With Cosmopolitan being the number one women’s lifestyle magazine for women between the ages of 18 to 34, it’s one of the most popular magazines on the market that continue to do reasonably well in a dying market. Nevertheless, in what they are calling a simple “business decision,” famous megastore Walmart has chosen to remove the mag from ALL of its checkout aisles entirely.
In a statement shared with USA Today, Walmart spokesperson Meggan Kring said: “As with all products in our store, we continue to evaluate our assortment and make changes. Walmart will continue to offer Cosmopolitan to customers that wish to purchase the magazine, but it will no longer be located in the checkout aisles. While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard.”
The news was shared everywhere Tuesday via a press release from National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), an organization said to help instigated the policy change.
NCOSE Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach Haley Halverson spoke about the change in a Facebook live session Tuesday. “You can go through and buy your groceries with your family knowing you don’t have to be exposed to this graphic and often degrading and offensive material. Instead, all of these magazines will be moved, in isolation, to the magazine racks.”
The magazine targeting the “Fun Fearless Female” has been running honest and transparent content focused on sex since 1965. Helen Gurley Brown transformed the former family-oriented mag into a monthly bible for single women. Along with their sexually charged content, the magazine also includes pieces about beauty, fashion, health, work life and relationships. The magazine really opened the door for more women to speak and talk about sex and sexuality freely.
The NCOSE, also known as Morality in Media, has been working to cover and/or remove Cosmo from store shelves for years, deeming it porn. In 2015, the group was behind a successful push to place the magazine behind blinders in stores owned by Rite Aid and Delhaize America (which owns Hannaford Stores and Food Lion).
Since Walmart’s “business decision” was announced on Wednesday, many are chiming on the decision and giving their opinions.
Some felt that Walmart needed to focus their attention on other things rather than removing the magazine from their aisles.
Several others were put off by Walmart’s justification of pulling the magazine in part to the #MeToo Movement that’s currently taking place. Halverson told viewers, “This is one less drop of hyper-sexualized media that is going to be bombarding people in their everyday lives, which does make a difference, especially in this Me Too culture that we’re living in, where we really want a culture that will respect women and ensure their dignity is understood.”
Others were happy to hear about the magazine being pulled and blamed Cosmo for promoting “harmful messages” for the youth to see.
What are your thoughts on Walmart’s decision? Do you think they are justified in pulling the magazine? Do you think this business decision will have an effect on their business?
