Have you seen the latest issue of Cosmo? No? Count it as a blessing.
Between the features “Sex on a Desk,” “Can Sex Make You Skinnier?” or the tips on “Love, Lust and Other Stuff,” I wasn’t sure if I was reading a magazine for young women or the latest porno script.
I often wonder why so many girls are so casual about their sexuality. Why is getting into bed with someone seems no more significant than brushing their teeth?
I think the answer, in part, lies within the pages of women’s magazines.
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Sacrificing the four dollars I had left over at Safeway after checking off my grocery list, I decided to pick up a copy of Cosmopolitan. I made some unnerving discoveries. A third of the magazine was ads, another third was celebrity gossip and the final third was pages and pages of sex. In total, over a dozen features in the latest Cosmofocused on sexuality.
Today, Cosmopolitan boasts a circulation of 3, 017,834, is the 16th most read magazine in the country, and is the number one magazine for single copy sales.
No wonder today’s young women are so sexually active. By age 19, 7 in 10 girls will have had intercourse, according to the Guttmacher Institute. These females continue to read magazines that encourage them to find as many partners as they can. One article in Cosmo, for instance, alluded to earlier, is entitled “Can Sex Make You Skinnier?” and it argues intercourse can help you stay fit and healthy. As for the “Love, Lust and Other Stuff” page, it pictures a woman in lingerie eating spaghetti, making light of what is supposed to be an intimate and sacred act between two people who not only love, but trust one another entirely. Two things that fall into place as a man and woman prepare to marry, not preparing for four play.
Like many endeavors, Cosmopolitan began with good intent. In 1886, Schlicht and Field started Cosmo as a “family magazine,” emphasizing fashion, household decoration, cooking and the care of children.
The “management of children” is now the “planning of children.” Birth control pills are more important than diapers.
My feminist critics are predictable. That was another time back then.We have come so far. We need to continue to evolve. Yes, Schlicht and Field founded Cosmo in another century, but children are still children and the role of a mother is still the most important role a woman can play. It would only help our culture if we had reading materials to encourage women to have kids and to provide tips on how best to raise them.
Today, the new slew of Cosmo editors seem only concerned with highlighting the positive effects of sex, failing to mention 1. The high risk of STDs or 2. The potentially damaging psychological and long term consequences that can result from intercourse. For example, a high number of “hookups” is often a recipe for divorce later in life. Someone who sees sex as casual frequently has trouble staying in committed relationships because they are more concerned with the sexual experience than the bond.
My message is for two audiences.
Parents: Flip through your daughters’ magazines. Seventeen is full of more than Bieber posters and Cosmodoesn’t just offer cosmetic advice or the latest fashions.
Girls: You’re better than this. Read a Jane Austen novel or catch up on current events instead.
Fill your head with facts, not filth.