Oh, Cosmo

I almost hate to admit this, but like many other girls in our class, my favorite magazine is Cosmo. As a 22 year old female, it appeals to me...gossip, cute guys, oh, and sex, sex, sex. Here is the break down of Cosmo: 65% advertisements, 35% sex and 10% other. Now, once you actually break it down, it makes you question, "Why the hell am I reading this crap?" Does liking this magazine make me a shallow person with no concern for the real issues? I don't think so, well at least I hope not.



People enjoy reading magazines for entertainment; it is the superfluous info that has no real world value that most people look for when they pick up a magazine. If I wanted to hear about the issues, I'd read the newspaper. I don't read this magazine for its adept writers, and skillfully composed prose. It is a fun magazine suited for its audience. A woman doesn't want to read "How to Please Her Man" or "How to Look Good Under $100" like she's reading the New Yorker. She wants it simple; this is strictly leisure reading. This isn't something she picked up for educational puposes, (well at least not in the traditional sense) so she doesn't want to have to read it like its a text book. The features are exactly what the typical reader is looking for. As for the advertisements...there are far too many, but this is a woman's magazine filled with info on makeup and designer clothing, what do you expect? And the reality of the situation is, I am not willing to pay any more than I already am. Like I said, it is fun, light reading; not something I really want to invest a lot of time or money in. So with all these advertisements, do I think they affect the content of the magazine, well that depends. I don't believe the advertisements affect whether or not articles about makeup or clothes will get published; those types of articles are the basis for the magazine. In fact, I am sure they would write about lipsticks anyway, but when it comes to the brand selections, there is no escaping the fact that Cosmo uses complementary copy. Cosmo may write about lipsticks, but the fact that Revlon placed an ad, has quite a bit to do with the reason Cosmo suggests Revlon as the lipstick of choice. At least I am aware of why they suggest Revlon or Covergirl; it isn't an unbiased, researched suggestion, more like a symbiotic relationship. People recognize most women's magazines are practically catalogs, but you have to look past that, and enjoy the magazine for what it is...entertainment. That's it...fun, easy, superficial entertainment.