By Billy Hallowell
Original Source: The Blaze
Two chains of supermarkets and drug stores have both announced that they’ll be covering up copies of Cosmopolitan magazine with blinders — a move that comes after a campaign was launched earlier this year to protect minors from the magazine’s sexual content.
But the biggest surprise in the controversy over Cosmopolitan is that one of the key voices railing against the magazine is Victoria Hearst, granddaughter of famed newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, whose Hearst Corp. publishes the magazine, Newsmax reported.
According to “Cosmo Harms Minors” website, Cosmopolitan “glamorizes things like public, anal, group, or violent sex in nearly all of their issues,” with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation summarizing some of the graphic photos and articles found inside the magazine.
Now, after months of advocacy, both parties are claiming victory.
“A major blow to the magazines profits are coming soon as retail chains Rite Aid and Delhaize America, owner of Hannaford Stores and Food Lion, have recently told the National Center on Sexual Exploitation that they are changing their current policies and will now place Cosmopolitan magazines behind blinders in their stores due to the magazine’s inappropriate content and covers,” a statement read.
The release went on to accuse Cosmopolitan of “glorification and desensitization of porn and sexual violence,” and of targeting young people by placing “teen idols” on its covers.
Hearst also spoke out in the wake of the decisions, praising the move as one that will “protect underage children” from being exposed to the magazines “sexually explicit covers showing scantily clad female celebrities and article titles.”
During a speech in April, Hearst, a born-again Christian, said that she wouldn’t allow Cosmopolitan magazine to continue, if she were running her grandfather’s company.
“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,” she said.
In a letter address to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Ted Williams, Rite Aid’s vice-president of general merchandise and season, agreed to provide “pocket shields” for copies of Cosmopolitan beginning on August 15, 2015.
“To address your concerns regarding potentially provocative content, we have instructed our magazine distributors to provide us with ‘pocket shields’ which will cover the content verbiage on Cosmopolitan magazine,” the letter read, in part.
It does not appear as though an age restriction has been placed on sales of the magazine, though.
The magazine did not explicitly address the pornographic charges, telling Women’s Wear Daily that it is proud of its accomplishments.
“Cosmopolitan is the most successful global media brand for young women, publishing 60 editions in 79 countries and 32 languages. Its award-winning content is produced for adults by leading female journalists,” the statement said. “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.”
Find out more about the “Cosmo Harms Minors” campaign here.
