Outside Mag Sells Bikes -- Also, Women

In our culture we have a long-standing tradition of metaphorically selling women but we've left the literal selling to actual human traffickers. Outside magazine -- "we go outside so you can pretend you do" -- is doing it's best to blur those lines for its mostly male, mostly wealthy readership. (I have no data to show who actually subscribes to their magazine but based on the types of articles written, I feel safe in my assumptions.)

Evidence #1: Of all the beautiful men & women that have graced the cover, and there have been many, only one has been fully nude. April 2005's cover girl Sara Carlson, a rock climber of such renown that her only hits when Googled are for the Outside cover, posed nude for leading fashion photographer James White. So far, just like every other magazine, right? Except that Outside readers voted the Carlson cover their favorite cover of all time. She beat out uber-Olympian Michael Phelps, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and even Gabrielle Reece. But then the latter was clothed (in a bikini) and actually participating in the sport she helped make famous. Carlson is of course not climbing because, for starters, how would she even wear the harness? Awkward.

Evidence #2: In addition to the unapologetically schoolboy use of phallic titles like "Excuse My Thrust" (Jan 2007), about motorcycle racing, "Built to Lust" (July 2007), about bicycles, "Babes on Belay" (April 2005), tips on how to get a woman under you -- at least on the mountain, and "Model Nation" (Sep 2007), which boldly explores the masses of beautiful Brazilian women willing to get naked for a few bucks, Outside's articles are generally geared, scaled & written just for men. Their workouts? Men only. Their fitness assessments? Outside doesn't care if their female readers, of which there are some judging by indignant letters to the editor, drop dead of a heart attack. In fact all the better to get some free eye candy when the EMTs have to rip her shirt open for CPR, right? Yeah, baby.

Evidence #3: But by far my favorite misogynistic aspect of Outside are the ads. Flip directly to the back (no, I didn't say flip her to her back) and mixed in amongst the pricey travel packages (heaven forbid you vacation in a place where the locals aren't easily taken advantage of -- yes, I'm including you Wyoming) are ads for... women. Not personals ads. But mail-order brides. I'm not sure what that has to do with travel as I assume they come to you (certified mail?) or the outside unless they're referring to the womens' current homes. "Attractive Russian women", "Asian ladies" and others "seeking husbands" are in every issue. After all, what better gift for the been-there, has-everything, seen-that man than his custom, built-to-order woman (call toll free for your free picture catalog)! And it even has a built-in money back guarantee -- sure it says "bride" but it's not like you have to actually marry them when they get here. Be sure to ask about two-for-one shipping.

But hey, I just read it for the articles.

Comments

[1will]

If you don't like the magazine then don't read it.
It's a pretty simple solution. There are numerous magazines that are targeted mainly towards women but we men don't moan about Cosmo only having stories about breast cancer instead of our prostate problems.
Thanks for the link to the naked rock climber girl.

[MountainMuscle]

Boy, if Outside magazine riles you up, come to Las Vegas! Our major "alternative" weekly newspaper runs pages & pages of glossy ads for EVERYthing, not just nightclubs & strip joints but bakeries & cell phone providers, utlizing breast-augmented nude women. To say it's gotten out-of-hand is an understatement. And they actively promote women to become high-class hookers. You think I'm kidding? Read THIS, in the current issue .. http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/content/nc/news/single-story/article/how-to-be-a-gold-diggger-patronage-seeker/

[karrezza]

yeah become a mail order bride, bought and paid for and treated as such.. beaten by a fat slobby nerd who could not find a wife on his own, or an ego centric who does not want an intellectual challenge but will make sure she is gratefully reminded daily of how he would "Send her back" if he wanted to.

In my area, OR/WA a guy murdered his mail order russian lady, he was like 400 lbs, she was 5' 10" slender... after a few years she decided to escape from his abuse. He had her killed.

Those ads should be removed as they are not mentally healthy men looking for an intellectual equal, but a subordinate. I mean who ORDERS a human???

[idontthinkthisishelping]

Pretty good argument for looking anywhere but here for companionship. While I certainly cannot dispute your statistic, that 100% of American males who marry Russian nationals they've only met once are like 400lbs and eventually have their brides killed, and while I suspect constant bitching and a complete refusal to know anything about a subject before condemning it isn't necessarily a symptom of a geographical location or culture so much as biology, one thing seems clear: while women celebrate their ability to put up with stupid, slovenly, selfish, lunkheaded behavior of men for... I'm not entirely sure what, for and extra paycheck?; men have to put up with this.

[JennyG3]

I've NEVER even heard of Outside Magazine! How many magazines does a publication have to sell to stay in business?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

HuffPost's Pick

I am male, but far from wealthy.

The only two magazines I subscribe to are The New Yorker, and... Outside. The writing in Outside is exemplary. And if I could afford to go to the places covered...­. I would still subscribe.

I have been a subscriber since before the issue in question came out. When I saw it, the only thing I saw was the beauty in the juxtaposition of an attractive woman, and the granite. That makes me -- or Outside -- a misogynist? Riiiight.

As I recall, one of the reasons the cover got so many votes in the subsequent contest (for which I otherwise wouldn't have remembered it from any other cover) was exactly because it WAS so non-typical, and as I recall, there were a good number of letters to the editor taking them to task for it.

But Outside? Of all the magazines to do a hit piece on... Sheesh! Puleeze!

And, I am on long and frequent record here railing about the misogyny in the current election.

That being said, I think it now fair to ask, "How many feminists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

[CharlotteHilton]

You make an excellent point: their socioeconomic snobbery is more irritating than their misogyny. The latter was just easier to write about. I do agree with you that the writing is exemplary, although somewhat hard to find sandwiched between glossy product endorsements masquerading as actual articles.

I applaud you for appreciating the beauty of the Carlson cover. But unique? Outside has run many covers that would qualify as more unique than that one (80's Yoga Guy, anyone?).

And as to why I picked Outside when there are certainly more egregious examples? Precisely because their writing is so good. I expected more of them. I do still subscribe to Outside - because their really great articles, despite having to share copy space with The 200 Most Essential Pieces of Gear for under $10,000, are true gems. (Well, and my subscription's free.) I just wish I didn't have to sift through so much crap to find them.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Ah, the bigotry of high and disappointed expectations. I'm talking about my income. ;-)

Thank you for your personal reply -- it's more than my snarks deserve.

Partial hair split: I said "non-typical," as in... there were not a lot of nude covers to pick from. You do win on unique, a different concept.

The other cover I remember is the Michael Phelps cover (which my wife keeps in the bathroom, in plain view of the scale. Grrr.) Do I now need a male version of the word for misogyny?

I completely agree with you -- and other commenters -- on the selling out of Outside to high-end product infomercials. I'd say "whoring out," but hey, a magazine has to make a living. And I can still cream rookies on $3k carbon fibers with my 80's steel-is-real roadie. Bike snobbery aside, it ain't the engineering -- it's the engine.

My vote for favorite blog photo:
http://thegreatfitnessexperiment.blogspot.com/2008/03/worst-workout-idea-ever.html
Which edged out this one:
http://thegreatfitnessexperiment.blogspot.com/2008/03/crossfit-for-newbies.html
Neither of which exploit granite. ;-)

Food for thought: When you're a hammer, you see the whole world as made out of nails.

Cheers.

[hapkidokid]

To paraphrase John Riggins, "The Diesel", “Come on, Charlotte, baby, loosen up. You're too tight.”

[HeevenSteven]

Outside used to be a great mag with lot's of great writing; but it's lost whatever it had once. I've let my subscription lapse. I don't miss it.

[emjay1954]

Once upon a time, Outside Magazine was about doing things outside. Even the narrative articles were often written by outstanding writers such as Jon Krakauer and Tim Cahill. In recent years Outside has deteriorated into a somewhat more adventurous version of a Sharper Image catalog: "The Best Watch for Hiking." "The Most Fashionable Biking Caps." "Great Hotels in Nepal for Under $300 a Night." You will also notice that NO piece of gear is ever criticized. I stopped subscribing a couple of years ago, and I don't miss it.

[oldpotsmuggler]

Point of correction. Many of the women in the ads are looking for a way out of a life of no opportunity and cannot be "mailed" here. They are simply not eligible for any available Visa, so the American husband to be is required to travel for the initial introduction. It's only at the point in time that the spouse (and these rules apply to women marrying outside of our country as well), or at least an official fiance has entered into a real relationship that applying to enter the U.S. is allowed.

[MinuteMan]

> After all, what better gift for the been-there, has-everything, seen-that man than his custom, built-to-order woman (call toll free for your free picture catalog)! And it even has a built-in money back guarantee -- sure it says "bride" but it's not like you have to actually marry them when they get here. Be sure to ask about two-for-one shipping.

And don't go with the seemingly lowest-priced ads: they can't be bothered to put air holes in the shipping package and you can guess where that leads!