Before noticing the Beat Girl the first thing that caught my attention on the cover for the January 2007 issue of Shojo Beat was a giveaway for a pink DS Lite.

See, early in Shojo Beat’s run, they gave away a pink iPod mini generating a letter from a male reader saying that he felt left out by the sweepstakes because he wouldn’t want such a girly-colored prize. The letter got a response from an editor promising more gender-neutral colors (like a green iPod mini) saying that they didn’t want to leave any of their readers feeling left out. I felt mixed on this, as much as I believe in comics gateways being inclusive, a part of me felt like I was seeing male privilege at work — that fanboys get to justify excessive cheesecake in comics by pointing to the percentage of male superhero comic readers, but a girls’ comics anthology ends up avoiding features that leave boys feeling excluded.

But now, apparently, pink is back at Shojo Beat and we’re seeing pink prizes being given away by the magazine. I find this interesting, considering the lettercol from the magazine’s early run (the magazine had a different editor at the time, IIRC).

And then I read the Editor’s Letter introducing the Beat Girl:

Who is the Beat Girl? Well, in a nutshell… she’s all of our readers! She loves dressing up in fancy clothes and going out with friends, as well as staying in, putting on her favorite jeans, eating popcorn and watching anime. She changes her hair color as often as she changes her mind, and her skills at Guitar Hero 2 are unmatched. She likes all kinds of music, but is really getting into J-pop and J-rock. She’s a big fan of shojo manga, is filled with curiosity about the world around her and loves making new friends.

Looks like the “Boys welcome, too!” sign (to paraphrase the sign at Working Girl Deli) has been quietly taken down at Shojo Beat.