I found the chapter, “Inventing the Cosmo Girl” to be really interesting for me as a reader of Cosmo. Helen Brown, creator of Cosmopolitan, developed the magazine as a way to advise women socially and economically. She provided new ways of thinking in a society dominated by powerful men, focusing on “self-management strategies, performative tactics, sexuality, and upwardly mobile romance (p 117).” Such discourse is defined within in the text as ideological representations that have developed socially, in this case, such representations refer to the social identity of the working girl (p 117).
Brown renamed her audience “pink-collar” women whose dreams are to transcend class and gender roles. The “cosmo girl” is the sexualized symbol of pink-collar femininity. Going against standard stereotypes, Brown “critiqued mandatory motherhood, advised birth control, condoned divorce, encouraged women to work outside the home, and recommended sexual and financial independence within boundaries (p 118).” However, although she was seen as a savior by her readers for solving their emotional, social, and business dilemmas, I think of her more as a player in the game of stereotypes. Yes, she stood up for women’s rights, but at the same time, she placed too much emphasis on sexuality,. Therefore, her attempt at constructing a powerful female identity falls short and, instead, she helps create women who are dependent on the very thing that men degrade them for- their bodies.
Rather than simply conforming to gender stereotypes, she embraced and highlighted them by emphasizing the importance of using sexuality to gain success. Many of the advertisements focused on cosmetics, personal care products, lingerie and clothing, which can still be seen today. She taught her readers how to acquire style and attractiveness by simply copying fashion magazines. The magazine, therefore, fed on insecurities rooted in male ideology by encouraging women to exploit themselves. This focus on the reconstruction of one’s identity to increase opportunity of “prolonged courtship” is still the prominent theme in current Cosmopolitan issues.
Today’s Cosmo magazine covers host famous women dolled up, surrounded by text claiming to hold the secrets of the ultimate sexual pleasure, how to get the ideal guy, and how to tell if he’s into you. Basically, the theme of every issue is the same- how to recreate yourself in order to get the guy of your dreams. Interestingly, Ouellette states in the chapter that Cosmopolitan once featured ads for employment and education- what might have been the only real confrontation with gender stereotypes. Now, the advertisements only display products that increase one’s physical attributes. In fact, I find the number of cosmetic ads to be incredibly annoying, especially since they all seem to creatively be the same- dull. The magazine contains quizzes on such topics as finding out who your ideal man is or what type of flirt you are. Unfortunately, a heavy emphasis is laid on how to please a man….sexually. The magazine often goes into a heavy description on sexual positions and secrets that claim to “blow you man’s mind!!” How is this encouraging woman today? – By saying that in order to be a real woman, they need to master all 13,342 sexual positions? By knowing the ins and outs of their male counterparts body?
However, not all content in the magazine is sexually based. They do cover female issues such as cervical cancer, breast examines, sexual assault in the workplace, abusive relationships, and traumatic experiences. I find these articles to be the most interesting throughout the issues because they provide a lot of insight and consistently differ from one issue to the next, unlike the uniform “how to please your man” articles.
Despite Cosmopolitan’s conformity to gender stereotypes, readers, including myself, find themselves running to the shelves every month to purchase the newest issue. For some reason, we find comfort in this figurative community of women around the world who experience the same issues as we do….even if those issues do revolve around our male counterparts.
Works Cited
Ouellette, L. (2011). Inventing the Cosmo Girl. In G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender Race, and Class in Media (pp 349-358). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.
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