There's a new blog in the Gawker town. That's right. The Manhattan media blog that brings LA Defamer launched Jezebel this month. Written by three sassy New Yorkers, they praise Sassy magazines from the '90s and boo airbrushing and they do it with sailor-tongued abandon. So much so you think they must have been fired from at least three magazine internships before landing this gig. They have quite the manifesto out to reverse what they've identified as the 5 Great Lies of Women's Magazines:

1. The Cover Lie -- Basically, every women's mag cover is airbrushed making the identities of their celebs and models alien or one bland Caucasian invention. There's also the blurbs on those glossy covers promising thrilling articles on the inside that never live up to expectations. I.e. 15 Workouts to Burn the Bulge in 15 min. are really just a page of boring dumbbell presses.

2. The Celebrity Profile Lie -- quote "..As stars use MySpace and Blogger to expose the doting public to their innermost thoughts and crap spelling, the celebrity profiles found in women's magazines have actually managed to get flatter, more nakedly consumerist and less imaginative than the movies and TV shows they're shilling for, and we include Georgia Rule in that group."

3. The Must-Have Lie -- A magazine editor loves a certain nail polish because that nail polish company gave her free nail polish and probably a free dinner and/or a starter condo. On the flipside, the basic must-haves are big duhs. Everyone knows you should have a LBD (little black dress) and decent shoes.

4. The Affirmation Crap Lie -- If you ever once thought the girls from The O.C. looked fat you need to get some self esteem and get some quick before you sign up for another subscription.

5. The Big Meta Lie -- I'm gonna have to paraphrase the girls here: It's a postmodern joke when you know what the word postmodern means but still flip through the magazine pages under the guise that celebphemera and retail therapy is harmless escapism. "The big lie is that we haven't let the norms of the celebrity-sartorial complex seep into the way we see everything in the world, perpetuating the notion that all of life is high school, and the pretty people are the only ones worth your attention, and that all the world would be that way anyway. Because it wouldn't. And though we've found women's magazines to be a fairly trusty engine of hilarious tidbits, it is not all one big joke."

Wow. Hit the nail on the head with that last one.

My verdict is still out to see how successfully anti-disestablishment they can be and still hawk hair products. Gawker is a good gossip read but still ends up selling a bunch of ads and products like any other online 'zine.

But like I mentioned, they do not censor themselves which is admirable. (It worked for Carrie and Samantha, didn't it?) Take this lovely article "Decoding Cosmo" in which they dig out Burt Reynold's centerfold from the Cosmopolitan Mag vaults and generously sprinkle the sass:

Labels: fashion, www.internet.com