1. Cosmopolitan
Circulation: 2,928,881 (estimated)
Readers-per-Copy: 5,81
Readership: 17,133.000 – in 2016
Origin: USA
You all know Cosmo, who tops our most popular fashion magazines in the world ranking with a baffling 17,133,000 readership, putting all the rest to shame, even Vogue.
Cosmopolitan Magazine, today known as “Cosmo” was founded in 1886, and was mostly centered around home, family, and cooking, but including some articles on art and science. Later on, it began including fictional literature- short stories, novelettes, and short novels. Oh, the times before technology!
Then along came television, and readers lost their interest in fiction, so Cosmo took a pivotal turn. The sexual revolution brought a change in editor, and covers began to feature pictures (until the mid-’60s they were all drawings) of girls in small clothes. Sales increased rapidly.
This effect continued to grow until the magazine became all about “good sex” (with stupid, naive, and sometimes even completely incorrect advice) and how to look good for men without coming across as a slut. Fortunately, in actuality paradigms are shifting, towards a less superficial appreciation of not only women but all humans.
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