Cosmo Critique - Segment 3

The magazine calls Mila Kunis "effortlessly sexy". This is true; she is an incredibly beautiful woman. But I have one question: if the magazine is supposedly celebrating Mila Kunis's effortless beauty, then why did they airbrush her?

Seriously, take a look. No moles, no freckles, no scars, no blemishes - no reality.

This magazine poses numerous self-contradictions. It boasts of promoting a view of "healthy sex", yet it has a frightening section on STDs (um, that would be the opposite of healthy...the last word there is "disease"). It claims to celebrate the beauty of women and to encourage women to love their bodies, yet their articles feature tips on crushing hunger (without which we would die, by the way, as the human body needs food in order to live), on losing weight and toning our bodies "now!" (what if I don't want to be toned? What if I'm comfortable with my marshmallow physique? Which I am by the way), and it falsifies the beauty of one of the most gorgeous women alive. Why is that necessary??? Um, hello, she's ALREADY gorgeous! A little too revealed in the photo(also likely a result of the airbrush) for modesty's sake, but the female body is BEAUTIFUL regardless, and IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE ALTERED FROM ITS NATURAL STATE.

Seriously, Cosmo writers, don't you ever stop and think about the countless ways that you contradict your ideal of celebrating women, the very philosophy upon which your magazine is founded? I recommend you read the Theology of the Body. It would greatly improve your literary value.

Cosmo Critique - Segment 2

The section "8 Things you MUST tell your Gyno" -- Scary. Oh so scary. And gross. And mostly related to sexual promiscuity, multiple partners, etc. More proof that God designed our bodies, along with our souls, for ONE sexual partner (should we be called to enter the vocation of marriage) --> Our SPOUSE!

God's so smart :-)

Cosmo Critique - Segment 1

I picked this little number up at the supermarket the other day for a little research. No, really. Just like when I was preparing my junior speech in high school; we were supposed to speak on a defining quality of America. I chose the decay of morals, so when my dad called that day and asked if I need anything from the store, I asked him for a cosmopolitan magazine. His response: "Young lady there is no way in hell I am getting that magazine for you." I immediately explained that it was for school. He replied, "Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that." (Eventually he believed me.)

Needless to say, I was very embarrassed to purchase this. I can't even begin to imagine how mortified my dad was when I asked him for one five years ago. What I would like to do, though, is to detail the - ahem - words of wisdom that this lovely little booklet spouts. I have a great deal of commentary and several tasks to accomplish this week, so I will be doing this in segments. Here's the first one:

First of all, the main title is "Bad Girl Sex: 75 Very Naughty Moves to Try on a Man". Okay, notice that it says, "A man", not "THE man"; as in, THE one you're supposed to be sharing the rest of your life with (because he's already you're spouse, of course). Instead, Cosmo is subtly (okay, not so subtly) promoting "casual" sex with random people. Which makes sense of course. Who could forget the gospel where Jesus told all the women, "You are made for lust, and are meant to be used by countless men as physical objects to satisfy their selfish sexual desires."

Oh, wait. Jesus didn't say that, Satan did. Whoops, my bad.

This is what the Bible - you know, the word of God - says: "For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness." - 1 Thessalonians 4:7.

So then why does Cosmo offer such a monumentally different message, one that guarantees that if we indulge our lusts and seek sexual pleasure for the mere sake of the physical enjoyment, we will surely be happy?

I think I have the answer: because it's lying. And do not forget who is the father of lies.

This title offers another outright blasphemy: "Bad Girl Sex". If we have learned anything from John Paul II's Theology of the Body, it's that the words "bad" and "sex" don't belong together (nor do the words "love" and "lust", yet Cosmo has a section title that combines these two contradictory realities as though they are synonymous). Sex is a profound GOOD. The majority of the world merely uses it in a bad way; and no wonder, if Cosmopolitan is the popular female literature of our age.

Let us Begin

So. God. Pretty big topic there. Not something you can really cram into, say, a nutshell (or a blog). But we've got to start somewhere.

Here's what I know: In my life, I've been touched by God. I've always been a rather pessimistic and anxious person, and felt dissatisfied for most of the years of my life. That is, until I finally "let go and let God" as the phrase goes.

Basically, I got sick of being sick (as in, the sickness that results from sin). And it's good that I did, because now, though I'm still far from perfect, I'm really happy, happier than I've ever been in my entire life. I find it difficult to convey the bliss I've experienced from growing closer to God because I don't want to put myself on a pedestal. So I'll just say this: an excellent recipe for lifelong happiness includes the mass, sacred scripture, and personal study and prayer. The sacraments don't hurt either. Why do these actions give us such perfect joy? Because Saint Augustine hit the nail on the head when he said, "You have made us for yourself, oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." Pretty smart guy.

I hate to be repetitive, but in the interest of driving the point home, I ask again: why is it that hiding our hearts within God gives us such immense happiness? Three simple little words: God. Is. Love.

That phrase covers pretty much everything and anything, in my opinion.

Think about it. What is the number one thing that the advertising industry capitalizes on more than anything else? Love. You may be tempted to think that it's sex (and you wouldn't be wrong) but we learn from John Paul II's Theology of the Body that sex, at it's very core, is an act of selfless, sacrificial love (or at least, that's how it was originally, and how it's meant to be still; but that's another topic for another day...). Seriously. How did Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Kate Hudson, and all these other stars get so overwhelmingly rich? Two words: Romantic comedies. The world sells us love in the form of movies, music, books, art, clothes, perfume, shampoo, you name it. What does this say about our basic desire as humans?

We are constantly searching for love because God is love, and he made us for himself. Although a large portion of the human race is unaware of it, their hearts are searching for God.