Cosmopolitan, or simply Cosmo, is a magazine published monthly from New York by the Hearst Corporation. It was founded in 1886 as a "magazine for the whole family".
Through the years, Cosmopolitan magazine has been able to open versions in various languages, such as Spanish, Swedish and French. It reaches readers in many 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.
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 explictness, espically with strong sexual language, male nudity (although not showing the genitals, or it would be considered pornographic) and sexual themes such as rape.
More recently they have designed a spinoff magazine, CosmoGirl, targeting a young female
audience.
Average Cosmo Magazine
The magazine, though it has changed since its conception, does try to also educate women in areas other then sexuality. Regular Features such as "Guy Confessions" where guys tell embarrassing stories to 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 concerning women. Of course there are the gossipy articles on clebs and tips and tricks every month. However, Cosmopolitan does promote good mental and physical health. They have monthly sections titled "Real Life Reads" that talk about experiences women have gone through, for example one women talked about her fiance being killed in Irag. They also have a section called "You, You, You" that contains a wide variety of advice concerning stress, to how to deal with your mom. Cosmo seems to have created a niche for themselves because their content is women oriented and allows a place for women to read about their bodies and have fun doing it.
Criticism
The magazine's increasingly sexual focus has led to some controversy, especially since it is often sold in clear-view at checkout counters of family grocery stores. Many parents are uncomfortable with their children reading magazine headlines such as "How to date 8 men at once and get away with it."
While Cosmo has evolved into a magazine that has features to attract both male and female readers, female readers are still the most heavily engaged target audience. 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.
Voting drive
Cosmo has pursued an effort to encourage their readers to vote. As part of the undertaking, editor Sam Baker set up interviews with the three main political parties in the UK, in order to enlighten and rouse readers under the age of twenty-four to vote. A lack of interest in voting among younger ages is an enduring phenomenon in both the UK and the United States. Baker hoped to use the magazine to promote interest in voting in this group.
External link