Does Cosmopolitan magazine center on body image, sex and men?
When someone says Cosmo, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Could it be sex? Skinny models? Scandalous articles? If it surrounds something around these three, you wouldn’t be far from it. Cosmopolitan magazine was first released in 1886 with one main focus: women. It centered on articles about the home, family and cooking. They even included articles like “Some Examples of Recent Art” or “The Progress of Science” (Cosmopolitan Magazine, May 1896). Nowadays, they feature articles like “Make Sex Hotter” (June ‘13) or “Threesome Confessions” (March ‘13). This huge change started in the 1960s, when Helen Gurley Brown became editor in chief. Not only did the articles intrigue readers, but the images of beautiful, thin women caught people’s eyes and skyrocketed Cosmo’s sales. This soon became a go-to for young women and a well-known name, mostly recognized for their infamous advice on sex and relationships. Just like with anything else, there are some who oppose Cosmo. These groups claim that Cosmo centers around 3 themes: body image (Beauty Redefined), sex (Myers) and men (Courtney). They claim that because women are constantly subjected to this magazine and its’ absurd articles, women grow self-conscious about their bodies and about their own experiences (Beauty Redefined). “Today Cosmopolitan retains almost no remnants of its origins. It is fascinating to see how it has shifted with the culture and how our culture has changed because of it” (McGuire).
To test whether the theory of Cosmo being about just three topics, I’ll be looking at a year’s worth of Cosmopolitan magazine covers and seeing just how much this magazine relies on the three themes. For body image, I looked at how revealing the outfit is on the cover. I also looked at the title to the articles that talk about getting into shape. For sex, I chose to look at the model’s clothing, what parts of the body are displayed and at the looks on their faces. As with body image, I also looked at the titles of the articles that center on sex. Lastly, for the men theme, I looked at the clothes the models are wearing and the titles of the articles that focus on men.
When it comes to body image, out of the 106 titles on all 12 covers, 27 titles are about body image. On these 12 covers, there are about 2-3 article headers about body image on each. Some of these headers include, “The Hot Abs & Butt Workout”, “Supermodel Abs Workout” or “Flat Abs in 4 moves”. The last one in particular comes with an arrow directly pointing at Miranda Kerr’s (November ’13) flat stomach. Like Miranda, in the September 2013 issue, Nina Dobrev has an arrow pointing to her arms that says “The Quickie Arm Workout”. The idea of what a women’s body should look like comes across through not only the use of the titles, but also by the models in general. All the celebrities featured are not only thin and beautiful, they also have toned arms, a flat stomach and a flawless face. Their clothes accentuate these specific parts and draw the audience’s attention. Cosmopolitan seems to center on one specific body type instead of appealing to other body types. The colors used for these titles are actually pretty prominent and would sure enough catch someone’s attention alone. Although the font isn't particularly big, the contrast between the background and the font is enough to make up for the fact it’s not that big on the magazine cover. Cosmo claims that in 4 moves someone will achieve a flat stomach and that’s enough for someone to be convinced and buy the magazine. It seems to me that magazines like Cosmo feed off one’s insecurities because they know it’ll work and people will buy.
When I looked for Cosmo’s use of sex, I found that 21 articles focus on this topic. Kim Kardashian, being the sex symbol she is, was the first magazine cover I noticed. The way Kim is posing pushes her chest further out in the small shirt she’s wearing and gives her a small waist. This helps accentuates her features and comes across as very provocative and sexy, which of course connects with sex. She’s even shown sporting a sultry look on her face with slightly tousled “sex hair”. In Miley Cyrus’ March cover, she is shown wearing a blazer that does nothing to cover up the fact that she has no shirt on. Her breasts are shown but still covered and her flat stomach is out on display. Along with that, Miley has a provocative look on her face that is further accentuated with her hands gripping the small blazer barely covering her breasts. Some of the titles on these covers are very out there. For example, “Crazy Hot Sex”, “Threesome Confessions”, “12 Kinky Quickies” and “Sex on the First Date” are just some of the crazy titles on these magazines. As if it weren't enough, the font for these titles are actually one of the biggest on the cover and the color, likewise to body image titles, is prominent against the cover. Anyone passing by would see these titles first so it’s obvious that this theme in particular is the center of the magazine.
Moving onto the men theme, once again I looked at the model’s clothing and the titles on the front cover. Out of the 106 titles on these magazines, 16 titles center on males and their wants. Some of the titles included on these covers are “What guys think about the Pics You Post”, “The First Things He Notices about You”, “What He’s Really Thinking” and “The 3 Words You Must Never Say to A Guy”. Likewise to the other magazines, the celebrities’ clothing is pretty provocative. Nina Dobrev’s dress, who is shown on the September magazine, is wearing a skin tight dress and is shown bending down, making her dress ride up. This would definitely be found appealing to the male gaze and would capture a women’s attention as well. Miley Cyrus’s outfit on the other hand is actually a nude color. At first glance, my male friend thought Miley was naked with crystals all over her body and even did a double take. In reality, Miley was actually wearing a dress that is the color of her skin. Because of my friend’s reaction, I find it was probably done intentionally by Cosmo. They knew that some, at first glance, might think she was naked like my friend did and would do a double take. By showing these models and their provocative look and clothes, Cosmo influences what women think attracts a male. Women start to believe that those models are what men want to see. Their clothing is bound to turn people’s head and by just noticing the magazine, Cosmo seems to know they have “set the hook” for consumers.
Of course not all the articles are about body image, sex and men. Some actually give tips on gaining confidence, perfect hairstyles, and other miscellaneous things. Some even tend to center on career paths and that’s really empowering. Personally, I think those are the most fulfilling and uplifting to women. It comes off as Cosmo showing women that jobs should also be a part of their lives not just men and sex. It shows that although not all of the original Cosmo is present, there is still a little part that lives on.
For all 2013 Cosmo covers, I counted 106 articles on the magazine covers. Out of those 106 articles, 64 articles revolve around body image, sex and men. That’s 60% and more than half of the articles! As a smart way to get people to notice the magazine, Cosmo uses a variety of large fonts, different vibrant color schemes and scantily dressed women to lure people in. The appeal of a good looking girl is enough to get people to look but the article titles are what keep the readers interested. Since all three themes surround around sex appeal, it’s no surprise as to why Cosmopolitan always comes across as sexual. Cosmopolitan started off as a magazine for women and about women but over the years that has changed. The main focus of this magazine has drastically changed from fine arts and women in 1896 to sex, body image and men as shown through the magazines. Not only do these three themes degrade women, but they also leave them with a less than ideal image about themselves. What magazines like Cosmo fail to notice is that what they publish, readers take to heart. The more that readers see and read the same reoccurring thing, the more it becomes ingrained in their heads and they start to believe it. Readers can’t help but compare themselves to these models and eventually that leads to a feeling of inadequacy. This doesn’t empower women, it convinces them that they need to buy this magazine to know how to act and to know what to do, all while making a profit for Cosmopolitan. There’s nothing wrong with genuinely enjoying Cosmopolitan, even I find it entertaining sometimes but if there’s only one thing someone picks up from my paper, I’d want it to be to not take Cosmopolitan, and others like it, so seriously. It’s entertainment in the media not a way of living your life.
When someone says Cosmo, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Could it be sex? Skinny models? Scandalous articles? If it surrounds something around these three, you wouldn’t be far from it. Cosmopolitan magazine was first released in 1886 with one main focus: women. It centered on articles about the home, family and cooking. They even included articles like “Some Examples of Recent Art” or “The Progress of Science” (Cosmopolitan Magazine, May 1896). Nowadays, they feature articles like “Make Sex Hotter” (June ‘13) or “Threesome Confessions” (March ‘13). This huge change started in the 1960s, when Helen Gurley Brown became editor in chief. Not only did the articles intrigue readers, but the images of beautiful, thin women caught people’s eyes and skyrocketed Cosmo’s sales. This soon became a go-to for young women and a well-known name, mostly recognized for their infamous advice on sex and relationships. Just like with anything else, there are some who oppose Cosmo. These groups claim that Cosmo centers around 3 themes: body image (Beauty Redefined), sex (Myers) and men (Courtney). They claim that because women are constantly subjected to this magazine and its’ absurd articles, women grow self-conscious about their bodies and about their own experiences (Beauty Redefined). “Today Cosmopolitan retains almost no remnants of its origins. It is fascinating to see how it has shifted with the culture and how our culture has changed because of it” (McGuire).
To test whether the theory of Cosmo being about just three topics, I’ll be looking at a year’s worth of Cosmopolitan magazine covers and seeing just how much this magazine relies on the three themes. For body image, I looked at how revealing the outfit is on the cover. I also looked at the title to the articles that talk about getting into shape. For sex, I chose to look at the model’s clothing, what parts of the body are displayed and at the looks on their faces. As with body image, I also looked at the titles of the articles that center on sex. Lastly, for the men theme, I looked at the clothes the models are wearing and the titles of the articles that focus on men.
When it comes to body image, out of the 106 titles on all 12 covers, 27 titles are about body image. On these 12 covers, there are about 2-3 article headers about body image on each. Some of these headers include, “The Hot Abs & Butt Workout”, “Supermodel Abs Workout” or “Flat Abs in 4 moves”. The last one in particular comes with an arrow directly pointing at Miranda Kerr’s (November ’13) flat stomach. Like Miranda, in the September 2013 issue, Nina Dobrev has an arrow pointing to her arms that says “The Quickie Arm Workout”. The idea of what a women’s body should look like comes across through not only the use of the titles, but also by the models in general. All the celebrities featured are not only thin and beautiful, they also have toned arms, a flat stomach and a flawless face. Their clothes accentuate these specific parts and draw the audience’s attention. Cosmopolitan seems to center on one specific body type instead of appealing to other body types. The colors used for these titles are actually pretty prominent and would sure enough catch someone’s attention alone. Although the font isn't particularly big, the contrast between the background and the font is enough to make up for the fact it’s not that big on the magazine cover. Cosmo claims that in 4 moves someone will achieve a flat stomach and that’s enough for someone to be convinced and buy the magazine. It seems to me that magazines like Cosmo feed off one’s insecurities because they know it’ll work and people will buy.
When I looked for Cosmo’s use of sex, I found that 21 articles focus on this topic. Kim Kardashian, being the sex symbol she is, was the first magazine cover I noticed. The way Kim is posing pushes her chest further out in the small shirt she’s wearing and gives her a small waist. This helps accentuates her features and comes across as very provocative and sexy, which of course connects with sex. She’s even shown sporting a sultry look on her face with slightly tousled “sex hair”. In Miley Cyrus’ March cover, she is shown wearing a blazer that does nothing to cover up the fact that she has no shirt on. Her breasts are shown but still covered and her flat stomach is out on display. Along with that, Miley has a provocative look on her face that is further accentuated with her hands gripping the small blazer barely covering her breasts. Some of the titles on these covers are very out there. For example, “Crazy Hot Sex”, “Threesome Confessions”, “12 Kinky Quickies” and “Sex on the First Date” are just some of the crazy titles on these magazines. As if it weren't enough, the font for these titles are actually one of the biggest on the cover and the color, likewise to body image titles, is prominent against the cover. Anyone passing by would see these titles first so it’s obvious that this theme in particular is the center of the magazine.
Moving onto the men theme, once again I looked at the model’s clothing and the titles on the front cover. Out of the 106 titles on these magazines, 16 titles center on males and their wants. Some of the titles included on these covers are “What guys think about the Pics You Post”, “The First Things He Notices about You”, “What He’s Really Thinking” and “The 3 Words You Must Never Say to A Guy”. Likewise to the other magazines, the celebrities’ clothing is pretty provocative. Nina Dobrev’s dress, who is shown on the September magazine, is wearing a skin tight dress and is shown bending down, making her dress ride up. This would definitely be found appealing to the male gaze and would capture a women’s attention as well. Miley Cyrus’s outfit on the other hand is actually a nude color. At first glance, my male friend thought Miley was naked with crystals all over her body and even did a double take. In reality, Miley was actually wearing a dress that is the color of her skin. Because of my friend’s reaction, I find it was probably done intentionally by Cosmo. They knew that some, at first glance, might think she was naked like my friend did and would do a double take. By showing these models and their provocative look and clothes, Cosmo influences what women think attracts a male. Women start to believe that those models are what men want to see. Their clothing is bound to turn people’s head and by just noticing the magazine, Cosmo seems to know they have “set the hook” for consumers.
Of course not all the articles are about body image, sex and men. Some actually give tips on gaining confidence, perfect hairstyles, and other miscellaneous things. Some even tend to center on career paths and that’s really empowering. Personally, I think those are the most fulfilling and uplifting to women. It comes off as Cosmo showing women that jobs should also be a part of their lives not just men and sex. It shows that although not all of the original Cosmo is present, there is still a little part that lives on.
For all 2013 Cosmo covers, I counted 106 articles on the magazine covers. Out of those 106 articles, 64 articles revolve around body image, sex and men. That’s 60% and more than half of the articles! As a smart way to get people to notice the magazine, Cosmo uses a variety of large fonts, different vibrant color schemes and scantily dressed women to lure people in. The appeal of a good looking girl is enough to get people to look but the article titles are what keep the readers interested. Since all three themes surround around sex appeal, it’s no surprise as to why Cosmopolitan always comes across as sexual. Cosmopolitan started off as a magazine for women and about women but over the years that has changed. The main focus of this magazine has drastically changed from fine arts and women in 1896 to sex, body image and men as shown through the magazines. Not only do these three themes degrade women, but they also leave them with a less than ideal image about themselves. What magazines like Cosmo fail to notice is that what they publish, readers take to heart. The more that readers see and read the same reoccurring thing, the more it becomes ingrained in their heads and they start to believe it. Readers can’t help but compare themselves to these models and eventually that leads to a feeling of inadequacy. This doesn’t empower women, it convinces them that they need to buy this magazine to know how to act and to know what to do, all while making a profit for Cosmopolitan. There’s nothing wrong with genuinely enjoying Cosmopolitan, even I find it entertaining sometimes but if there’s only one thing someone picks up from my paper, I’d want it to be to not take Cosmopolitan, and others like it, so seriously. It’s entertainment in the media not a way of living your life.
Works Cited
-Beauty Redefined. "Cosmo Magazine: The Best-Seller That Sells Women Short." BEAUTY REDEFINED. Beauty Redefined, 4 Jan. 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
-Courtney. "Cosmo Still Spouting Out Male-Centered, Stereotypical Information and Advice to the Detriment of Its Readers." Feministing.com. Feministing.com, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Myers, Brooke. "Cosmo Is More about Sex than Freedom." OUDaily.com. The Oklahoma Daily, 31 Mar. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
McGuire, Lauren. "Sociological Images." Sociological Images RSS. The Society Pages, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Cosmopolitan Magazine Issues:
January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
November 2013
October 2013
December 2013
May 1896