Sigh. I admit that, once upon a time, I loved Cosmopolitan Magazine. The affair lasted maybe a year or two, before I realized that it was an abusive relationship. I enjoyed the pleasure Cosmo gave me, but as soon as our time was over, I felt empty inside.
Reading over this issue of Cosmo Girl, I got that same empty feeling, but this time without any of the pleasure. Sure, it's flashy and pretty. But it's also depressing and sensationalistic and annoying. Almost all of the articles came from a negative, warning perspective (the dangers of marijuana, how to deal with parents who behave badly, "I got scammed on Craigslist," and on and on and on).
Things I liked: There were a couple of nice fashion spreads.
Things I didn't like: Ugh. Pretty much everything else.
As a teen librarian, I would stock Cosmo Girl. But I would also make sure to stock alternatives. And a great programming idea would be to get a group of girls together to go through some of the magazines and examine what they are saying and how - with their use of imagery and choices of articles.
5/10.
Ages 13+.
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