Less Exposure for Cosmo at Ralphs
Ralphs, the nation’s largest grocery chain, is forcing sexy mag Cosmopolitan to cover up. The supermarket decided to partially hide the magazine covers from view in its stores after complaints from shoppers about provocative headlines like “Moves That Will Make His Thighs Go Up in Flames” and “The Most Erotic Way to Unhook Your Bra and Other Tantalize-Him Tricks.”
“Our parent company, Kroger, has received over the past several months numerous calls from customers about the headlines,” said Terry O’Neil, a spokesperson for Ralphs. “Most of the complaints were from parents who did not want their young sons and daughters exposed to suggestive headlines as they were waiting to check out.”
He said Cosmo will continue to be sold at check stands in new “blinder” racks, which are being installed now in all Ralphs and Kroger-operated supermarkets.
Cosmo is the first magazine that Ralphs will cover up because of objectionable content; the Compton-based supermarket chain does not carry Playboy, Hustler or any other X-rated magazines, however.
I called Cosmo for a response. What I received was a faxed note from Cosmo spokeswoman Andrea Kaplan that was somewhat off the point:
“Cosmopolitan has the highest newsstand sales of any monthly magazine,” she wrote. “Seventy percent of the 2.9 million copies sold are purchased in the supermarket. Each month, more than 2 million women religiously go to the newsstand to buy Cosmo. It is one of the world’s great brands that women have come to trust and rely on.”
Personally, I don’t have a problem with the Cosmo cover-up. But what offends me more than the sexually explicit headlines is that the magazine is devoted almost entirely to teaching young women that life is about pleasing a man.
*
Children of the ‘80s, take note: What I like to think of as the Decade of Greed has received official government validation. The U.S. Postal Service has released 15 new stamps depicting ‘80s emblems such as “The Cosby Show,” the space shuttle, Cabbage Patch Kids, Broadway’s “Cats,” E.T. and the Berlin Wall--subjects chosen by the public in a nationwide poll last year.
Bor-ring.
Here are stamp images that I’d rather spend 33 cents on: junk-bond bad boy Michael Milken (the very incarnation of the era’s spirit, if you ask me), gloves without fingers, Betamax, mohawks, Pac Man, “Miami Vice,” Yaz and cute couples like The Donald and Ivana, Ollie and Fawn, and Gary and Donna.
*
I almost choked on my Frosted Mini-Wheats the other morning when I heard this on the news: One caring Detroit bartender, Martin Smith, has invented a cocktail condom of sorts to prevent bar scum from spiking women’s drinks when they head to the powder room, the dance floor or even turn away to chat.
The Drink-eez is a plastic bag that can be sealed over a drink before you leave it. If there is a rip or hole in the bag when you return, it’s time to ditch the date.
Many rapes occur after drinks are spiked with dangerous drugs.
“I did some research, and I found it was more common than I thought. It startled me,” said Smith, who has been tending bar for 15 years. He developed the product a few months ago in response to several date-rape incidents in Detroit.
Packs of 10 Drink-eez pouches cost $5 and are available at https://www.drink-eez.com. I think they’re a noble, albeit strange, attempt to solve a serious problem.
Booth Moore can be reached at booth.moore@latimes.com.
