99 Ways to Be Naughty in Kazakhstan

$\"\"$

The Cosmo universe now includes 64 international editions distributed in more than 100 countries in 35 languages.

By Edith Zimmerman

Aug. 3, 2012

A few months ago, at the Tablao Villa Rosa, a tourist-friendly restaurant in Madrid, dozens of beautifully dressed women from all over the world were gathered around a stage taking cellphone pictures of a male flamenco dancer in tight pants. The women, whooping and clapping against the sides of their wine glasses, were editors, publishers and executives from the far-flung corners of the Cosmopolitan magazine universe \u2014 missionaries from the more established international Cosmos (Australia, France, Britain) and the newer, upstart Cosmos (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Vietnam and dozens of other countries). They gathered there at the biennial Cosmic Conference to soak up the Cosmo ethos (\u201cFun, fearless, female!\u201d) and then went home to radiate it outward. One Cosmo staff member would tell me \u2014 in complete seriousness, having chosen her words carefully \u2014 that Cosmic was going to change my life.

\u201cDid you see those pants?\u201d asked Kate White as she sat down with a glass of red wine at the wine-barrel table where I was writing down my impressions of, among other things, the flamenco pants. White, 61, is the laser-blue-eyed editor of Cosmo U.S., the mother ship, or Big Cosmo, as it\u2019s called by other editors. During White\u2019s 14-year tenure, the magazine has increased its U.S. circulation to 3 million readers, from 2.3 million, and introduced 22 international editions for a total of 64, including spinoffs. (By comparison, Marie Claire has 35 international editions, and Glamour has 16). She\u2019s dazzling but relaxed, with a full, frequent laugh. She is the Bill Clinton of Cosmic, the charming and influential American, the unofficial boss of bosses, toward whom her international counterparts gravitate. Her book, \u201cI Shouldn\u2019t Be Telling You This: Success Secrets Every Gutsy Girl Should Know,\u201d is due out in September.

White also wastes no time. Within minutes she was asking me whether and when I want to marry, whether and when I want to have kids, whether I\u2019d want to marry but not have kids and whether I\u2019d consider freezing my eggs. I was surprised by my answers, not knowing I had them until I heard myself telling her, with no hesitation, that I did want to marry and have kids but that I thought I\u2019d be O.K. if neither happened and that work was more important to me at the moment (perhaps to the detriment of those things) and a number of other personal details. Another Cosmo editor swooped in before I could ask her for specific advice, but I would have.

White\u2019s likable directness is one of her magazine\u2019s defining characteristics. Cosmo has a cheerful, girlfriendy tone (\u201cWhen Your Period Makes You Cra-a-zy\u201d) and a much racier reputation than its newsstand competitors (\u201cEeek! You\u2019ll Die When You Read What These \u2018Normal\u2019 Guys Wanted Once Their Pants Hit the Floor\u201d). Its covers rarely fail to feature at least one bold, all-caps rendering of the word \u201csex.\u201d The August issue, for instance, offered \u201c52 Sex Tips\u201d and \u201cWhen Your Vagina Acts Weird After Sex.\u201d A sampling of 2012 headlines includes \u201c50 Sex Tips,\u201d \u201c50 Kinky Sex Moves,\u201d \u201c99 Sex Questions\u201d and \u201cHis Best Sex Ever.\u201d

The repetition can be a little numbing, but it may help explain how Cosmo, which is the best-selling monthly magazine in the United States, has morphed into such a global juggernaut. (\u201cIf all the Cosmo readers from around the world came together,\u201d read a recent piece in Cosmo South Africa, \u201cthis group would form the 16th-largest country in the world.\u201d) Through those 64 editions, the magazine now spreads wild sex stories to 100 million teens and young women (making it closer to the 12th-largest country, actually) in more than 100 nations \u2014 including quite a few where any discussion of sex is taboo. And plenty of others where reading a glossy magazine still carries cachet. (\u201cMany girls consider a hard copy of Cosmo to be an important accessory,\u201d says Maya Akisheva, the editor of Cosmo Kazakhstan.) As the brand proudly points out, in 2011 alone, these readers spent $1.4 billion on shoes, $400 million on cars, $2.5 billion on beauty products and $1.5 billion on fragrance and bought 24 million pairs of jeans.

The magazine recently tried to cement its mythology through a two-minute Web video called \u201cThe Cosmo Effect.\u201d Onscreen text asks viewers if they take for granted that they can have it all (\u201cdream job, independence, dreamy guy, fun fearless attitude, baby\u201d) or, if they prefer, a modified version of \u201cit all\u201d (\u201csexy single life\u201d and \u201ca great pair of heels\u201d). Because not so long ago, the video explains, women\u2019s choices were limited. Until \u201cone woman\u2019s vision changed the world.\u201d

Helen Gurley Brown, or H.G.B. as she\u2019s known in the Cosmo universe, is the patron saint of Cosmopolitan\u2019s sex-centric brand of female empowerment. The author of the then-scandalous self-help book \u201cSex and the Single Girl\u201d \u2014 which advised women on how to better enjoy their jobs, relationships and bodies \u2014 Brown re-branded the magazine with her frank, sexy tone in 1965, when most women\u2019s magazines were focused on family and home economics. She remained editor until 1997 and is still listed as editor in chief for Cosmopolitan International on all mastheads.

At 90, Brown maintains a delightfully incongruous pink corner office in the gleaming Hearst Tower on 57th Street in Manhattan. And although somewhat retired, she remains something of a spiritual godmother for the dozens of international editors trying to implement her ideas in their own countries. \u201c \u2018Sex and the Single Girl\u2019 is still the G.P.S. to being W.O.W. \u2014 a well-turned-out woman!\u201d explained the editor of Cosmo South Africa, Sbu Mpungose. As has been the case with other newer Cosmos, the first issue of Cosmo Azerbaijan, in 2011, included a feature on Brown: \u201cIt was absolutely necessary for girls in our country to know who she is,\u201d the magazine\u2019s editor, Leyla Orujova, explained.

Akisheva, the editor in Kazakhstan, told me that until recently, she received a handwritten note from Brown after the publication of each issue. \u201cOur readers might not be very familiar with Helen Gurley Brown\u2019s books and biography,\u201d she said, \u201cbut they surely are influenced by her original ideas. Because this is what Cosmo keeps telling them: You are strong, you can control your life, you can earn as much as men do and you can have sex before marriage and not be condemned by society.\u201d

But what about the other stuff that Cosmo is telling them? One morning at Cosmic, a panel discussion included talk of some favorite Cosmo topics: sex toys (said to produce \u201cthe most incredible combinations of orgasms\u201d), how to help men get erections more quickly and anal sex (\u201cbackdoor booty\u201d as the magazine has called it). One panelist, a young Spanish woman, said that she teases her boyfriend with anal sex and then, jokingly, that she has to save something for marriage. The crowd roared. \u201cOnly at Cosmo,\u201d said the editor of Cosmo Australia, Bronwyn McCahon, between bites of miniature muffins and sliced melon, \u201cwill you be talking about anal sex at 10 a.m.\u201d

Cosmo is an easy magazine to hate. When I asked my female friends \u2014 including many single women in their late 20s, like me \u2014 what they thought of it, most of them were unkind. \u201cCosmo is complete trash,\u201d one explained. \u201cMindless,\u201d another said. \u201cI would not be caught reading it outside of an airplane,\u201d said a third. \u201cIt assumes and expects the worst of women,\u201d said another. I never had a particularly positive opinion of it, either, and my ambivalence was reinforced by headlines like this one, from a recent edition of Cosmo South Korea: \u201cOops! My V Zone Is Strange!\u201d

Image

The current editor in chief, Kate White, in her Manhattan office.Credit...Mark Peterson for The New York Times

But to hear the Cosmo missionaries tell it, they\u2019re promoting feminism with every issue. \u201cIndonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world,\u201d Fira Basuki Baskoro, the editor of Cosmo Indonesia, said over a lunch of salad and paella. \u201cWhen Cosmo came to Indonesia, it changed the way the Indonesian woman thinks. Before Cosmo, it was taboo for women to talk about sex openly.\u201d

White told me that during a 2010 trip to New Delhi, the editor of Cosmo India correlated a rise in love marriages over arranged marriages to Cosmo\u2019s influence. \u201cI don\u2019t know if this is true statistically,\u201d White said, but \u201cCosmo has been very, very popular there. And I\u2019d like to think that one of the messages we\u2019re delivering to women is: You don\u2019t have to marry the guy your parents told you to marry. You should marry who you want to marry. You can have a job if you\u2019d like. You can have a career if you want. These choices are open to you today.\u201d

When asked via e-mail if there were statistics to back up this correlation, the editor of Cosmo India, Nandini Bhalla, politely evaded the question but provided more interesting anecdotes. \u201cWhen we launched in 1996, we were flooded with letters \u2014 women wanted to know if kissing could cause pregnancy. They were clueless about the basics of having sex, and they had a million questions about what was right and wrong. The Cosmo team actually tackled these questions personally \u2014 writing back to readers with answers or carrying stories that tackled their concerns. Indian parents are usually conservative about sexual matters, and friends were often equally ignorant, so Cosmo was the only one with reliable information.\u201d

\u201c50 Kinky Sex Moves\u201d notwithstanding, Cosmo does adhere to a set of surprisingly wholesome values. The magazine discourages plastic surgery, for instance, and has run articles opposing breast implants. In its coverage of food and fitness, White notes, \u201cwe don\u2019t do any diets, no crash dieting.\u201d The U.S. edition also has a section called Body Love, in which it tries \u201cto encourage women to feel good about their bodies,\u201d no matter their size. A recent issue featured a spread of a curvy woman in a variety of gorgeous bathing suits on some fabulous remote beach. It didn\u2019t feel like a token shoot of a larger model; she was beautiful, and the bathing suits were reasonably priced. (While trying to find the picture again on Google, I fell down the Cosmo rabbit hole, scrolling through a gallery of swimwear, then through \u201cHow to Be Sexier \u2014 Instantly\u201d and then through all 23 slides of \u201cSexy Ideas for Long Hair.\u201d Texturizer now plays a role in my morning routine.)

The magazine also covers aspects of the female body beyond its sex appeal and orgasmic capacity. \u201cWe ran an article that pained me to run,\u201d White told me, \u201cbut I felt it was important. It basically said the key time to try to get pregnant is between 25 and 35. There has been so much said about still waiting until you\u2019re older, and I didn\u2019t have my first kid until I was 37, but we\u2019re taking a chance \u2014 you need to know it.\u201d

I asked why it pained her. \u201cI want every girl to feel that she can have her first kid at 50, if she wants,\u201d White said emphatically. She has encouraged readers to look into freezing their eggs.

Cosmo happens to be fairly traditional about sex itself. Brown believed that it was O.K. to sleep with married men (it was their wives\u2019 responsibility to keep them faithful, she argued), but White eliminated that from the formula. (\u201cA total no-no,\u201d she said.) The magazine also assumes that you\u2019re having sex with a boyfriend or a husband (there\u2019s not much in the way of same-sex relationships), and not with a one-night stand. \u201cWe certainly talk about sex mostly in terms of relationships,\u201d White said, \u201cand most of our readers have told us they\u2019re in relationships, and they want the sexual information for their relationship.\u201d White also sees the hookup culture boomeranging back to more traditional standards. \u201cOne thing I do think that women will evaluate in the coming years,\u201d she said, \u201cis casual sex. Is it really what you want to be doing, casual sex, a lot of casual sex? Is it what you feel good about?\u201d But if it\u2019s your thing, that\u2019s fine too. \u201cWe don\u2019t pass judgment,\u201d she said.

White acknowledges that some people find Cosmo\u2019s obsession with sex trashy, but she\u2019s unabashedly proud of how it sets the magazine apart. \u201cEvery Cosmo reader expects to have herself and her pleasures taken care of, equally,\u201d she said matter-of-factly. \u201cWe reinforce the idea all the time that, yes, we want you to be a fabulous lover, we want to give you those skills, but you better get it back, baby, because that\u2019s what you deserve.\u201d And if that makes for some repetitive stories, so be it. \u201cThere\u2019s a frustration that it takes time to learn how to have an orgasm,\u201d White said, \u201cand have it consistently. So that\u2019s terrain we cover a lot.\u201d

These mores are upheld, to varying degrees of cultural sensitivity, throughout the Cosmo universe. Judging by searches on the Web site, Cosmo U.K. readers are most interested in hair and oral sex (\u201cin that order,\u201d says its publishing director, Ella Dolphin), but in India, where women traditionally live with their parents until marriage, the Cosmo reader \u201cmight not be comfortable openly discussing her sex life due to fear of being judged,\u201d Bhalla says. She also notes that because sex toys are banned in India, \u201cwe\u2019re careful not to talk about them in the magazine.\u201d Leyla Orujova, the editor of Cosmo Azerbaijan, told me that her staff ensures that sex is generally discussed within the context of marriage. Cosmo Singapore comes with a yellow \u201cUnsuitable for the Young\u201d warning box on the cover and sometimes runs its sexiest content in a sealed section promising \u201cphenomenal pleasure . . . waiting for you inside.\u201d

Most international Cosmos are run by their countries\u2019 natives, but Kerrie Simon-Lawrence, the beautiful, redheaded editor of Middle East Cosmo, is from Sydney. \u201cObviously because of the cultural sensitivities within the Middle East\u201d \u2014 where dating and premarital sex are, in some countries, punishable by law \u2014 \u201cwe can\u2019t lift so much from international editions.\u201d Throughout the Cosmic Conference, she and the magazine\u2019s publisher joked repeatedly about needing good lawyers and the possibility of going to jail.

Other editions feature more subtle deviations. Cosmo France has reliably more artsy and experimental covers. The South Korean edition is huge \u2014 physically huge; issues sometimes come as two separate magazines, because they would otherwise break \u2014 and focuses less on sex than marriage (\u201cMy Dreamy Wedding\u201d and \u201cDreams Come True!\u201d are two cover lines from the 400-page April edition). The editor of Cosmo Croatia, Marjana Filipovic-Grcic, told me that stories about women acting bravely on their own have been particularly popular in her country. The same is true for Cosmo Kazakhstan, which \u201cfocuses on career and travel more than the U.S. edition does,\u201d writes Akisheva, because \u201cKazakhstan is a relatively newly independent, developing country, and women are excited about the career opportunities the market economy has to offer.\u201d

Cosmo Germany is more business-oriented. Cosmo Russia (which has the highest circulation of any women\u2019s glossy magazine in that country) publishes longer articles. Cosmo Finland has been running multipage, centerfold-type spreads of topless Finnish guys in order to dispel the notion that Finnish guys aren\u2019t hot. (Not overly convincing!)

But for all of the magazines\u2019 differences, Cosmo is still pushing \u201cthe same standards of beauty\u201d around the world, Allison Kimmich, executive director of the National Women\u2019s Studies Association, said one afternoon after I returned from the conference. \u201cI don\u2019t know that that\u2019s a global export that we want to be proud of.\u201d Kimmich agreed that editorial content \u201ccan sometimes be what you might even call feminist,\u201d because \u201cat the most basic level, the articles do promote women\u2019s advancement and equality through good advice about career issues and women\u2019s health and sexuality.\u201d But, she said, there is plenty of content that sends \u201ccontrary\u201d messages. \u201cThe export of Cosmo is like the export of any other global American brand,\u201d she said. \u201cCoca-Cola, Hollywood films. It\u2019s a part of what\u2019s happening to our economy, and like all globalization, there\u2019s good with the bad.\u201d

Image

Helen Gurley Brown on her first day as editor in chief in 1965.Credit...Hearst magazines

At the office of Peter Yates, the creative director of Hearst Magazines International, a wall is covered in postcard-size versions of international Cosmo covers tacked up in layers of 12 \u2014 a year\u2019s worth of cover art, viewable as flipbooks. There\u2019s a lot of Megan Fox, Kate Hudson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Wilde and Jessica Alba, who was once on 20 international covers at the same time. Unlike other women\u2019s magazines, which often go for make-up-centric close-ups (Allure), stylish playfulness (Glamour), professional elegance (Marie Claire) or high-fashion photography (Harper\u2019s Bazaar, Elle, Vogue), Cosmo keeps it consistently, overtly sexual. The women look young and fertile, and the cover star is generally Beautiful Young Woman With Lots of Cleavage, Standing, Hand on Hip, Almost but Not Quite Smiling \u2014 or the look a woman might give herself in the mirror before going out hoping to get hit on.

The brand saves money by repurposing its covers across various editions, and it shaves costs in other ways, too. For the most part, articles are created by a small team of staff members at Big Cosmo and then ripple outward through the Cosmo network. The magazine has a database for international editors to see what features Cosmo U.S. has planned approximately three months before they run; once the images and layout are uploaded, they can then tweak the content they like to their own country\u2019s needs. Writers do not receive royalties when their work is repurposed. Huffy freelancers are virtually nonexistent.

So what appeared as \u201cFascinating Breast Facts\u201d in the July 2011 edition of Cosmo U.S., featuring a close-up of a woman tugging her shirt open, became \u201c15 Facts You Need to Know About Your Breasts\u201d in the October 2011 edition of Cosmo Middle East, where it ran with a photo of a model demurely dangling a bra over her shoulder. \u201cWhat His Sleep Habits Can Tell You\u201d ran in Cosmo U.S. in March 2012 and, months later, appeared in China (same photography but with text translated into Chinese) and in Armenia (different photography). And what ran as the fashion spread \u201cMotorcycle Diaries\u201d in August 2009 in Cosmo U.S. \u2014 featuring an abandoned gas station, denim, plaids, a hot guy and the open road \u2014 ran two years later in Cosmo Mongolia with the same blend of denim, plaid, gas station and open road, except the whole thing had been reshot with guys who looked Mongolian.

One byline that regularly appears in editions around the world is that of Jessica Knoll, a pretty, friendly and immaculately put-together 28-year-old senior editor. Over drinks at a quiet wine bar near the Big Cosmo office, Knoll explained that it\u2019s not only cheaper to produce features from within but also easier for maintaining the Cosmo voice. And anyway, there\u2019s less of it to write these days: \u201cWe did a redesign in January and slashed word count,\u201d she said. \u201cPart of that is because we live in a Twitter generation. We\u2019re not going to be indulgent writers who ramble on for a couple thousand words \u2014 we need to find a way a to say things quickly but also have some personality.\u201d

\u201cI learned a lot from your recent, um, article,\u201d I said to her, about eight minutes into our meeting. \u201cAbout the wishbone-shaped . . . uh . . .\u201d

\u201cOh, about the internal clitoris?\u201d she said. \u201cSee, I don\u2019t get bashful. It becomes completely normal to talk to your boss and have the word \u2018penis\u2019 appear 15 times in your conversation.\u201d

The article in question \u2014 \u201cHave Easier, Stronger Orgasms\u201d \u2014 was on \u201csurprising new findings\u201d about the clitoris based on research done in the 1990s (not exactly new) but features an interview with a woman whose sex book came out this year (new). It ran in the May edition of Cosmo U.S. and will likely appear in Cosmos around the world for months to come. \u201cIt\u2019s always our goal to make something feel timely and fresh,\u201d Knoll said. \u201cNothing can be evergreen. Even if it\u2019s an age-old idea, we have to somehow find a way to put a fresh spin on it.\u201d

For example, in a passage from \u201cSex and the Single Girl,\u201d from 1962, Helen Gurley Brown advises readers on how to catch someone\u2019s attention from across a bar: \u201cLook straight into his eyes, deep and searchingly, then lower your gaze,\u201d she wrote. \u201cGo back to your companions or magazine. Now look at him again the same way . . . steadfastly, questioningly. Then drop your eyes. Do it three times and you\u2019re a flirt! (P.S., You will have made him very happy.)\u201d And then from an article in the May 2012 issue of Cosmo titled, \u201cThe Smile That Makes Men Hit on You\u201d: \u201cA classic study found that you need to make eye contact with a dude and subtly smile at him twice in a row for him to get that you\u2019re interested. . . . Look at him, smile and hold your gaze for a couple of seconds. Then look away for a few seconds, look back and do the same thing again.\u201d A classic study.

Not that Cosmo and its patron saint haven\u2019t tried to evolve with the times. In the introduction to the 2003 reissue of \u201cSex and the Single Girl,\u201d about what had changed in the four decades since the book was originally published, Brown wrote: \u201cBrains have become almost as treasured as beauty . . . almost! . . . If you had to or could choose one or the other, I would almost choose smart!\u201d

This reminded me of a surprising moment from the Cosmic Convention. During a PowerPoint presentation about reader polls, one slide asked the audience to guess which of the following things young women wanted most: a) beauty; b) an amazing career; c) fame; or d) lots of money. There was a slight pause as audience members made their own guesses. Then the answer: Fame. A faint murmur of confusion. Fame? Really? I conducted a copycat poll among my own friends: 15 picked an amazing career, 6 picked money, 3 picked beauty and only 1 picked fame.

The presenter cited the rise of reality TV and made an effort to spin the findings into something positive. It\u2019s not that young women necessarily want to be the next Kim Kardashian, the presenter riffed, but that everyone wants to be famous within her social group or on her own Facebook feed.

So add famemongering to the list of less-than-empowering \u2014 or \u201ccontrary,\u201d as Kimmich would say \u2014 messages that Cosmo sends to its audience worldwide. But what this hand-wringing neglects is that young women are smart and can sift for what they want. Worrying that Cosmo readers will unblinkingly follow orders about kinky sex moves or imbibe some latent sense of Kardashianism seems unfounded and unnecessary and even a little insulting. Maybe the magazine is benefiting from a rise in love marriages in India more than it is facilitating them, but it\u2019s definitely not pushing any woman who isn\u2019t interested into backdoor booty.

\u201cI know a lot of people have issues about these very sexual cover lines being on display,\u201d Knoll said. She told me she could remember reading Cosmo from a very young age and never feeling like she had to go out and have sex with someone. Then she paused for a moment. \u201cWhen I would read Cosmo, all it made me want to do was grow up, wear a pretty dress, nice heels, move to the city and have an awesome life. And I just don\u2019t think that\u2019s a bad thing to want, you know?\u201d

A correction was made on\u00a0

Aug. 19, 2012

:\u00a0

An article on Aug. 5 about the global appeal of Cosmopolitan magazine omitted part of the name of the division of the Hearst Corporation of which Peter Yates is creative director. It is Hearst Magazines International, not merely Hearst International. And an illustration showing various covers of the magazine\u2019s international editions reversed the labels for Norway and the Netherlands. The Norway cover was shown on the third row, far right, and the Netherlands cover was the first one on the fourth row.

How we handle corrections

Edith Zimmerman is the founder and editor of the Web site The Hairpin. She last wrote for the magazine about Kreayshawn.

\r\n

Editor: Jon Kelly

A version of this article appears in print on \u00a0, Page 22 of the Sunday Magazine with the headline: 99 Ways to be Naughty in Kazakhstan. Order Reprints | Today\u2019s Paper | Subscribe

What to Know About Your Sexual Health

Sexual health can be an important part of personal well-being. The information below can help you demystify this often misunderstood topic.

Many women will deal with a yeast infection at least once in their lifetimes. Luckily, there are plenty of effective solutions.
The connection between the birth control pill and sexual desire is complex. The pill lowers testosterone, but what does that do to libido?
We asked sex therapists and researchers to share a myth about sex they wished would go away. Here\u2019s what they said.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the most widely prescribed antidepressants, frequently cause sexual problems. Here\u2019s what patients can do about it.
Some clinics have started using a \u201cmorning-after\u201d pill to help prevent sexually transmitted infections. Here\u2019s what to know about doxycycline.
For older adults, sex can be a complicated matter. But with the right adjustments it can still be enjoyable.

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

\n\n

\n\n\t

\n\t \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n \n\n \n\n \n\n

\n \n\n

\n \n

\n \n\t\n \n\t\t\t\tCosmopolitan\n

\n \n\n \n

\n\n \n\n

\n \n

\n Table of Contents\n

\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Introduction\n \n \n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\t\t\t\tReferences & Edit History\n \n\n \n \n\t\t\t\tRelated Topics\n \n

\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n

\n Read Next\n

\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"American$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tIs Sinclair Lewis\u2019s Most Famous Work Any Good? \n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"close$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tCitizen Journalists\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n

\n \n\n \n\n \n

\n Discover\n

\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"Red$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tRussian Revolution Timeline\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"United$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tHow Many Electoral College Votes Does Each U.S. State Have?\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"Mayer$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tWhere Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"If$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tWhy Do We Give Valentine Cards?\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"African$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tTimeline of the American Civil Rights Movement\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"Vietnam$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tVietnam War Timeline\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n $\"pg$ \n \n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t

\n\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tWere the Nazis Socialists?\n\t\t\n\t

\n\t\n

\n\n \n

\n \n\n

\n\n

\n\n\n

\n \n

\n\n

\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\n\n

\n\t

\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\n\n

\n\t

\n\n\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Arts & Culture\n\n

Cosmopolitan

\n\t\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t

magazine

\n\t\t\t

\n\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n

\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n

\n \n\n \n\n \n

\n \n

\n \n\n \n\n \n

\n \n

\n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n

\n\n\n

\n\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\t\n \n Print\n \n \n \n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n\n

\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\t \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n \n\n\n \n \n

Also known as: \u201cCosmo\u201d, \u201cThe Cosmopolitan Magazine\u201d

\n\t

\n\t\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWritten and fact-checked by\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\n The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

\n\t

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tLast Updated: \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJan 16, 2024\n\u2022\n\t\t\tArticle History\n\t\t\t

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\t\t\t\n \n\n

\n\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\tCategory:\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Arts & Culture\n\n

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Byname:: Cosmo

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSee all related content →\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t

Cosmopolitan, monthly magazine for women, with more than 50 international editions. The advertisement-heavy magazine features short fiction pieces and advice-oriented articles on relationships, sex, fashion, entertainment, and careers.

The Cosmopolitan Magazine was launched by the publisher Schlicht & Field Company in 1886 as a family journal of fashion, household decor, cooking, and other domestic interests. Two years later Schlicht & Field\u2019s bankruptcy forced it to sell the magazine to Joseph Newton Hallock, who introduced book reviews and serialized fiction to its pages. John Brisben Walker took over the publication in 1889, expanding its circulation from 20,000 to 400,000. Walker\u2019s Cosmopolitan became a popular American literary magazine, featuring poetry, travel essays, and short stories with a strong focus on education and social reform. In 1905 Cosmopolitan was acquired by the publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst. After a brief period of muckraking, the magazine adopted a format consisting of short fiction as well as articles on celebrities and public affairs, and it expanded its circulation to two million by 1940.

When Helen Gurley Brown, author of Sex and the Single Girl (1962), became Cosmopolitan\u2019s first female editor in 1965, the failing magazine was given a dramatic makeover. Under a new motto\u2014\u201cfun, fearless, female\u201d\u2014it began to focus exclusively on the interests of young women. Its coverage of premarital sex, birth control, and corporate careers sparked scandal in the 1960s, but Brown\u2019s relentless, frank approach to the \u201cCosmo girl\u201d lifestyle contributed to the gradual transformation of cultural norms. In later decades the magazine was criticized by feminists and social conservatives alike, but dozens of fashion and lifestyle publications emerged to imitate Brown\u2019s enormously successful formula.

\n\n\n\n\n\nThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

\n\n\n\t

\n\n

\n\n \n

99 Ways to Be Naughty in Kazakhstan

What to Know About Your Sexual Health

Sexual health can be an important part of personal well-being. The information below can help you demystify this often misunderstood topic.

\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

\u2018Cosmopolitan\u2019

Editorial Design

Redesign of the most popular women\u2019s magazine in the world.

University of Southern California

Brand Identity, Digital Design

Identity system for California's oldest private research university.

\u2018Cosmopolitan\u2019

Cosmopolitan