Cosmo and Seventeen: What Does This Mean?

Last week, Joanna Coles, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan was named the new Editorial Director of Seventeen. Some people may think this pairing is strange. Cosmo is known for it’s R-rated material, and Seventeen is a wholesome magazine that grandmothers buy for their granddaughters.

Most people are probably thinking, huh? about the transition, but I think you should really be thinking — why didn’t this happen sooner?

Relationship Advice Okay, maybe the teen readers of Seventeen don’t need to know 50 ways to help your man orgasm. But they do need to hear about sex in a real and honest way. Cosmo talks about sex in a way that I’m sure Seventeen readers’ high school sex-ed teachers or a One Direction song can’t. I’m not saying I hope to see 50 Shades of Grey excerpts in the back of Seventeen, but the conversation needs to be there. The readers are at the age where they’re thinking about sex, their friends are probably having sex, and there’s already so much information out there. Cosmo is like the cool older sister in this situation, which can now come in and educate their curious younger sister about their first time. They can keep it PG with a splash of PG-13.

Feminism There’s a lot of girl power talk when it comes to Cosmo and Seventeen, but this merger of the two mega-magazines for young women isn’t all Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”. I think Seventeen readers can start to learn about feminism in a way that makes sense to a teenager. They are already listening to Beyoncé, and hearing about Emma Watson’s speech on gender equality. Seventeen even had an article about feminism on their website earlier this year.

Just think about what they can do for young girls’ understanding of feminism with the Cosmo brand now behind them.

College Girls Need Seventeen Too Seventeen magazine is geared toward young women. I mean I started reading the magazine when I was 12 and I’m still reading it 10 years later (judge me). But I don’t think a majority of its readership is college women. I think Seventeen is a magazine that women in college should check out every once in awhile – maybe buy it next time you see it at the CVS register. It has a college section on their website, and a blog for girls who are entering college for the first time. Their reader demographics say that the magazine reaches girls all the way up to 19, but none of my friends were reading Seventeen during our first couple years of college. They felt like they’d outgrown it. I think Seventeen readers need that last bit of advice during their first couple years of college before they pick up Cosmo.