Commentary
Utah State Politician: 'Cosmo' Is Porn
- by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, October 18, 2017
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Utah has an office (currently unfilled) for a state “porn czar.” The job it is to keep smut from the eyes of children, or otherwise infiltrate the lives of upstanding citizens. However, you may be surprised to learn that the definition of pornography advanced by at least one local politician includes Cosmopolitan.
Yes, the popular women’s magazine – famed for its naughty quizzes and moderately salacious sex tips, is a prurient menace to the children of Utah, as well as right-thinking adults, according to state senator Todd Weiler. He wants to dust off the office of porn czar, presently defunct, in order to tackle the giggly glossy.
This, despite the fact the magazine has never featured, you know, actual nudity.
Weiler previously proposed mandatory porn-screening software on all smartphones operating in the state. In 2016, he authored a bill declaring porn a public health crisis. Now, he is urging Utah to fill the office of “Obscenity and Pornography Complaints Ombudsman,” which was allowed to fall into desuetude in 2003 after making Utah into a national laughingstock.
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According to Weiler, the office of porn czar should be filled to offer guidance to retailers on the fine points of selling magazines that mention S-E-X, including Cosmo. Per The Salt Lake Tribune, which first reported the news with some incredulity, Weiler “became convinced that the obscenity and pornography complaints office may be needed because of an ad campaign attacking Cosmopolitan magazine as illegal porn.”
This refers to an ongoing campaign by Hearst heiress Victoria Hearst, founder of Praise Him Ministries, who has turned on the family business because of the “obscenity” featured in its flagship women’s magazine, which she says should be illegal for sale to anyone under the age of 21.
Weiler, the chairman of the Utah state senate’s judiciary committee, tells the SLT: “I've received some complaints...that stores are selling Cosmo at eye level to a child.” Worse yet, “there's no blinder rack on it, even though we have some blinder rack language in the state code.”
Under Utah’s Material Harmful to Minors law, retailers are prohibited from prominently displaying any item that presents “any description or representation, in whatsoever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse when it: "taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors; is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and taken as a whole, does not have serious value for minors.”
The proposal has met opposition from none other than the Utah attorney general, who is recommending that state legislators jettison the position of porn czar altogether.
Erik Sass is editor of Publishers Daily. You can reach Erik at eriksass@gmail.com.
Well Erik, You know what they say, it's in the "eye of the beholder" and "I know it when I see it." Etc. Etc. This sort of Utah advocacy is hardly surprising or unprovoked. Not so long ago Cosmo.com ran an article about a Latin American man with a 19 inch penis. The site showed the guy photographed with his dick sticking out completely enclothed by the world's longest tube sock and it looked as it the sock was tied with ribbons to keep it in place. Was that porn? Who knows? I remember thinking to myself: Great moments in Journalism. Then my next thought was, William Randolph Hearst III must be so proud. But Cosmo is successful financially, so, because he publishes this crap, he's rich enough to eat three breakfasts every day. Comforting.
Guns first.
Agree. Whatever you want to call the trash Cosmo publishes, it doesn't kill dozens and injure hundreds.
This may be news to you but Cosmo has long been considered porn in many circles, not just one guy in Utah.
Its sexist to assume because there is less or no nudity that it cannot be porn. As women have broader and more developed communication skills they are more responsive to words than images. Men tend to be more visual in nature. There are endless articles and studies about what turns a woman on compared to men and this is heavily documented.
Porn does not require images of surgically enhanced barbie dolls to be porn. Rather its more about how it stimulates the mind regardless of form or purpose; is it addictive, does it introduce, illustrate or induce adult concepts and activities, does it suggest physical activites, stimulation and pleasure known to be of a mature and potentially complex nature, if an dult were to do the suggested activies with a minor would it be unlawful?
Cosmos meets all those definitions and there is no reason you can make to suggest its appropriate for children. Even in many liberal states Cosmo is set at higher levels and has covered covers, in other locations its not even allowed to be displayed at the check out.
You need to do a bit more home work and stop with the anti religious and sexist stereo typing.
I guess that would cars and alcohol first then, they kill far more people than guns.
Mr. Margolies, No one is saying or suggesting that Cosmo is appropriate for children. If pornography is an issue about which you wish to be combative, you'll have to fight with someone else.