It appears the socially conservative right has racked up a small win against the liberal agenda.
Walmart stores will no longer carry trashy feminist Cosmopolitan Magazine in their checkout lines as the result of pressure from a socially conservative group that advocated for such a removal due to Cosmo’s unsavory sexual content marketed to young girls.
National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) applauded the win in a press release.
“This is what real change looks like in our #MeToo culture, and NCOSE is proud to work with a major corporation like Walmart to combat sexually exploitative influences in our society,” said executive director Dawn Hawkins.
“Further, Cosmo targets young girls by placing former Disney stars on its covers, despite the enclosed sexually erotic articles which describe risky sexual acts like public, intoxicated, or anal sex in detail,” she added. “Customers should not be forced to be exposed to this content when they are trying to check out at the store.”
As noted by NCOSE, Cosmopolitan has run a host of age-inappropriate content for their readers, from promoting anal sex (without even acknowledging the serious safety risks) to cheating to abortion.
New York Magazine’s The Cut reports, “NCOSE was founded in the early 1960s by interfaith clergy members as a group called ‘Morality in Media.'” The organization describes itself as “the leading national organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health crisis of pornography.”
NCOSE-backer Victoria Hearst, whose family owns Cosmo’s parent company, told the New York Post in 2015, “God told me to work to get Cosmo out of the hands of children, so that’s what I am doing.”
Walmart released a statement to The Cut, stating that the decision was “primarily a business decision” but that “the concerns raised were heard.”
“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,” said the Walmart spokesperson.