Does anyone agree that Cosmopolitan is offensive?

watna

Crumble Froo wrote: »

i was about to ask if any of them were kiwis...



sounds very familiar. *thinks of some very specific people here*

very very very familiar.

Maybe it's a kiwi thing. She's got herself involved in gangs and everything. She hangs out with people who have been in prison, and she's 16!!! :eek:. She's exactly the kind of person who'd believe everything she reads in these magazines.

G86

Hmmm, I might get lynched for this, but I honestly don't see the issue with it. Its a magazine thats based alot around sex,fashion, and celeb gossip - it doesn't try to portray any other image. Its hardly The Sunday Times of magazines, but after a hard days work I'd rather sit down with a few pages of gossip and fun than read about what Berties been at for the week.

I'm a freelance Journalist and I understand the importance of good reading material to educate and inform, however I also understand the importance of chilling out after work with a few magazines and a coffee

Crumble Froo

edit: replying to watna

so so so so many of them. ha, remind me to tell you some of my b/f's life story some time... it's like he grew up on a different planet.

this kid i know, 16, just gone 17, girl racer, more sexual partners than she could count, up in court for some car crash a while ago, owes a small mortgage worth of college loan, didnt stay long enough for her piece of paper at the end, can't keep down a job due to not turning up/completely cheeking the managers, and owes a fair few hundred quid in car loan etc.

and that's just the stuff i feel comfortable saying on a public forum... :rolleyes:

she just brings so much trouble on herself, owes all this money and goes out and spends a couple hundred quid on a manicure/haircut... refers to herself as 'princess'.

she is just such an example of waht is wrong with this generation... from the self confidence relying on boys, sex and material possession, to the complete lack of responsibility, to the playboy stickers on her souped up car...

r3nu4l

Dudess and watna in particular are rapidly restoring my faith in modern women Good job!

Dudess

Cheers Renewal! (Sorry, couldn't be arsed spelling it the correct way - now, how's that for not pandering to a male?! )

G86 wrote: »

Its a magazine thats based alot around sex,fashion, and celeb gossip - it doesn't try to portray any other image.

It ain't what it says, it's the way that it says it though...

Sex and fashion? Topics lots of us are interested in. But how about framing them in a manner that isn't designed to bring out the bimbo in you? (If you may be so inclined).

LadyJ

Dudess wrote: »

It ain't what it says, it's the way that it says it though...

Sex and fashion? Topics lots of us are interested in. But how about framing them in a manner that isn't designed to bring out the bimbo in you? (If you may be so inclined).

True. It's never about looking good or feeling good for yourself, it's always, "What to wear this summer to bag your man" etc. Load of crap tbh.

Men who see those magazines must think everything women do is to impress them. It's embarrassing.

G86

Dudess wrote: »

Cheers Renewal! (Sorry, couldn't be arsed spelling it the correct way - now, how's that for not pandering to a male?! )

It ain't what it says, it's the way that it says it though...

Sex and fashion? Topics lots of us are interested in. But how about framing them in a manner that isn't designed to bring out the bimbo in you? (If you may be so inclined).

I do see what your getting at here, however I still think you're taking it too seriously.

watna

r3nu4l wrote: »

Dudess and watna in particular are rapidly restoring my faith in modern women Good job!

Aw, shucks!

I understand that magazines can be entertainment. I do get them occasionally myself when I want to read about nice clothes and funny true life stories (my mum married my fiancee etc!) but what I think Dudess is getting at, and I agree is that Cosmo (and one or two others) just seem to take it a bit too far. As LadyJ says it all seems to be about getting a man, dressing for a man, keeping him happy. There's few articles (at least last time I checked) on say, getting a better job if you're not happy or feeling better about yourself. Now, I know not all magazines are like this and most women are smart enough to laugh at them (I find more's position of the fortnight, particularly amusing. It's always really awkward looking!) but our point is... some younger women take it very seriously and live by it. If that's the case it's not the best reading material to have around.

Offensive... maybe not.

Giveing young girls a little bit of a warped view of the world... probably.

Crumble Froo

bit of a vicious circle really... silly people warrant making of silly magazine, which encourages and creates more silly people...

watna

Crumble Froo wrote: »

bit of a vicious circle really... silly people warrant making of silly magazine, which encourages and creates more silly people...

Yup, I would agree with this. Seems to be how it works. There's no harm if you know it's silly and you can have a laugh but it's people who don't realise this that we should be worried about!

p.s. Crumble Froo (I was about to type Narco!), very interesting about the girl you know in NZ, sounds quite similar to the bf's sister. Hmm... must be a crazy country!

Meathlass

I admit to buying Cosmo most months; it's the only 'women's' magazine I buy. I also buy Newsweek, Time, The Economist, National Geographic and I subscribe to lots of archaeological and historical magazines. So I don't think you can have a blanket statment that only idiots buy these magazines. I do remember my mum picking it one day recently though and saying that nothing had changed since she bought it 30 years ago, she stopped buying it when she realised they just recycled the articles every few months.

Even though it's very expensive I usually just flick through it, never read the stories (not interested in sally from manchester's battle with cancer or plastic surgery worries), look at fashion and make up , love the problem pages and the sex advice which makes you wonder if you followed their advice for looking good and looking after yourself and practising your pelvic exercises to strengthen your 'sex' muscles when you'd ever get any time to actually have sex! I certainly wouldn't let my 15 year old cousin read it though, it's too sexually explicit. Some of the confession stories are hilarious. One that sticks out was a 20 year old on the way to a family party. She was stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway and started flirting with the guy in the car next to her (all through grins and hand gestures) they both took the next exit on the motorway and had sex in the toilet of a petrol station ... classy!

Yeah there're are lots of articles about sex but there's also sections on healthy eating, work life (how to get that promotion or a pay rise etc), small travel and hobbies pages. Nearly every month they have an article on sexual health as well so it's not all bad. Certainly would prefer it to those mags that are full of pictures of celebs with scathing comments underneath.

Marksie

Meathlass wrote: »

I, love the problem pages and the sex advice which makes you wonder if you followed their advice for looking good and looking after yourself and practising your pelvic exercises to strengthen your 'sex' muscles when you'd ever get any time to actually have sex!

LMAO damn it my secrets out... now you know the secret of how to become PI mod

Babette08

Didn't even know it was still in circulation :eek:. I think most who'd buy it would buy it purely for entertainment value - it's pretty tongue in cheek anyway or as far as I remember from the odd glance in the hairdressers. A lot of magazines aimed at women are full of contradictory rubbish anyway..but at the end of a working day all you're really up to doing is flicking through the pages anyway - if i want a decent read or advice it won't be from a girly mag. But yeah if i want to check out the latest fashions & have a nosy on how the other half lives then i'll pick up Grazia or Look

ali.c

IMHO most womens magazines are overly negative, though prehaps if they make you feel like crap you might buy some of the many many products advertised in them?? And they dont pay ridiculuos advertising costs because it doesnt work. As for the gossip sections well who the hell cares if this or that celeb is too fat/thin??

I decided a about 5 years ago that I was not going to be buying into that stuff and to date i have not had a single reason to rethink that decision.

Also without the sage advice offered in said magazines i have managed to hang on to the bf, dress myself daily and what not so clearly i must be doing something wrong

metaoblivia

The only magazine I have a subscription to and read is International Gymnast. Sometimes, on the weekends when I'm at the gym, I'll read whatever woman's fashion magazine is lying on the floor. And by read, I mean look at the pictures. I'm not offended by them because I don't think about them enough to have an opinion. If other women want to use that a guide for living their life, I guess that's their prerogative, but I've never found much useful advice in them, even as a teenager.

missmatty

I can't stand Cosmo. It's expensive and crap and full of ads. I don't normally buy those types of magazines but if I had a gun to my head I'd buy something like Marie Claire. That does some interesting articles sometimes about serious issues.

shoegirl

watna wrote: »

I haven't read Cosmo in years. I found all the sex stuff a bit much. You know, all that "Sex with your boss - fun and frolics at work" and "31 positions for a raunchy month" . I'm tired. I want to put my jammies on when I go home from work and watch Grey's Anatomy of Family Guy downloads. I don't have the energy to keep up with cosmo and the sex lives we're supposed to lead!

I've only read it once or twice and had mixed feelings. It depends on what you expect from a magazine. I wouldn't see such a magazine as serious stuff so I'm not really bothered by it. I only read that kinda thing in the hairdressers to kill the time. I can see how some people could be offended if they expected it to be informative on an intellectual level, but I don't think women read it for that reason. If I want to be stimulated, I'd look elsewhere.

Dudess

I think people are confusing Cosmo with the "bit of light entertainment" magazines (Now!, Heat, Closer etc). I don't find those mags a prob - they're crap but they don't masquerade as anything other than cheap and nasty. Cosmopolitan is a very expensive, very well put together publication. It markets itself as a "bible" for young women.

Nevyn

I reckon it is so expensive cos it is infact instalment payments on the labotomy needed to read it.

g'em

Dudess wrote: »

I think people are confusing Cosmo with the "bit of light entertainment" magazines (Now!, Heat, Closer etc). I don't find those mags a prob - they're crap but they don't masquerade as anything other than cheap and nasty. Cosmopolitan is a very expensive, very well put together publication. It markets itself as a "bible" for young women.

Ah jaysus, Dudess, untwist them knickers

I don't buy Cosmo, I usually get Glamour (much of a muchesness in other words), and like Meathlass it's just one of many different publications I read every month. My day is spent (when not on boards ) reading scientific mumbo-jumbo that I have to appraise and approve so wimmin's mags are like a naughty little treat for me once a month, and like going to the cinema to see a blockbuster I indulge to be entertained, not educated.

The kind of people who are impressionable enough to take their life lessons from a magazine are the kind of people who will be impressed upon by anything and anyone. I'm not one of those people, I part with €3.50 for an evening worth of fun, light hearted reading. And y'know, strange as it sounds, every so often there's actually some very worthwhile information in there. Granted it's usually make-up related, but still...

Meathlass

3.50! It costs me 4.60 down here in Tipperary :mad:

WindSock

I have always wanted to get one of those mags and rip out all the ads just to see the 3 or so pages of content.

St Bill

I think the 'How to keep your boyfriend/You don't need a man/What's my name again?/Are those MY feet?' articles are hilarious. And I also love the ads, sorry, articles about weight loss, liposuction, cosmetic surgery etc.
I love the pointless facts you can find in mens mags too, although they don't pretend to be anything other than a bit of light entertainment

gcgirl

I only ever got cosmo for the naked centerfolds!

Dudess

That's another thing: Cosmo has one narrow view of male sexuality - oiled muscles, tanned, blah blah. To me and many others, exceedingly unattractive.

g'em wrote: »

Ah jaysus, Dudess, untwist them knickers

Oh no my knickers have stayed untwisted right since I started this thread! They'd be more at risk of twisting if they were the dental-floss-up-the-arse effort variety advocated by Cosmo that you just HAVE to wear if you want to be "sexy"!

I don't buy Cosmo, I usually get Glamour (much of a muchesness in other words)

Ah I've flicked through Glamour too - nowhere NEAR as bad as Cosmo.

g'em, you're an intelligent, strong, single-minded woman. I know you'd view the content of magazines like Cosmopolitan as a bit of mindless escapism, nothing else. But sadly there are women even in their 30s who view them as gospel...

ladylaughs

Now that was some funny sheet!!!

jellie

ill admit to buying them kind of magazines - once a year. usually when going on holidays with the girls we'll each buy a magazine or 2. theyre entertainment for sitting by the pool, we usually end up laughing at the stuff in half of them.

but we're old enough to not take them too seriously. Ive often been reading some of these magazines thinking there should be some sort of age restrictions on them. certain films cant be seen by under 18s, under 15s etc., but theres nothing stopping them buying magazines with explicit directions for "pleasing your man" or whatever.

LivingDeadGirl

God bit of overkill going on here, it's a magazine, not the Devil. It's just a bit of a laugh really, nothing more, any girl with a brain would know that. All these women in their 30's which you mention using it as their guide to life? You must know some seriously idiotic people, because only morons could take Cosmopolitan seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I've never bought it(hey it's good on a plane!), but I'm 16 and I've never once thought 'omg Cosmo told me to go have sex in 37,651 positions, I must do it!', oh and it never told me much I wasn't aware of anyway. I'd rather learn from a magazine than have an awkward family chat(which I never got, luckily) any day.

Oh and Glamour is better :cool::p

pow wow

Cosmo is one I've never gotten into, it's all fluff and photos. I can't be ar$ed with quizzes about how much my bf loves me (if I answer all Bs he will stay 1-3 yrs....yay me) and gumpf stories about women with poor judgement (on a range of issues, from infidelity to casual sex and everywhere in-between) as if that's something to aspire to.

SW81

Ah I get it the odd time when I have a 3 hour train journey back home ahead of me, don't see the big deal :rolleyes: