The editor of Cosmopolitan says that the magazine will begin endorsing political candidates because she wants women to have control over having a child, “not a bunch of old white guys sitting in D.C.”
As Politico reports, Cosmo editor-in-chief Joanna Coles states, “The biggest single decision which will impact your life is when you have a child.”
Coles says she hopes to urge the magazine’s readers who “sit back and complain” to vote for candidates whose top concerns are abortion access and free contraception.
“What we’re trying to say is, ‘Think about the issues that are important to you, and if you want to have a voice, then you need to use your voice,” Coles explains. “It’s all very well to sit back and complain, but you don’t have a right to complain if you don’t use your vote.'”
Cosmo‘s new effort is titled #CosmoVotes and will include candidate endorsements and a social media campaign that hopes to motivate its readers to get to the polls to be part of “the party of the year.”
Additionally, senior political writer Jill Filipovic, a former lawyer and Guardian columnist, will interview candidates and publish political stories.
Endorsements of Senate, House and gubernatorial candidates will be made by a board composed of Cosmopolitan.com editors. Criteria for endorsement will be support for equal pay, abortion, free contraception, and anti-voter I.D. laws.
In an effort to make the political information not “boring and difficult to understand” for Cosmo‘s readers, Amy Odell, Cosmopolitan.com’s editor and head of the political effort, said the social media campaign will launch with a “Save the Date” for Election Day featuring a photo of Beyoncé with American flag nails.
“We’re using social media in a very big way because our audience is very active on social media and they really engage with us in social in many ways,” Odell said. “We also wanted to have a lot of fun with it and make it feel like a party, obviously there’s a pun to be made with the biggest ‘political party’ of the year.”
The plan is that each week, beginning September 8 and until the November elections, Cosmo editors will endorse from one to three candidates based upon their “established criteria.”
However, multi-faceted candidates who might support equal pay but are also pro-life, for example, would not be eligible for consideration by Cosmo‘s editors.
“We’re not going to endorse someone who is pro-life because that’s not in our readers’ best interest,” Odell said. “[P]eople say that’s a liberal thing, but in our minds its not about liberal or conservative, it’s about women having rights, and particularly with health care because that is so important.”
“All young women deserve affordable easy access to health care, and that might include terminating a pregnancy, and that’s OK,” she added.
Coles said political endorsements will primarily feature candidates in swing states and those who strongly support free contraception and gun control.
“We’re looking very carefully at candidates who we feel will be in seats that are swing seats or we feel very strongly about the issues they stand for,” Coles said. “Access to health care and access to contraception or abortion if, god forbid, you need one, and equal pay for equal work.”
“And there may be some gun control issues, which is also something we believe in, responsibility for gun owners,” she continued. “If there are candidates who are in favor of 9-year-old girls shooting Uzis at a theme park — we are not in favor of those candidates.”
As MRC Newsbusters reported, Planned Parenthood awarded Cosmopolitan its “Excellence in Media Award” last month during its annual Maggie Awards, named after the abortion giant’s beloved founder, Margaret Sanger.
According to Newsbusters:
It’s hard to tell which Cosmo piece contributed most to earning this honor – though there are several to choose from, including ones calling the wait for sex until after the second date “100% outdated,” noting “cool” women go to strip clubs, highlighting how abortion can strengthen relationships and, more recently, publishing sexual positions for lesbians. Or maybe the recognition came from hosting the “2014 Sex Olympics” and the “Holiday Sextacular” of “Twelve Days of Sex Moves.”
Planned Parenthood says it bestows its Maggie Award to “recognize exceptional contributions by the media and arts and entertainment industries that enhance the public’s understanding of reproductive rights and health care issues, including contraception, sex education, teen pregnancy, abortion, and international family planning.”
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