Five years ago, the teen magazine that early on leaned into the toxic woke message had to stop printing. At the time, the woke defenders argued it didn’t go woke and broke, it’s just a victim of digital overcoming print media. Now, Teen Vogue is effectively being folded into Vogue as a section of the publication it originally came from.
Hey y’all, welcome to a special edition of Unfit to Print.
R.I.P. TEEN VOGUE’S POLITICS SECTION
Teen Vogue is on death’s doorstep. Five years after the print magazine was discontinued, parent company Condé Nast announced Monday that Teen Vogue would be absorbed by sister publication Vogue and would focus on topics including “career development and leadership,” the New York Times reported.
“I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers on other sections, and today is my last day,” a Teen Vogue politics reporter with “they/them” pronouns said on X. “Certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.”
Teen Vogue made a deliberate pivot during the era of Trump to focus on progressive politics and “female empowerment” while moving away from fashion, beauty, and pop culture. The shakeup gained national attention when journalist Lauren Duca published an article accusing President Donald Trump of “gaslighting” America and had a contentious interview with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which we covered previously on this Substack.
In the years following, Teen Vogue glorified radical progressive politics, leaning into or perhaps driving the increasing gender-based political divide among young voters. The publication consistently decentered women in favor of transgender and LGBTQ+ activism (see this profile of Elon Musk’s trans “daughter”). When women were the focus, it was to promote limitless abortion, Girl Bossing by violently fighting “fascism,” rejecting one’s family over political disagreements, sexual promiscuity, and steering women away from femininity and healthy long-term relationships.