Helen Gurley Brown's 10 Most "Fun and Fearless" Quotes
April Daniels Hussar,SELF magazine
Helen Gurley Brown -- the incomparable "Cosmo girl" and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years -- died at 90 years young on Monday, leaving behind a legacy of straight talk about sex and relationships (especially where single ladies are concerned!), more than one shattered glass ceiling and a treasure trove of witty one-liners.
Brown, of course, is credited with leading the way for women to talk openly about sex. Not only did she pen the (at the time) controversial book Sex and the Single Girl in 1962, but she edited Cosmo -- a magazine for "fun and fearless females" -- from 1965 until 1997.
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Cosmo describes Sex and the Single Girl as "a fictional book about a swinging singleton who was leading this new kind of life ... Not only did the book tell women they didn't need a man to be happy, but it also encouraged them to enjoy sex with whomever they damn well pleased -- without guilt." In other words, there would be no Sex and the City without Helen Gurley Brown!
So what exactly is a Cosmo girl? Brown described it best when talking about her mag: "Cosmo is feminist in that we believe women are just as smart and capable as men are and can achieve anything men can. But it also acknowledges that while work is important, men are too. The Cosmo girl absolutely loves men!"
Brown may have left this world, but she leaves behind some words to live by. Here are 10 of her greatest quotes:
On forging your own path in life...
"I never liked the looks of the life that was programmed for me -- ordinary, hillbilly and poor -- and I repudiated it from the time I was 7 years old," she wrote in her 1982 memoir, Having It All.
"Don't use men to get what you want in life. Get it yourself."
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On feminism...
"How could any woman not be a feminist? The girl I'm editing for wants to be known for herself. If that's not a feminist message, I don't know what is."
On sex...
"My own philosophy is if you're not having sex, you're finished."
"If only one of you is in the mood, do it. Even if sex isn't great every time, it's a unique form of communication and togetherness that can help you stay together with a good degree of contentment."
On being your true self...
"I was mousy on the outside but inside I'm this tiger and I have to get on with it."
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On the important things in life...
"Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork -- reading, writing, thinking -- can."
"You can have your titular recognition. I'll take money and power."
On success...
"I hope I have convinced you -- the only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren't is the willingness to work very, very hard."
The ultimate life motto...
"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere."
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