Des Moines Register
04-21-07
Hansen: A magazine for the rest of us (men)
By MARC HANSEN
REGISTER COLUMNIST
The magazines arrive in the mail or on the doorstep, and you can count on
seeing at least one photo of Wicker Van Orsdel posing or performing at some
upscale civic event or fundraiser the rest of us didn't know about.
Not that Wicker Van Orsdel isn't a fabulous babe who does a lot of selfless work
in the community. She is. She does. And you can't beat the name.
Still, the other day she showed up in Juice, which seems to represent a slightly
different demographic. It's not Wicker's fault she's so talented, smart and
photogenic, but there does seem to be an abundance of publications in Des
Moines geared to women and women's interests.
I count seven: Des Moines Woman, Des Moines Homestyle, Des Moines Moms,
which replaces iowaParent at the end of the month, Mid-Iowa mind&body (all
Des Moines Register publications, by the way), Welcome Home, Women's
Edition and dsm.
This isn't a dangerous trend, per se. Meanwhile, though, the male readership is
completely ignored - until now.
Just this week, something called "dsm: The Men's Book," showed up
unexpectedly in select mailboxes throughout the metro area.
I was stunned. Not one picture of Wicker belting out a show tune. Instead, the
book was full of men and men's issues.
The cover was an eye grabber - a gorgeous young woman in a low-cut dress
staring out at me with come-hither eyes.
The headline below her right shoulder said:
"No more sex?"
Is it that obvious?
I opened the book. It was a Connie Wimer/Business Publications creation.
An ad for "Signature Male," the fancy-pants hair salon and "Day Spa" in Waukee,
jumped out. Signature Male is the kind of place that serves you a cold beverage
while giving you a pedicure. How can you have one without the other?
The cover girl was a Des Moines native, Hamilton College student and model
named Elisabeth. Interesting how women monopolize the covers of both men's
and women's magazines. It must be a joint law of marketing and biology.
When I called Bill Maurer, the editor of the Men's Book, he said, "The cover
caught your eye, you dirty old man, didn't it?"
That's the point, isn't it?
He couldn't disagree.
Like the women of the metro area, Maurer said, the men of central Iowa deserve
their own magazine. But while dsm will still cover social and cultural affairs (more
women's stuff) four times a year, the Men's Book is only an annual. A blatant
example of discrimination.
After giving the 50 pages a close read, I offered Maurer a critique.
Enjoyed the story on Jamie Pollard, the Iowa State University athletic
director, and the piece about men seeking "a place they can call their own."
Hadn't heard about the weekly Men's Night tradition at the Wakonda Club.
Never sampled the single-malt scotch collection at 801 Steak and Chop House.
Got a chuckle out of the paragraph: "At Doc's Hunt Club in Adel, hunting
enthusiasts prove business can be conducted just as easily while reloading as it
can on the golf course. Nothing says 'I'm serious about my business' quite like
blowing a pheasant out of the sky."
Could do with fewer important-guys-on-the-town photo galleries.
Found the picture of Meredith honcho Suku Radia hugging Principal top dog
Barry Griswell compelling, but would have preferred more shots of the lovely
Elisabeth ... or Wicker Van Orsdel, for that matter. Come on, Maurer. Only one
photo inside the book?
Felt misled when the "No More Sex?" article was really about prostate cancer.
Learned that a man is 35 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate
cancer than a woman is to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Was glad to see Jim Pollock listed as a contributing writer. When Pollock was a
Register reporter, he produced one of the classic first paragraphs in Iowa
journalism history. The story was about a self-defense class for women.
Here's how it began: "Never has the male groin seemed like such a bad idea."
I'm not sure I can wait a whole year for the next issue.
Columnist Marc Hansen can be reached at (515) 284-8534 or
mahansen@dmreg.com