SAY "BOOK BAN" ONE MORE TIME
Cosmopolitan US|Issue 03, 2023 / May 2023
While the far right tries to censor LGBTQ+ books out of existence, allow us to recommend the gayest, queerest, most lesbionic page-turners for your Pride season reading delight.
ERIN QUINLAN
SAY "BOOK BAN" ONE MORE TIME

Hi, if you're new here (welcome!), rest assured that we are not. Cosmo has been battling regressive moral panic-and the censorship it can spawn for decades. Over the years, various fringe groups have sought to censor us for printing "pornography" and "explicit content," aka honest, informative reporting on totally normal physical intimacy and absolutely crucial sexual health topics. So you could say we are experts in defending the right to empower readers. Which is why we're standing with the LGBTQ+ authors whose work is under fire right now from lawmakers and at least 50 groups agitating for book bans at the national, state, or local level.

This isn't just about Drag Story Hour or inclusive kids' books anymore. (Although the challenges against both, against titles like And Tango Makes Three-the award-winning, completely unscandalous illustrated tale of two male penguins raising a chick-remain absurd.) It's not just about parents being denied a say in what their kids can and cannot read. In some parts of the country, the hysteria is preventing even fully grown adults from accessing books for themselves that happen to have LGBTQ+ themes.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM COSMOPOLITAN USView all
DREAM-SCROLLING FOR DINNER
Cosmopolitan US

DREAM-SCROLLING FOR DINNER

With young people in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, TikTok creators are turning grocery runs into rich-girl-coded productions - and followers are eating it up. Krista Diamond digs into what happens when a cart full of staple goods becomes a clout metric.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2025
Young Love in Atlanta
Cosmopolitan US

Young Love in Atlanta

WE TOOK OUR COUPLE SPOTTING SERIES DOWN SOUTH.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
THE NEW C-SUITE 2024
Cosmopolitan US

THE NEW C-SUITE 2024

Progress. It’s a word that, in 2024, gets thrown around a lot. Especially when it comes to representation across all sorts of roles at all sorts of companies, including, crucially, at start-ups. Yet...people of color—and specifically women of color—still don’t often get the chance to even enter the conversation. Over the past few years, less than 1 percent of venture capital funding in this country has gone toward women of color entrepreneurs. (Making matters worse, funds that are geared toward supporting these women have become targets of anti-affirmative-action groups, forcing at least one to shut down entirely.)

time-read
8 mins  |
Winter 2025
Revenge Dressing
Cosmopolitan US

Revenge Dressing

Model and content creator Olivia Ponton is giving you permission to bring everyone who's ever wronged you to their knees with these simple yet very effective styles.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2025
HOTTER Than DRAGON FIRE
Cosmopolitan US

HOTTER Than DRAGON FIRE

It’s very likely that no matter where you are right now, there’s a copy of Fourth Wing nearby. Probably one of Iron Flame too. Both books, by romantasy queen Rebecca Yarros, topped every bestseller list—and absolutely ignited BookTok, spawning a rabid fandom that cannot get enough of badass heroine Violet Sorrengail and her relationship with fellow dragon-rider Xaden Riorson. Honestly, what’s not to love? There’s extreme adventure. Absurdly high stakes. Wildly hot sex. And the promise of a lot more, starting right here, with this exclusive first excerpt of the series’ third book, Onyx Storm. Friends, get your daggers ready. (IYKYK. If you don’t, prepare to get obsessed.)

time-read
8 mins  |
Winter 2025
RACHEL ZEGLER
Cosmopolitan US

RACHEL ZEGLER

She won a Golden Globe for her first major film role, in West Side Story. She took on a beloved franchise and made the newest Hunger Games a hit. She became a bona fide Disney princess with 2025's Snow White. And now the 23-year-old is checking a new career milestone off her bucket list: Broadway. Here, she chats with her Romeo + Juliet collaborator Jack Antonoff about it all.

time-read
10 mins  |
Winter 2025
Your Holiday Brunch Requires a Panful of These Treats
Cosmopolitan US

Your Holiday Brunch Requires a Panful of These Treats

A gooey, coconutty gift to you and yours from Tik Tok-viral chef Tuệ Nguyễn.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
We Need to Talk About ADHD in Young Women
Cosmopolitan US

We Need to Talk About ADHD in Young Women

We've been excluded from this conversation for a long time...and we're suffering because of it.

time-read
4 mins  |
Winter 2025
Go Ahead - Plan a Trip Around the Northern Lights
Cosmopolitan US

Go Ahead - Plan a Trip Around the Northern Lights

Because we're in the midst of a solar maximum (yup, we had to google it too) that's expected to end soon and this is the most intense and most accessible the aurora borealis will be for years. These stunning under-the-radar spots will grant you the best, least crowded views.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2025
I Got My Tubes Removed and It Was the Most Liberating Experience
Cosmopolitan US

I Got My Tubes Removed and It Was the Most Liberating Experience

With reproductive health care ever at risk in this country, could this be the future of birth control?

time-read
4 mins  |
Winter 2025