Helen Gurley Brown Among feminists, Brown's role has been highly contested as empowering women to be unashamed of their sexual urges and as creating a magazine that may live on as a sexist magazine with a body image problem. However, some feminists feel that the sexism in our world cannot be blamed all on "Cosmopolitan" and Brown, with other magazines circulating that objectify women's bodies. These other people look at Brown's work as both "progressive and retrogressive" when it comes to the feminist movement. Helen Gurley Brown Helen Gurley Brown (February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012; born Helen Marie Gurley) was an
Helen Gurley Brown magazine played an important role in helping young women redefine their roles in society." Audie Cornish from NPR said that Helen "has been called a bad girl, a pioneer in Prada, a revolutionary in stilettos." Brown looked at herself as a feminist, but this description was contested by several others. After a brief hospitalization, Helen Gurley Brown died August 13, 2012 at the McKeen Pavilion at New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia. She was 90. In a statement announcing the news of her death, Hearst Publications noted that "Helen was one of the world's most recognized magazine editors and book authors, and a