The Cosmo Effect

Cosmopolitan Magazine is practically a cultural phenomenon in our society. It has become the place that many people, primarily females, turn to for advice for their sex lives. According to their demographic profile, about 52.3% of Cosmopolitan readers say that it is their favorite magazine. This is higher than many other major magazine publications. Their demographics are females age 18 and up. But Cosmopolitan reaches many younger and older females, as well as males.

Cosmopolitan writes a lot about sex. A lot. But what exactly is it saying? And what kind of influence does this have on the readers and their sexual pleasure? Many women have argued that the sex tips and advice featured on the pages of Comso is not only very heteronormative, but also geared towards cisgender males and the ways that female partners can please them. A website, everydayfeminist.com, writes, "Because of how male-dominated our culture is, women have almost nowhere to go to find accurate information on their own sexual pleasure- not even publications written for them!" If even a women's magazine that openly writes about sex does not fully discuss or account for women's orgasms and sexual pleasure, what does this say about our society's discourse on female's sexuality? 

In this poem, two women talk about some of the outrageous sex tips they have come across in magazines and the ways that they feel it does not account for their own pleasure. Definitely worth a watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmR_HdXDtw8