Don't use lesbians to lift sales
Tatler is a glossy magazine aimed at the rich. It used to focus on ‘society’ — these days, that means the upwardly mobile. It’s the kind of reading material you find in the waiting rooms of swanky dentists.
Pippa Middleton is a perfect Tatler pin-up: unmarried and impeccably well-connected. So why is editor Kate Reardon gushing to anyone who will listen about the need to stick up for gay women?
The latest issue asks ‘Where are all the lesbians?’ and devotes several pages to glamorous pictures of seven high-profile women, including TV presenter and comedian Sue Perkins and writer, and environmental campaigner Tamsin Omond, arrested after scaling the roof of the Houses of Parliament to protest against a third runway at Heathrow.
Tamsin (whether you agree with her politics or not) doesn’t need much help from Tatler to raise her profile. Kate Reardon claims gay men are more accepted than their female counterparts and this Thursday, she’s hosting a dinner for 200 lesbians.
But what are her motives? Latest figures show Tatler’s circulation is flat, with a small increase of just 1.7 per cent. The National Readership survey tells a different story, recording a drop of more than 20 per cent in a year — 25 per cent in the highest social categories, which advertisers love.
I suspect Kate’s ‘lesbian ball’ is all about selling Tatler and nothing to do with gay rights. Can you imagine the fuss if there was a heterosexual-only event? Clever women, gay or straight, don’t need Tatler’s help.
