It Ain't Your Mama's "Cosmos" Anymore..."

Come on guys...fess up. You know you've sneaked a quick peak at an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Perhaps your wife or your significant lady-friend had them laying around in plain view. The cover is certainly eye-catching, prominently displaying a voluptuous female smiling alluringly back to meet your eyes of growing curiosity. Just a quick peak. After all, it's a "woman's magazine." The contents couldn't possibly contain anything within that would even remotely interest you or pertain to your manly, day-to-day pursuits. Still...what can it hurt to quickly thumb through a few pages and see what the modern-day woman finds interesting?

Based on the most recent issues, it's apparently "sex." What a shock.

As is my daily habit I stop in at my local convenience store to grab a cup of coffee to accompany me on my commute to the office. And, as per usual, I also paused just long enough to glance at the front page of the local newspapers to catch up on the latest headlines. Next to the newspaper stand is a well stocked rack of the latest popular magazines. On this morning, as I gazed hurriedly across the various titles, my eyes became focused on this month's copy of Cosmopolitan. The very attractive female model de jour was predictably smiling seductively from the glossy cover. But what caught my lingering attention was the bold type that heralded the various topics that would be detailed within.

As an example, "Ten Things You Can Do With Your Hands That Will Drive Your Man Wild!" I thought to myself, "For one, how 'bout cooking dinner? We can discuss the other nine options later." Or, "The Ten Do's and Don'ts of Seduction," and "Ten Fashion Tips That Will Drive You Man Wild With Desire." Apparently, like David Letterman's nightly list, the number ten is the basis for evaluating anything and everything of substance, and driving "your man wild" the intended ultimate destination, having checked off meticulously all of the ten listed items. I'm not sure that I could stay awake for all ten items, but that's probably just me. There seems also to be the propensity to repeat the same lists every six months of so. I'm guessing this might be because the "ten things " you can do to "drive your man wild" is anything but inexhaustible, or the average Cosmos reader has a short memory and needs a periodic refresher course.

The cover reproduced above is the June, 1936 issue. Your Mama wouldn't recognize the ole girl today. Gone are the days when the editorial staff dedicated itself to being "a first-class family magazine." In its place is "Cosmos," the quintessential "women's magazine" catering to a female readership approaching three million that has adopted without bias the premise that "sex sells." If there are any true feminist remaining among it's dedicated subscribers, they have determined that burning their braziers is in vogue no longer. On second thought, maybe it is. I'll have to keep my eye out for future issues to determine if that is one of the featured items included as one of their "Top Ten Ways To Drive Your Man Wild!" I'll supply the matches.