[Wamvan] Death of Helen Gurley Brown, discussion of Cosmo and feminism

[Natalie Hill]

Oh, wow! I had no idea. I guess if you had 10 minutes notice, you weren't
able to get the word out to all of us so we could tune in!

I'll have to have a listen. But even before I do, yes, very important point
- as far as Cosmo seems to be concerned, no women but straight women (and
like to have lots of penis-in-vagina sex straight women, even more
specifically) seem to exist.

8 minutes for you to discuss Cosmo and feminism? psht! come on.



On Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 11:58 AM, Jarrah <jarrahhodge at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey Natalie,
>
> I did an interview on this yesterday on On the Coast (around the 1:00:00
> mark):http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/AudioMobile/On The Coast/ID=2267036281
>
> To be fair, I had literally 10 minutes notice of this interview, but I'm
> not 100% happy with what I said - I always realize after that the 8 minutes
> goes way faster than you think. I wish particularly I would've mentioned
> that her tips and advice were very much geared not just to straight but
> also to just white women. And I had intended to talk more in detail about
> consumerism and how it conflicts with feminism fundamentally, but missed
> out.
>
> Anyway, additional discussion/feedback appreciated - the more I researched
> her the more I was fascinated by all the ways she contradicted herself
> through her life - for example making statements around how "brainwork"
> will amuse women but beauty won't, but then becoming a very frank advocate
> of plastic surgery and weight loss because of her idea that as an older
> woman you have to maintain this standard she espoused of sexual
> attractiveness. And again this idea that she promoted financial
> independence and not marrying someone you don't love, but still argues that
> sex is everything and you have to follow these rules for beauty and
> lifestyle in order to attract "the right man".
>
> -Jarrah
>
> On Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 11:49 AM, Natalie Hill <nhill10 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> As I'm sure many of you have head, longtime editor of Cosmo magainze,
>> Helen Gurley Brown, died on Monday. Obituaries have been published in many
>> major publications - here's the one that appeared in the NYTimes.<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/business/media/helen-gurley-brown-who-gave-cosmopolitan-its-purr-is-dead-at-90.html?pagewanted=all>
>>
>> Edith Zimmerman wrote about Cosmo, also for the NYT, earlier this month. Here's
>> her article.<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/magazine/how-cosmo-conquered-the-world.html?pagewanted=all>
>>
>> A crude synopsis of Zimmerman's piece is that Cosmo has indeed taken over
>> the world and has massive global influence, and this isn't necessarily a
>> bad thing, because Cosmo isn't as bad as its rap. A very short excerpt from
>> what is a very long piece:
>>
>> “50 Kinky Sex Moves” 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, “we don’t do any diets, no crash
>>> dieting.” The U.S. edition also has a section called Body Love, in which it
>>> tries “to encourage women to feel good about their bodies,” 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’t feel like a
>>> token shoot of a larger model; she was beautiful, and the bathing suits
>>> were reasonably priced."
>>
>>
>> Zimmerman was also on CBC's Q today, discussing her opinion. Click here<http://www.cbc.ca/q/episodes/>to listen to that interview (click on the first episode that's listed:
>> 'Robert Fisk on Syria, Lionel Richie, Cosmo's Global Impact 08/14/2012').
>>
>> In response to Zimmerman's article, Gail Dines penned this piece<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/cosmopolitan-false-promise-awesome-life>in the Guardian. Excerpt:
>>
>> "Learning how to give men great orgasms on their terms does not sound to
>>> me like a recipe for living an "awesome life". Instead, it sounds old and
>>> tired. Wouldn't it be nice if, instead, there were a bestselling magazine
>>> that devoted itself to giving women great orgasms on our own terms? If the
>>> feminist movement had the Hearst Corporation backing us, then we would come
>>> up with a compelling magazine that would link fabulous orgasms with equal
>>> pay, safe housing, free daycare, and freedom from sexual violence."
>>
>>
>>
>> These are just a few pieces circulating right now as people discuss the
>> impact of Brown on the publishing industry and 'lipstick feminism,' and the
>> impact of Cosmo on women's lives.
>>
>> Just thought I would throw these out there as a conversation starter. I
>> agree far more with Dines - in theory, Cosmo may have opened the door for
>> more honest and frank discussions about female sexuality, but its approach
>> to female sexuality actually isn't about women at all. It's almost always
>> about men's sexual satisfaction, and an approach to sex that sees women as
>> subservient to male needs and desires.
>>
>> I also agree with her that a publication designed to promote the
>> capitalist pursuit of buying sh*t you don't need, all while participating
>> in body-hating, classist racist, and ablest narratives in the process, is
>> not feminist. Zimmerman has a hard time getting around this in her CBC
>> interview.
>>
>> Curious to see what WAMmers think.....
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> --------------------
> Jarrah Hodge
> @jarrahpenguin
> http://gender-focus.com
> --------------------
>
>
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