The Sexual Politics of Cosmo; Cosmopolitan Editor Sam Baker Wants Young Women to Vote. but Is That Really What They Buy Her Magazine For?

Byline: DAVID ROWAN

HOLD the orgasms - Cosmo has discovered politics. After a 32-year crusade to locate G-spots and expose male flesh, the magazine's new obsession is the contenders for the keys to Number 10.

Next month, among spreads on breast-enhancement and threesomes, Cosmopolitan's readers are being offered interviews with those unlikeliest of pinups, the three main party leaders.

It is certainly an eccentric way to fight one of the most brutal circulation wars in recent women's-magazine history. But Sam Baker, Cosmo's editor since July, is on a mission that she says is about empowering a generation of politically disengaged women. With surveys suggesting that four in five women under 24 intend not to vote, her "High Heeled Votes" campaign, she says, is about "ensuring that women's issues are on the political agenda and that politicians take this group of voters seriously".

In the April edition, that means interviews with Blair, Howard and Kennedy; the following month, Cosmo will unveil election campaign ads designed according to reader …

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Publication information: Article title: The Sexual Politics of Cosmo; Cosmopolitan Editor Sam Baker Wants Young Women to Vote. but Is That Really What They Buy Her Magazine For?. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Evening Standard (London, England). Publication date: March 9, 2005. Page number: 50. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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