Walmart is removing Cosmopolitan from the check-out lines, apparently because of the #MeToo movement


Walmart stores will be removing Cosmopolitan magazines from the check-out lines of all 5,000 stores across the country, USA Today reports, with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) claiming the move is tied to the ongoing #MeToo movement. "You can go through and buy your groceries with your family knowing you don't have to be exposed to this graphic and often degrading and offensive material," said Haley Halverson, NCOSE's vice president of advocacy and outreach, during a Facebook live session.
You can still buy Cosmopolitan at Walmart stores, but they will be moved "in isolation" to the magazine racks, Halverson confirmed.
"This is one less drop of hyper-sexualized media that is going to be bombarding people in their everyday lives, which does make a difference, especially in this #MeToo culture that we're living in, where we really want a culture that will respect women and ensure their dignity is understood," Halverson went on.
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Not everyone agreed with the move. "Neither #Walmart nor the #NationalCenteronSexualExploitation appears to know what the #MeToo movement IS, nor understand the difference between sexuality & exploitation," tweeted "cultural sexologist" Carol Queen. Read Lauren Hansen's argument for the sneakily progressive feminism of Cosmopolitan here at The Week.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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