When we were given this assignment, what immediately came to mind were heath articles I have read in woman's fashion magazines. A lot of the time the "science" they present contradicts itself from one month to the next, "Stay Thin and Eat Whatever You Want!" to "The Newest Celebrity Diet You Need To Know About". Sometimes studies are so stripped down and out of context that the "findings" become almost unrecognizable. When I picked up this February's issue of Allure Magazine, I came across an article titled "The Rejection Pill". It seems like a perfect example. While the study they reference is interesting, I think the article was out place. The article's title and opening sentence suggest to readers that Tylenol has now been proven to alleviate "emotional pain" and feelings of "discomfort or social exclusion", even though the study only suggests the possibility. Considering that taking Acetaminophen long term on a regular basis can cause liver damage I think that the article could have been worded more effectively, or even held off until more conclusive research had been done.
Unfortunately, I have found that the article is only available in print in the February 2011 issue, page 79. I will try to scan and link the article to this post tomorrow morning.
Here is my draft:
To the Editor,
While paging through the February edition of Allure, I stopped to read through the "Mood News" section. After reading the article titled "Rejection Pill" I was left feeling confused as to why it was published in the first place. The study seemed interesting, but the actual scientific findings were only suggestive at best. I can see how a similar article would have a place in a scientific journal; but considering the consumer demographic of Allure, I am not sure it was helpful or appropriate. The author says so themselves at the end of the article that long term regular use of acetaminophen can cause liver damage. Stating in the article's opening line that Tylenol "provides relief from bruised feelings as well as body aches" is scientifically unfounded and premature. I would caution your publication to be careful what research findings it alludes in the future.
Wow--bad so many ways, you hardly know where to start. The pulp-magazine structure is endemic (all Vogue, all Cosmo, all the 'gossip' rags), and they really are--as you say--turning everything to entertainment. And there's a danger there when it's a drug that can take out your liver.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Tone expands your idea that making drugs (any drugs) into fashion is inherently dangerous. Can you get to the SPECIFIC dangers here a bit? How we see emotions? How we see rejection? How we see pills? Yep, yep, yep. But separating the problems out will help.
Articles such as this one just make me feel gross for even reading the magazine. How has our society gotten to a point where the magazines we read lack the ethical responsibility to publish articles that are not only pertinent to it's audience but fail to take their reader's well being into account as well. This is reminiscient of the blogs that recomended the best way to get into an "accident" to cure your apetemonophilia.
ReplyDeleteThe "scientific" articles that one routinely finds in magazines like Allure or Maxim are probably my favorite parts. The quackery and misleading buy-lines are usually pretty astounding. I wonder if the Fox News team reads rags like these to assemble their scientific findings or if they have their own team of hired science goons?
ReplyDelete