Dear Editor,
I am appalled by the way you portray women in your magazine! I am an editor of "Full On" magazine and never have I seen such a pornographic publication. Women have respect and you individuals are taking that away from us. I think you need to have an age certificate, maybe 18+?
Your cover stories exploit women as sex toys, “sex tricks ALL MEN LOVE” an example of controlling women for what is "suppose" to make them a "man-magnet". Your image exhibits a "she" who is all "fit and flesh". Can you unveil anymore clothing? If we wanted to buy a pornographic magazine; we would've bought "Playboy". Your language used is filthy! "Blow his mind" what are you trying to imply?
Do you realize the impact your magazine has on British women and girls alike? Anorexia is the consequence of reading magazines like "COSMOPOLITAN". You have influenced young girls as young as 10 years of age making them feel that they are not pretty. Are you playing "GOD" to say who and who's not pretty? You and your COSMO team are living in a world of your own. I'm sorry, but you have to face reality!
Another aspect I would like to comment on is your use of clothing. This is December and you expect us to wear what your image is wearing, we'd immobilize if we ever went out wearing those clothing.
For a second visualize that you are a man, you see the word WOMAN, what's the first thing that comes to your mind if you saw Cosmopolitan magazine? I can guarantee you that you'd probably think; they're only good for one thing, 'Sex symbols'.
In your world, every girl has a boyfriend. This maybe. However, in this world girl's who don't have boyfriends have lower self esteem, they feel depressed. They are manipulated into thinking that they cannot live without a boy; they are forced into believing that they are alone and isolated. Your magazine has poisoned teenagers into thinking that life is all about having sex and desperation.
To perk up Cosmopolitan I believe it should focus less on how to wreck a women and more on how to really make her feel better. Firstly instead of influencing girls on casual sexual relationships, alert them on issues such as diseases that spread whilst having intercourse, disease such as: Chlamydia, HIV and STI. Even if girls are planning to have intercourse, guide them on how to use it contraception and make them understand why it is important to use it.
As we are on the topic of sexual relationships, which is a serious matter, we have to consider problems that may face a "real" teenager, like abortions, whether to have it or not, reasons for and against, and how to deal with abortion bereavement. These are the real issues that should make the cover stories and headlines not some wacky made up stories which have no meaning at all, “Doctor told me I was dying, but my boyfriends love saved me” I mean where do you get these stuffs from, it's hilarious. A recent survey has shown evidence that in Britain teenage girls who have had sex at the ages between13 to 14 did not enjoy having sex, more so they felt regret and remorse; they consent to having sex, but felt the experience shameful.
COSMOPOLITAN, you can discuss topics that will affect young girls, such as employment and career choice, higher education and a positive role model. Who is the lady in the cover image? Does she represent anything, no! She only represents physical appearance, if you want to be successful in making girls lives better from an early age, put cover images of successful images of role models who have achieved high.
In conclusion, I think that your magazine is filthy and utterly degrading to women, women who have fought long and hard to get their respect, their equality with men and their independence. You are reversing time. Your cover image is without doubt racist, she's white, blue eyed, and sexy. Where in the meaning of COSMOPOLITAN does it say, "the cover image must be White, blue eyed and sexy. Have you considered an Asian or a Black women; after all we do live in multicultural society. Don"t we?
Because of you, Cosmopolitan, we are getting separated magazines, like "Asiana" and "Asian women", where Asian women feel they have been cut-off and need a magazine of their own. In the near future we may probably read magazine that only feature other race or maybe they already exist. So I say to you, you will be held responsible for the segregation of racial culture.
Thank you very much for reading this letter,
Yours sincerely truly,
Ms Liz Tailor
