Walmart is pulling Cosmopolitan from checkout lines in response to #MeToo - but it's an embarrassing perversion of the movement
- Walmart is pulling the women's magazine Cosmopolitan from its check-out lines.
- The decision was apparently spurred by a campaign arguing the magazine exposes people to a "#MeToo culture" that encourages the sexual harassment of women.
- Blaming a publication written for and primarily staffed by women for the systematic harassment and assault many deal with every day - primarily at the hands of men - is an embarrassment.
Walmart is pulling Cosmopolitan - a magazine for women, primarily staffed by women - from its check-out lines, apparently in response to the #MeToo movement.
On Tuesday, The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) announced that Walmart had responded to its campaign to pull Cosmopolitan from the shelves in check-out aisles. The change will impact the roughly 5,000 Walmart locations where Cosmopolitan is currently stocked.
"That's over 5,000 stores where families and individuals will no longer be automatically exposed to Cosmo's hyper-sexualized and degrading article titles that regularly promote pornography, sexting, BDSM, group sex, anal sex, and more, all while marketing toward young teens with Disney star cover models," NCOSE said in a statement.
The magazines will still be available for purchase on magazine racks. Walmart did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment on the move.
NCOSE argues that the "sexual objectification and the attitudes and behaviors" in Cosmo shape "#MeToo culture." According to the organization, the emphasis on sex objectifies women and creates a dangerous culture.
However, a closer examination of NCOSE's argument reveals a mindset that punishes women instead of creating positive change.
NCOSE is correct in its statement that Cosmopolitan is known for its covers that typically feature skimpily-clad women. There are certainly arguments to be made about the magazine's highlighting a certain type of woman (often young, white, and heavily-Photoshopped) as sexually appealing - though Cosmopolitan is far from the only culprit.
However, NCOSE is on far shakier ground when it assumes articles about "pornography, sexting, BDSM, group sex, anal sex," or other topics of sexual pleasure are connected to issues of sexual assault and harassment. Experts argue that increased communication regarding sex - including issues of sexual pleasure - are a crucial aspect of breaking down the pervasiveness of sexual assault and harassment.
Further, reducing Cosmopolitan to a sex-obsessed publication is a tired effort to de-emphasize the work of other women and pigeonhole women's media.
The magazine - like most media aimed at women - publishes political pieces alongside articles about sex and relationships. In fact, Cosmopolitan has published articles on the #MeToo with more nuance than NCOSE's own statements. One such example is a piece by Morgan Jerkins with the headline "Hating 'Twitter Feminism' Means Excluding Young Women From the #MeToo Conversation."
"As we forge ahead with the #MeToo movement, it's crucial to respect the ways past and future generations talk about feminism," Jenkins writes in the piece.
The same sentiment holds true for Walmart's move to pull Cosmopolitan from shelves.
There are and should be discussion and disagreements on how Cosmopolitan helps and hurts women. However, to blame a publication primarily aimed at and created by women for the systematic harassment and assault many endure in American society - primarily at the hands of men - is an embarrassing repurposing of the #MeToo movement.