Cosmopolitan magazine has been a favorite among young adults for decades for its advice on career, health, relationships, and - most importantly – sex. But retailers believe it's beginning to get a little too racy for the public eye – so racy, in fact, that some retailers are using "blinders" to censor the publication's covers.
Cosmopolitan will soon have the same kind of blinders used for pornographic magazines like Playboy and Hustler which obscure their covers and the petition to do so is coming from a very odd source: Victoria Hearst, the granddaughter of Cosmo's parent company, Hearst Corporation, which was founded by William Randolph Hearst. She's created a campaign called Cosmo Harms Minors, which has encouraged several major retailers to agree to the censoring, according to Daily Mail.
The 58-year-old born-again Christian created the campaign in April with two goals in mind: to force all retailers to censor the publication and to have them stop selling it to children under 18 yers of age. This campaign, along with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which 'opposes pornography by highlighting the links to sex trafficking, violence against women, child abuse and addiction, have achieved their goal.
As of Friday, any store owned by Rite Aid and Delhaize America, which includes Food Lion and Hannaford, have agreed to put blinders on all of their stocked issues of Cosmopolitan.
"This is not a family feud – this is not 'Mommy Dearest.' We're not trying to censor Cosmo," Victoria explained in a press conference back in April, according to Hollywood Reporter. "We're not trying to put it out of business. All we're saying is, if you want to print pornography, I can't stop you. If I was queen of the Hearst Corporation, this magazine would no longer exist and the editor-in-chief and all the people there would be on unemployment. But since I don't have that power, all we're saying is, if you want to print this junk, then print it. It's adult material, and it's clear it's adult material. Label it as such."
The corporation feels differently, though, especially considering Cosmo is their best selling magazine. "Cosmopolitan is the most successful global media brand for young women," Hearst Corporation said in their statement about the controversy, according to Refinery 29. "Publishing 60 editions in 79 countries and 32 languages. Its award-winning content is produced for adults by leading female journalists. We are proud of all that the brand has achieved for women around the world in the areas of health, relationships, career, politics, equality, and social issues."
