magazine published in 1731. Unlike the women's magazine, it lasted for over 200 years. The editor, Edward Cave, used the name "magazine" for the first time meaning storehouse. The Gentlemen's Magazine had original content provided by regular contributor and even had quotes from books in. This differs massively to the women's magazines. Historical men's magazines encouraged them to go to University and get educated to become strong providers for the family they were expected to have.Men's magazines would included more exciting topics making them more of a pleasure to read and less of a guide book.
