Cosmopolitan (magazine)

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Cover of March, 1894 The Cosmopolitan

Through the years, Cosmopolitan magazine has been able to open versions in 32 languages, such as Spanish, Swedish, Romanian, Russian and French. It reaches readers in more than 100 countries worldwide. It was banned in Singapore until recently.

In earlier incarnations, such as under John Brisben Walker from 1889 to 1905, it was one of America's leading markets for fiction, and for a briefer period was known for important investigative journalism.

Circulation had been in decline for years until Helen Gurley Brown became chief editor in 1965, and remodeled the magazine. Cosmopolitan became a women's magazine complete with a sexy cover shot every month of a woman (usually) in a low cut dress or bikini.

The Russian edition of Cosmopolitan with singer Alsou on the cover.

In recent years the magazine, and in particular, its cover stories, have become more sexually explicit in tone.

Cosmopolitan in the UK started in the early 1970s. It was well known for its sexual explicitness, especially with strong sexual language, male nudity (although not showing the genitals, or it would be considered pornographic) and themes such as rape.

More recently, CosmoGirl!, a spinoff magazine targeting a teenage female audience has been created around the world. There is also another spin off, Cosmopolitan Men which the male version of Cosmopolitan Magazine.

A typical Cosmo magazine

Cover of April 2005 (UK edition) Cosmopolitan with covergirl Geri Halliwell

Though Cosmopolitan is known for its sex advice and sex tips, the magazine does also try to educate women in areas other than sexuality. Regular features such as "Guy Confessions", where men tell embarrassing stories, and sections like "Health Check", which has featured articles such as "Cosmo Gyno" and "Your Body: Curb your out of control winter appetite," are there not only for entertainment value but to help women understand their bodies and even recognize possible health problems. There are also gossip articles about celebrities. However, Cosmopolitan does promote good mental and physical health. Monthly sections titled "Real Life Reads" write about experiences women have gone through, such as one woman's ordeal when her fiancé was killed in Iraq. There also is a section "You, You, You", which contains a wide variety of advice. Cosmo seems to have created a niche for itself because its content is women oriented and allows a place for women to read about their bodies and know that other women are going through the same experiences with sex and life.

Criticism

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Many parents are uncomfortable with their children reading magazine headlines such as "How to date 8 men at once and get away with it."

The magazine features mostly feminine topics such as sex, makeup, hair tips, etc. Certain third-wave feminists have argued that although the present iteration of Cosmo was started to stop discrimination and empower women, it now contributes to women's oppression by inspiring uneasiness over their physical image, due to the magazine's venerated display of women's sexuality and statuesque body image.

In its January 1988 issue, Cosmopolitan ran a feature claiming that women had almost no reason to worry about contracting HIV long after the best available medical science indicated otherwise. The piece claimed that unprotected sex with an HIV-positive man did not put women at risk of infection, and went on to state that "most heterosexuals are not at risk" and that it is impossible to transmit HIV in the missionary position[link]. This article, featuring obviously incorrect information, angered many AIDS Activists and Gay Rights Activists who felt the article contributed to the further demonization already felt in the gay community due to the epidemic.

External links

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