Buzzfeed: This Is What Happens When Guys Read Cosmo
In a recent Politico article, it was announced that Cosmopolitan Magazine will be endorsing candidates in the midterm elections. Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles is wanting to focus on "issues that are important" to the "young engaged women who want to understand the culture they are living in."
In theory, it's a great idea. I've always been the go-to for all of my friends and their political questions. Young people, women in particular, are not being reached out to by either party, and they aren't choosing to watch the news in their spare time. However, voters ages 18 to 29 have been the deciding vote casters in the past two presidential elections. They need to be reached out to and spoken to in ways they understand, and to be educated about the candidates and what they believe- but we can't sit around and wait for them to go seek this information out themselves.
Instead of being swayed by important issues and facts, they're being swayed by pictures of President Obama shooting hoops with Jay Z and taking selfies with Justin Timberlake, and in the past it's worked. As a whole, political parties, college campuses, candidates, and yes, even magazines need to do better at helping young people understand the important of politics.
Via popsuagar.com: Obama with Celebrities
Cosmo is brilliant for wanting to share something so important with their readers, and to keep them informed, yet sadly, they'll only be informed on who and what a group of liberal, left wing editors in New York City think and believe. Embarrassingly, Cosmo goes against everything it believes with this new push for sharing politics. Coles even says she wants her readers, "not a bunch of old white guys sitting in D.C," to have control. If that's what she wants, she would present them all sorts of views, not just the views of a small liberal group of women in New York City.
This women's magazine says it's only focusing on issues important to women, which in their minds are "equal pay, pro-choice, and pro-birth control coverage." But young women aren't so single minded. As a 23 year old woman, I care a lot about the economy, foreign affairs, wasteful government spending, and all sorts of issues, and most of my opinions differ than those of the big wigs at Cosmopolitan.
Cosmo, like President Obama, lures people in with Beyonce.
Coles states that Cosmo has 30 million people visit the website monthly, as well as 18 million magazine readers. How can she think every single one of these readers is liberal, and wants to only know information about half of the politicians running?
Coles and her magazine don't like other people (old men in Washington) controlling them and their readers, because they are the ones who want to do the controlling. Old men shouldn't have a say in a woman's personal life, but should a magazine editor? At least I elected those old men in Washington. Coles just took it upon herself to decide what her female readers should and shouldn't read.
Cosmopolitan is pro-choice, but only about abortions and nail polish. They'll give a rundown on the pro and cons of various nail polishes, comparing and contrasting Essie's coral versus L'Oreal's mint shade, but when it comes to important issues, readers of this magazine have no choice in what they read about politicians.
Cosmo compares various nail polishes.
Don't expect to be presented with a well rounded list of candidates running in your district. Don't expect an infographic on the votes that all the candidates in a state have made. Expect heavy bias in raving bios on some of the country's most liberal candidates, such as Mark Pryor, Mary Landrieu, and Alison Grimes.
Sure Cosmo, I may still click an article about Miley (my spirit animal), but don't expect me to pay for another issue. I'd rather spend my money donating to people who really want to change the country for the better (like tomcotton.com). For a magazine who wants to reach young women, Cosmo is doing a pretty great job of alienating and misinforming a large portion of them.
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