Victoria Hearst — granddaughter of magazine giant William Randolph Hearst — is going after “Cosmopolitan” in a new campaign alleging that the publication has a “pornographic influence” on minors, who she wants to protect from its “sexually explicit” content.
Launching in D.C. on Wednesday, the website for “Cosmo Harms Minors” reads:
“Cosmopolitan Magazine is a porn magazine, glamorizing things like public, anal, group, or violent sex in nearly all of their issues. We are asking that Cosmo be sold to adults only and have the cover wrapped like all other porn magazines in retail shops.”
Hearst said that Cosmo, which claims 18 million readers a month, has recently started targeting a younger demographic to increase profits.
(Photo: Cosmopolitan)
“This staple of the supermarket checkout line has steadily declined from a somewhat inspirational women’s magazine to a verbally, and many times visually, pornographic ‘how-to’ sex guide encouraging readers to engage in violent and dangerous sexual acts in every issue.”
(Photo: Cosmopolitan)
“Cosmo is leading the way in further desensitizing young women and girls to accept and participate in the pornified and sexually violent culture around them. The ‘Cosmo Harms Minors’ campaign seeks to inform, expose and equip communities to take action and protect minors.”
(Photo: Cosmopolitan)
Hearst said she doesn’t aim to get rid of Cosmo entirely, but wants it on shelves — somewhere else.
“If they want to put sexually explicit materials and words on the covers of Cosmo, and if they want to fill their magazine with photos of sexual positions and articles about how to enjoy anal sex, knock themselves out.”
(Photo: Cosmopolitan)
“But have it where other adult material like ‘Playboy’ and ‘Penthouse‘ is sold – not where children and adolescents can be exposed to it.” (RELATED: Emily Ratajkowski On The Cover Of Cosmo: ‘Yes, They’re Real’)