According to Merriam-Webster, Cosmopolitan means “having wide international sophistication.” It is also a popular beverage made famous by HBO’s Sex in the City. Cosmopolitan, therefore, is undoubtedly a fitting title for a magazine geared towards single woman who are looking for advice about sex, fashion, and sophistication. Each month a variety of hegemonic articles are presented to Cosmopolitan’s target audience as a means to satisfy their desires to learn about sex, fashion, and beauty while continuing to subliminally reinforce the contrasting notion that women are flawed individuals and must change themselves to be more readily accepted by men and the rest of society. Cosmopolitan directs all articles and advertisements towards a …show more content…

While the topic of sex is not left to the reader’s imagination, the seriousness of the relationship is left unclear.
Gauntlett continues to explain that “if women manage to be sufficiently lovely and fragrant, then they will be fortunate enough to have a man come along and sweep them off their feet – ideally into wedded bliss” (Gauntlett, 192). The idea that women must always look attractive is highly stressed in every issue of Cosmo. Makeovers and makeup tips teach women how to be beautiful. Many of the articles and images focus on the flaws of women and provide “feel bad messages” to readers. This gives women constant the feeling of imperfection and furthers their already existing insecurities. When women feel they have flaws they must do one of two things, buy products to fix the flaws, or continue purchasing Cosmopolitan to learn how to correct them. Both options produce revenue for companies, which is significantly more profitable than making women feel good about themselves.
The messages of Cosmopolitan are hegemonic in nature in regards to gender, race, class, and sexuality. Women are depicted as not good enough the way they naturally are. They are the inferior gender who must change to be more pleasurable to men. White women, however, are viewed as superior in this magazine. Caucasian women and couples are the main focus in the articles and photos,