Communication in Cosmo: Panties, Penises, Party-Style, and Pathos

Indianapolis, IN

"Untamed Va-jay-jays: Guess what sexy style is back," "These Hot Moves Will Start a Bonfire in His Pants…and His Heart," "Pretty, Popular, and Murdered: Why did it happen?," and "Why You Should Be A Jealous Bitch: And 6 Other Relationship Secrets" are just a few of the headlines that have been emblazoned on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine, most likely around a skinny, white covergirl. Cosmo has been a leading women's magazine for decades, featuring articles about fashion, health, and sex. By using pathetic appeals, Cosmo convinces women that they need to purchase the magazine so that they, too, can be beautiful, desirable, and a man's sex object. Pathos is designed to get attention, and headlines like these do the trick. All the pathetic appeals are in any given issue of Cosmo: self-esteem, social fears, authority, pity, force, plainfolks, and association. By using these forms of pathetic appeals, Cosmo trains women to count on the magazine to assuage their anxieties about how to be by subtly degrading them, which, ultimately, leads women to rely on the magazine to feel good about themselves and continue to purchase it.