Gossip Magazine Junkie

When I first arrived in Germany, I spoke little or no German: just a splattering of words actually. It was late autumn. Those first months were very lonely ones. I didn’t know anyone in Erlangen, the city of my choice (it’s a big Siemens city), but the parents of a university friend of mine.

My only diversion was visiting a local café and reading (look at the glossy photos and try to decipher the sub-print) the large selection of gossip magazines the café subscribed to for the benefit of their guests.

Now, German gossip magazines are, from a Canadian point-of-view, rather interesting. They not only contain the normal deluge of news about scandalous affairs of movie stars and fashion shots, but there is a fair amount of psychological analysis, descriptions of esoteric trends, health tips, sex advice, and nudity, as well. I became a gossip magazine junkie.

I wouldn’t buy the magazines, but I will visit the cafés and stealthily read them.

Considering that I’ve never owned a television, you’d be surprised how much I know about television series and their stars. I’m also up to date about pop stars I’ve never heard the music of. Music festivals, I’ve never attended. The list goes on. So, tell me, why I find it all so fascinating?

I’ve managed to carry on the gossip magazine junkie gene to my daughter. I’m not proud of this; actually, I sort of despair of this fact.

Yet, it is through reading these magazines that she and I have had some very interesting conversations about body image, media mania (promoting anorexia), inner and outer beauty, keeping your feet on the ground (Natalie Portman versus Lindsay Lohan), intruding upon someone’s privacy (Britney), and a lot more.

I’m not mentioning this to justify a preposterous waste of time, but to say some good arises out of this preoccupation.