Cosmo Think Im Fat Analysis

Cosmo Thinks I’m Fat

Cosmopolitan magazine is “the lifestylist for millions of fun fearless females who want to be the best they can be in every area of their lives.” The best-selling magazine in its category, Cosmopolitan has 58 international editions, is published in 34 languages and is distributed in over 100 countries. Despite its popularity, a number of leading researchers have suggested that the material presented in these magazines can be damaging to the mental state of its readers in numerous ways. After examining the latest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, it appears that while there are several examples of degrading advertisements and features a majority of the ads are neutral or positive in tone and help define a more modern,
But the violent images contribute to the state of terror. And objectification and disconnection create a climate in which there is widespread and increasing violence.” Kilbourne shows concerns about two trends in fashion and advertising that she cites as cultural reactions to the women’s movement. The first is the increase in images of violence against women.This is seen in an ad for Belvedere Vodka that depicts a woman blindfolded being led to a martini glass with a toothpick with two olives-a phallic representation. The second reaction Kilbourne notes is the increase of violent images depicting children--especially young girls. An ad for JC Penny showed two very youthful models dressed as young school girls ad looking vulnerable. These ads seem to suggest that the age of the objectification of women does still exist within the advertising world. Although some parts of the magazine may have objectified women featured, there were actually more displaying positive female role models. Advertisements for Dove body mist and deodorant portrayed women of different healthy weights, shapes and ethnicities- not for sexual gratification but to show confidence. Their contender, Secret, used the motto “When you’re strong, you sparkle.” However, the most positive image might have come from the Nike “Make Yourself” campaign. There were two ads from this campaign in the latest issue of Cosmo. The first read “Make yourself- Strong” and showed an image of Olympic Track and Field
According to Kilbourne, our culture defines femininity and masculinity in a way that narrows accepted gender roles. The popular culture usually trivializes [relational skills] in women, mocks men who have real intimacy with women and idealizes a template for relationships between men and women that is a recipe for disaster: a template that views sex as more important than anything else, that ridicules men who are not in control of their women, and that disparages fidelity and commitment. These stereotypes of masculinity are found over and over throughout the magazine. A story about Alex Rodriquez reads “Right now, there’s no guy sexier than A-Rod. Baseball fans are obsessed with him, and three of Hollywood’s most gorgeous women have fallen for him.” Some other comments throughout the magazine bring to mind disturbing images if they had been aimed at women rather than men. ● Brad Pitt: It’s hard to tell who has more testosterone: Brad or his chisled Megamind character Metroman ● Chris Pine: He’s starring in this month’saction packed flick Unstoppable Oh, did we mention he takes his shirt off too? ● Fernando Verdasco: Speaking of shirtlessness, this top-ranked tennis hunk has been posting pec-tastic images of himself on Twitter ● Enrique Iglesias- We have mixed feelings about the fact that he used a fan’s camera during a concert to take a shot of his crotch. Rude! But