Tuesday, October 5, 2010


While reading "Inventing the Cosmo Girl" by Laurie Ouelette, I came to the conclusion that the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan Magazine, Helen Gurley Brown, had in fact created a subculture in itself with the invention of the Cosmo Girl. "...Cosmopolitan was the first consumer magazine to target single 'girls with jobs' with feature articles, advice columns, budget fashions and advertisements for mainly 'feminine' consumer items..." (Ouellette 119) Cosmopolitan was the first magazine, with Brown at the helm, to target a specific audience that was just emerging with the changing social tides and shape them to whatever she wanted them to be. Cosmopolitan magazine placed an emphasis on female sexuality, and this is what sets it apart from the other female-targeted magazines of the era. "Features on female orgasm, birth control, masturbation, casual sex and sexual experimentation appeared under Brown's editorship, while quizzes with names like 'How Sexy Are You?' " (Ouelette, 123) This direct focus on the working girl was intoxicating and something that had not been done before, which is a direct link to the magazine's overall success. This image is from an issue of Cosmopolitan, and it heralds "The Naughtiest Sex Position".

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